Let It Be (The Replacements album)

Infobox Album
Name = Let It Be
Type = studio
Artist = The Replacements


Released = October 2, 1984
Recorded = Blackberry Way Studios, Minneapolis
Genre = Rock
Length = 33:31 (original)
54:25 (Deluxe Edition)
Label = Twin/Tone
Producer = Steve Fjelstad, Paul Westerberg, Peter Jesperson
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:23220r8ac48b link]
*Pitchfork Media (10.0/10.0) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/50071-sorry-ma-forgot-to-take-out-the-trash-stink-hootenanny-let-it-be link]
*Robert Christgau (A+) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=the+replacements link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thereplacements/albums/album/160853/review/6067593/let_it_be 1985]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thereplacements/albums/album/160853/review/7504157/let_it_be 2005]
Last album = "Hootenanny"
(1983)
This album = "Let It Be"
(1984)
Next album = "Tim"
(1985)

"Let It Be" is the third studio album from the American rock band The Replacements, released in October 1984 on Twin/Tone Records. By 1983's "Hootenanny", the band had grown tired of playing loud and fast exclusively and decided to write songs that were, according to singer Paul Westerberg, "a little more sincere."Azerrad, 2001. p. 222] Influenced by genres as diverse as metal, Chicago blues and arena rock, "Let It Be" featured more complex arrangements and songwriting than the band's previous albums.

The album was remastered and reissued by Rhino Entertainment on April 22, 2008 with six additional tracks.

Background

The Replacements started their career as a punk rock band but had gradually grown beyond the straightforward hardcore of albums like "Stink" with their third album "Hootenanny". [Azerrad, p. 208] By 1983, the band would sometimes perform a set of cover songs intended to antagonize whoever was in the audience. Paul Westerberg explained that the punks who made up their audience "thought that's what they were supposed to be standing for, like 'Anybody does what they want' and 'There are no rules' [...] But there "were" rules and you "couldn't" do that, and you "had" to be fast, and you "had" to wear black, and you "couldn't" wear a plaid shirt with flares ... So we'd play the DeFranco Family, that kind of shit, just to piss 'em off." [Azerrad, p. 215]

Peter Buck of R.E.M. was originally rumored to produce the album. Buck later confirmed that the band did consider him as a possible producer, but when they met Buck in Athens, Georgia, the band did not have enough material. Buck did manage to contribute to the album in a limited capacity; he said, "I was kind of there for pre-production stuff, did one solo, gave 'em some ideas." [Gray, Marcus. "It Crawled from the South: An R.E.M. Companion". Da Capo, 1997. Second edition. ISBN 0-306-80751-3, p. 356-357]

Music

"Let It Be" placed more of a focus on Westerberg's songwriting than previous albums. While elements of hardcore remain, the band's sound also incorporates arena rock, pop, jazz, heavy metal, honky-tonk country and Chicago blues. Unlike previous efforts, the individual songs have distinct sections and dynamic shifts. Instruments such as piano, lap steel guitar, 12-string guitar, and mandolin appear.

sample box endThe album is divided by more energetic rock songs like "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" and "Gary's Got a Boner" and more dramatic songs like "Sixteen Blue" and "Unsatisfied". R.E.M.'s Peter Buck contributed the guitar solo to "Let It Be"'s first cut, "I Will Dare", which was released as a single prior to the album's release in July 1984.

"Gary's Got a Boner" uses the riff from Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever. Subsequently, Nugent is given partial song-writing credit. [cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:wifuxqtdldhe | title=Gary's Got a Boner review - allmusic | accessdate=2007-08-07 | author=Mason, Stewart | publisher=allmusic]

Legacy

Although not a commercial success upon its release, "Let It Be" was critically acclaimed by various American music publications; "The Village Voice"'s Robert Christgau gave the album an A+ rating, [cite web | url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=the+replacements | title=CG: the replacements | accessdate=2007-08-03 | author=Christgau, Robert | publisher=RobertChristgau.com] and the album ranked fourth in the 1984 "Village Voice" Pazz & Jop critics' poll. [cite web | url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres84.php | title=The 1984 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll | accessdate=2007-08-08 | author=Christgau, Robert | publisher=RobertChristgau.com] The "Seattle Rocket" critic Bruce Pavitt said "Let It Be" was "mature, diverse rock that could well shoot these regional boys into the national mainstream."Azerrad, 2001. p. 223]

The album is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best rock albums. It is listed in Allmusic with a five-star rating and is one of the few albums to receive an 'A+' from esteemed music critic Robert Christgau. RS500|239 In 1989, it was rated #15 on the same magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. In the 1999 miniseries "VH1's 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll," VH1 ranked "Let It Be" #79. [cite web | url=http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62190/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/album_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862770&start=21 | title=100 greatest albums of rock & roll (80-61) | accessdate=2007-09-21 | publisher=Vh1.com] Pitchfork Media rated the album at #29 on their 100 Best Albums of the 1980s.

In 2004, Continuum International Publishing Group published a volume in its 33⅓ series inspired by "Let It Be". The book was a memoir written by Colin Meloy of indie pop band The Decemberists. In his book, Meloy wrote, "I listened to "Let It Be" endlessly. The record seemed to encapsulate perfectly all of the feelings that were churning inside me [...] Paul Westerberg's weary voice sounded from my boombox and I trembled to think that here I was, thirteen and the 'hardest age' was still three years in the making." [Meloy, Colin. "Let It Be 33⅓". Continuum, 2004. ISBN 0-8264-1633-0, p. 70]

Packaging

The cover of "Let It Be" is a photograph of the band sitting on the roof of Bob and Tommy Stinson's mother's house taken by Daniel Corrigan. Michael Azerrad stated that the cover was a "great little piece of mythmaking," showcasing each bandmember's personality via how they appear in the photograph. The album's title is a reference to the 1970 album "Let It Be" by The Beatles; the reference was intended as a joke on the Replacements' manager, Peter Jesperson, who was a huge Beatles fan.

Track listing

All songs written by Paul Westerberg, except as indicated.

ide one

#"I Will Dare" – 3:18
#"Favorite Thing" (Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, Bob Stinson, Chris Mars) – 2:19
#"We're Comin' Out" (Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, Mars) – 2:21
#"Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" (Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, Mars) – 1:53
#"Androgynous" – 3:11
#"Black Diamond" (Paul Stanley) – 2:40

ide two

#"Unsatisfied" – 4:01
#"Seen Your Video" – 3:08
#"Gary's Got a Boner" (Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, Mars, Ted Nugent) – 2:28
#"Sixteen Blue" – 4:24
#"Answering Machine" – 3:40

2008 CD reissue bonus tracks

#

"20th Century Boy" (Marc Bolan) - 3:56
#"Perfectly Lethal (Outtake)" - 3:30
#"Temptation Eyes (Outtake)" (Price, Walsh) - 2:30
#"Answering Machine (Solo Home Demo)" - 2:43
#"Heartbeat - It's a Lovebeat (Outtake - Rough Mix)" (Hudspeth, Kennedy) - 2:55
#"Sixteen Blue (Outtake - Alternate Vocal)" - 5:08

*Track 12 originally released as a B-side of "I Will Dare".
*Tracks 13-17 previously unreleased.

Personnel

*Chris Mars - Drums, vocals
*Paul Westerberg - Guitar, piano, mandolin, vocals
*Bob Stinson - Guitar
*Tommy Stinson - Bass guitar
*Peter Buck - Guitar on "I Will Dare"

Notes

References

*Azerrad, Michael. "". Little Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1