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Pleased to Meet Me

The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me Audio CD

A fair review of the The Replacements "Pleased to Meet Me" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Replacements reviews here, or go back to the The Replacements tabs.

Band: The Replacements
Title: Pleased to Meet Me
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: I.O.U. 2: Alex Chilton 3: I Don't Know 4: Nightclub Jitters 5: Ledge 6: Never Mind 7: Valentine 8: Shooting Dirty Pool 9: Red Red Wine 10: Skyway 11: Can't Hardly Wait

3 Classics in a Row
This was the first Mats album I bought back in 88. Following Let it Be, Tim and the departure of Bob Stinson who would have thunk that the Mats would blaze back this hard?

Well they did with Pleased to Meet Me. I kept reading about them in Rolling Stone where I discovered most of left of center bands that I listen to now. Back when Rolling Stone was a semi-respectable rag that wrote about music and other relevent stuff, didnt have more adds than print and had a little integrity.

Well, when they wrote the review on this album, basically explaining that it was the greatest rock album of all time, I had to bite on it. I diddnt have alot of disposable income in those days and no internet to clogg my mind. I took RSs advice and bought the album, brought it home, cranked it and enjoyed every second.

Westerberg, a couple of years older than my 22 was writing about everything I was feeling at the time. Being a bit of a misunderstood verbally challenged, melancholy, socially awkward but always looking for a party to crash young adult still stuck in his youth. I diddnt want to grow up, face reponsibilty, feel the pressure of having a real job and the prospect of dissapointing others by screwing up. The only thing that made me feel normal was being around my buddies, smoking and drinking and having a good time.

Thats what this album is about, it was clear to me at the time that this Paul Westerberg guy was going through alot of this stuff as well.

PTMM is raw record, many would think that its underproduced but those who had listened to the Stooges, the Velvets etc before would have no complaints. Its also raw in that as I have mentioned, Westerberg wears his emotions right out there on his sleeve.

Theres just so much to listen to here, firstly "IOU" comes out of the gate with buzzsaw guitars ripping , drums pounding and Paul seemingly angry at someone who feels he owes him a debt. "Alex Chilton" actually one-ups IOU with its blazing pace and wonderful lyrics, a hommage to Ex-Big Star member Alex Chilton. "I Never travel Faaaaar. . . without a little Big Star" and back into the sick beyond belief riff. "I Don't Know" is probably my least fav song on the album but a favorite of many, Its actaully pretty funny in its sloppiness and stoner type lyrics.

"Nightclub Jitters" is a beautiful little song as is "Skyway". Westerberg demonstrates further his mastery of the beautiful and sensitve ballad that he so perfected with "16 Blue", "Here Come a Regular", "Androgenous" etc from previous albums.

So. . . all thats good. . . but. . . you havn't actually hit the meat of the album at this point. Whats ahead are 3-4 of the greatest rock songs I have ever heard in "Never Mind" , "Cant Hardly Wait" and "Valentine"

Throw in a couple more bitchin rockers and what you have is a 5 Star Masterpiece. The glorious thing about this album IMO, is that its not one of those golden nuggets that nobody knows about cept the die hards and snobby rock critics. This album is consistently on every "Top 100 Albums of All-Time" lists. And deservedly so.

Get it, crank it, enjoy it and I guarantee you will be a Mats/Westerberg fan for life.

ML

.

Pleased To Meet Me
Which is slightly hypocritical when you concider the fact that at this point everyone in the band had their own problem with some substance or another. The Replacements-Pleased To Meet Me ****�

Pleased To Meet Me was the first album The Replacements released after lead guitarist, who in fact was one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Bobby Stinson, older brother of bassist Tommy Stinson was kicked out of the band due to his excessive drug use.

Even though the great Bobby Stinson was gone Pleased To Meet Me was the strongest album The Replacements would ever release as far as instrumental playing would go. They still had Paul Westerberg on guitar, and while he was not the quality of Stinson's playing he was still above average. Tommy Stinson also played some of the best bass of his life during this album, as well as Christopher Mars' drumming which was top notch during this period.

As far as song quality goes, well this album contains it's share of Replacements classics. `I. O. U. ' opens the album and is classic Westerberg boasting how he owes you nothing. The semi-biographical `Alex Chilton' which in my opinion is easily one of the very best songs that the band ever released. 'I Don't Know' has a return to the classic humor that Westerberg was known for having in his lyrics, which he seemed to lose on the previous album Tim. 'Nightclub Jitters' is a once in a blue moon fun to listen to track but nothing too special, and probabley could have been left off of the album. The next three tracks, 'The Ledge,' 'Never Mind,' and 'Valentine' all go hand in hand as far as sound and mood go. The set of lyrics are among Westerberg's strongest to date. 'Dirty Pool' is a return to the style of rockers which open the album and is great song. Nice imagery in the lyrics and great guitar playing as well. Westerberg's vocals sound great and tattered at the same time. 'Red Red Wine' 'Skyway' and 'Can't Hardly Wait' close the album as sort of a trilogy, much like the one that closes Sonic Youths album 'Daydream Nation which was released at almost the same time.

Pleased To Meet Me was the last great Replacements album. While it might not be the bands strongest and it may be a complete change from what they started out as and is more power pop then their fans were use to it is still one of the bands best albums. After this the final Replacements albums were filled with different guitarists and a new drummer leaving only Westerberg and Tommy Stinson as original members and changing the sound drastically making them sound more like a parody of themselves or a Westerberg solo project then a Mats album.

Lovable Imperfection
They were ragged, uneven, and not particularly skilled musicians who couldn't quite figure out whether they were a punk or rock band who were often awful onstage, never made it big, and fell apart messily. The Replacements are irresistable and their music grows on you with each listen, yet it is hard to explain why. Yet they put it together to produce several heartbreakingly beautiful songs. They were a garage band who did well and left us with a handful of albums that are essential for any partisan of the music of the 1980s. This album was made as the band had begun its implosion, that would drag out for three more years and two more good albums (Don't Tell A Soul, All Shook Down).

This album features "Alex Chilton," which is usually at the top of the favorite song list for most fans of The Replacements. "The Ledge" is an edgy, good song, "Skyway" is an example of Westerberg when he got soulful and acoustic, and "Can't Hardly Wait" is the sort of effortless pop song that The Replacements probably could have made it bigger by doing more of. There are clunkers -- every Replacements record had them -- like "Nightclub Jitters" and "Shooting Dirty Pool," but there are buttons on your CD player that will solve those problems. This band was perfect in their imperfection. Imagine listening to a garage band practicing next door and realizing that they were surprisingly good. That's The Replacements. .

A Track by Track Appreciation
. PLEASED TO MEET ME: A track By Track Appreciation (I haven't listened to it in a while, and this sorta got me thinking wistfully about it. . )

SIDE ONE (The Good Side)

1) I. O. U. A slamming punk stomper. Sounds like a statement of purpose to prove they can still rock after firing lead axeman Bob Stinson--a move many fans never forgave. Actually, the weakest song on the record.
2) Alex Chilton--perfect ragged power pop paen to alt rock patron saint. ("I never travel far/Without a litte Big Star"). If you were cool, you couldn't escape this song in 87-88.
3) Nightclub Jitters--cool change of pace with this cocktail jazz inflected slow burner
4) I Don't Know--boredom and ennui collide with a stripped to the bones rocker punctuated by Teenage Steve Douglass' sweet baritone sax bleats.
5) The Ledge : tense suicide suicide note where Westerberg's spiraling guitar is as tightly wound as the narrators emotions.

SIDE TWO (The even better side --and yes, like in the old days, a record with distinct sides)

1) Never Mind: Great power popping, heart-on-the-sleeve love song. And it rocks in an endearingly sloppy sorta way.
2) Valentine: more of the the same with great lines thrown out like they come from an endless stream("Well you wish upon a star/That turns into a plane". . . "If you were a pill/I'd take a handful at my will/and knock you back with somethings sweet as wine).
3) Shooting Dirty Pool. Down and dirty rocker--a great illustration of how Jim Dickinson's production is perfect for this record--the bass is muddied, the treble in the guitar is jacked up and the drums are given a huge, sledgehammer whallop. The song itself isn't Westerberg's best, but the sound is great--a wonderful change-of-pace album cut.
4) Red Red Wine (not the Neil Diamond classic but another searing rocker that just sounds balls-out perfect at Max volume).
5) Skyway: Out of nowhere, Westerberg slows down for his most beautiful solo-acoustic ballad. A simple heartstopper, whispered over a delicately picked guitar figure. A million lovesick teenage boys made mix tapes for unattainable girls in the late 80s. This song figured prominently in 94% of them.
6) Can't Hardly Wait: A hopelssly romantic pop-rocker over another bubbling guitar line and a swinging rhythym section. The chorus totally gushes and although some people hate them , I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Memphis Horns on the backing part. A perfect end to what is, to me, a perfect record.

Overall, my favorite mats record. There might be more peaks on Tim (Bastards of Young, Left of the Dial) or Let it Be (I will Dare, Unsatisfied, Answering Machine), but there are also some valleys there as well.
.

Very Pleased to Meet Paul, Tommy, Bob and Chris
Closer to Tim, but certainly a definitive Replacements album in style and arrangement. It's not Let it Be. Excellently produced sound, vocals, sweet solos and well harnessed power. Reminiscent of the best thing that came out of the eighties. This band! I liked it the first time I listened. Loved it by the tenth time. Hard to replace with another artist in your CD player once you're hooked.

You can see a complete list of all The Replacements discography, or go back to the The Replacements tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.