a coherent collection of random statements regarding God, words and tunes

Hit and Run, Volume I

Since it's pretty clear that I'm not going to have time for an extended musical review column anytime soon, though I'd take them in bite-sized pieces and at least do them justice, if not necessarily ruminate at length. FWIW, none of the three I have on my plate right now are blow-me-out-of-the-water good; nonetheless, all of them are pleasant surprises to one degree or another.

So let's start with possibly the most surprising one, at least in one sense....

Paul Westerberg -- 49:00 (...of your time life). I have to recant somewhat from this column (scroll to bottom). While this is nowhere as good as Mono/Stereo, it's better than I had any right to expect a Paul Westerberg album to be at this point. And in terms of capturing the spirit of The Replacements (particular that part that extends a certain finger proudly, and decidedly yet defiantly at the artist's own expense), this is actually as close as Paul's been since Pleased to Meet Me, if not Hootenanny.

Let's start with the, um, marketing strategy -- namely, the one that offered the initial 43:55 minutes as a download on Amazon for 49 cents. (Which, by the way, 1) became the most popular download on Amazon, and 2) was removed two weeks later. Which basically means you need to rely on the kindness of strangers now.) The remaining 5:05, sometime later, was offered at a completely different site for either the standard 99 cents or, well, $5.05.

That Paul.

Anyway, if you have a way of tracking it all down, go for it -- then prepared to be equally thrilled and annoyed by the contents, and quite deliberately on both counts. And speaking of tracks... well, there aren't any, nor song titles, although paulwesterberg.net ("a bad idea whose time has come" - love it) was kind enough to try. So, armed with said attempt to make sense out of chaos, let's venture in...

"(Tell Me) Who You Gonna Marry?" and "With or Without Her (Kentucky Risin')" are both bright, bouncy tunes that would've fit late Replacements/early solo Paul (the good version) quite nicely. "Something in My Life Is Missing," as the title suggests, slows it down slightly while taking the heart-factor up a notch.

"Visitor's Day" brings things back to bouncy and smarkalecky, singing about an attempt to drive out to the old folks' home, and throws in some grunge & slide guitar in process, like some great lost Beggar's Banquet outtake. It's about here that the discord begins making itself known, as the song abruptly cuts out into several seconds of another song snippet, before cutting out into "Devil Raised a Good Boy," which cranks the amps up even further and closes with some great snarling guitar before kinda-seguing into a sweet half-minute of Paul singing "you're my girl" before segueing into the charmingly shambling and self-explanatory "Everyone's Stupid."

That Paul.

After this roughly halfway point, imagine yourself at the mercy of someone who keeps changing the dial on the radio as you scream, "Hey! I was getting into that!" 'Cause that's pretty much how the next 20-plus minutes go. Especially with what sounds like a heartrending ballad in "Goodnight Sweet Prince," if not for the snippets and noise winding in and out of it on a deliberately and annoyingly regular basis. "Out of My System," "Be My Darling," and "It'll Never Die," also perfectly good songs all, are similarly abused. And some of the snippets themselves, such as "Money Goes Straight to Her Heart," leave you wanting for more.

Finally, the album descends into a would-be medley of snippet-hits -- including "Hello Goodbye," "Born to Be Wild," "Stupid Girl," "Dandy," "Rocket Man" -- before finally landing on, of all things, "I Think I Love You."

The closer, "Johnny Said So," is a rockin' little thing that's either kicked Chipmunk-style or being sung by Paul's little boy -- who knows?

That Paul.

And then there's the aforementioned "5:05," which kicks off with an 45-second-long old-time radio introduction of Hitler, before launching into a Byrds-with-a-deathwish little ditty declaring, "It ain't about the money... if you want to sue me, then SUE ME." Replete, of course, with FU-laden coda.

That Paul.

Again, this thing's a mess. But if that's one of the things you loved about The Replacements, then you owe it to yourself. And, of course, to That Paul.

Posted by: burninglight at 01:45 | link | comments (12)

Comments:

#1  18 September 2008 - 17:42

 

"Flintstones, meet the Flintsones..." :-b

Jim

LDVoyager

#2  18 September 2008 - 17:47

 

Nonono, that was Springsteen. This is Paul Westerberg. :P

burninglight

#3  18 September 2008 - 18:42

 

I was referring to Dell Griffith's chiming in after Neal Page's inability to rally the bus riders behind "Three Coins in a Fountain", thank you. :-D

Jim

LDVoyager

#4  18 September 2008 - 18:46

 

Oh. Of course.

:O

burninglight

#5  18 September 2008 - 18:55

 

i have no idea what you two are talking about.

larryl

#6  18 September 2008 - 19:41

 

I was just saying that I was about enthused by a review of Paul Westernburger as the bus riders were thrilled at Neal Page's song selection. Planes Trains Automobiles; nevermind.

Jim

Anonymous

#7  18 September 2008 - 19:57

 

If it's any comfort, larry -- and I'm pretty sure it is -- I had no clue either. :P

burninglight

#8  19 September 2008 - 13:32

 

HEADLINES: "Laster and Simmons admit they were too far gone in the 80s to remember anything from then" ;-)

Jim

Anonymous

#9  19 September 2008 - 13:49

 

i was a kid in the 80s.

larryl

#10  19 September 2008 - 15:25

 

HEADLINES: "Laster admits that even as a kid he was too far gone"







































;-)

Jim

Anonymous

#11  19 September 2008 - 16:33

 

headline:

jim's an old fart who makes jokes even other old farts don't get.

larryl

#12  19 September 2008 - 17:47

 

Those old jokes sting a little more and more as time goes by. :-b

Jim

Anonymous

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