The Essential 10: The Replacements

This edition of The Essential 10, our quickfire introduction to a wide range of my favourite artists, features The Replacements; an act that managed seven studio albums over a tumultuous career that spanned 1979 to 1992 (and briefly 2012-2015). The Minneapolis band were well known for their often ramshackle gigs, the lo-fi garage band albums and an almost wilful resistance to make any attempt to become successful (see their shambolic appearance on SNL as an example).

1. I Will Dare: this leads off what was possibly their signature album, 1984's Let It Be. Paul Westerberg considered it his best song to that point - probably true, with a great and jaunty, rockabilly beat to it and Westerberg asking, "how smart are you, how dumb am I?"; and when Bob Stinson couldn't come up with a solo, Peter Buck (who happened to be hanging out at the studio) obliged. (official music video)

2. Left Of The Dial: is about the fact that US college radio stations were generally on the left side of an old-school FM radio dial. Okay, it was also a bit of a love story of sorts - Westerberg crossed paths briefly with Lynn Blakey of Mitch Easter's (co-producer of R.E.M.'s first two albums) Georgia outfit, Let's Active, and was seemingly smitten. (official promo video - as one commenter notes, "when your video has a $100 budget and you still have money left over for beers")

3. Takin' A Ride: the first album, Sorry Ma Forgot To Take Out The Trash, was still very firmly in the punk camp. This track leads the record off with a lot of gusto - raw, fast and fairly furious. (official music video - a recently shot video that gives of a tour of the band's key Minneapolis haunts)

4. Achin' To Be: for album six, Don't Tell A Soul, the late great Slim Dunlap was in for founding guitarist Bob Stinson; and this is almost a country ballad, that is lifted by Westerberg's yearning vocal and some of his best lyrics, that conjure up all kinds of images, as one other blogger (Jim Connelly) wrote, "a whole novel could be written around, 'she dances alone in night clubs every other day of the week." (official music video)

5. Bastards Of Young: a true anthem...

Oh, you want more? It's about alienation and has an opening riff inspired by The Who. (a half decent fan shot video from Milwaukee, 2015 - helps get that anthemic feeling - oh and it veers into something else 2/3 of the way through)

6. Sixteen Blue: a fragile, beautiful song from Let It Be about self-consciousness and social awkwardness; "Drive yourself right up the wall, no one hears and no one calls, it's a boring state, it's a useless wait, I know." The ultimate tune for being a teenager. (audio only)

7. Portland: how was this never an album track first time around (there are a gazillion bands that would have cut off an arm for a song this good)? It's an out-take from Don't Tell A Soul, that finally surfaced for the 2008 reissue. It is an ode to a Portland gig that has gone down as perhaps their shambolic worst (quite a feat by all accounts) - a tender, heartfelt, maybe even sincere apology for their performance that night. (audio only)

8. Can't Hardly Wait: a stonewall classic, with Alex Chilton (see later) guesting on guitar. Why weren't they bigger? This song should have made them a household name - well, at least one that every college aged kid adored. It is an almost perfect garage pop-rock song - some fans didn't like this re-working so much as the original (made a few years earlier), with added horns and strings, but it just soars... (official music video)

9. Favorite Thing: you think how will Let It Be get better after the opening salvo of I Will Dare, and then Favorite Thing comes blasting out as track two! It's a high octane slice of garage rock, with chugging bass lines, screeching guitars and desperate sounding vocals. It's only just over two minutes - I don't think you could keep this up for any longer! (audio only)

10. Alex Chilton: they, like many bands of the 1980s, bowed down at the altar of Alex Chilton and his legendary 70s band Big Star. Like, The Replacements, they probably should have been much, much bigger than they ended up. So, what better way to celebrate your hero than write a song about him! Chilton thought it was a pretty good song - but it's better than that... (live on final 2015 tour)