14 Songs

Paul Westerberg

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 15, 1993)
• Original Release Date: June 15, 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reprise / Wea
• ASIN: B000002MJO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,255 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Paul Westerberg's first official solo album, 14 Songs, is a curious disappointment. Expectations were perhaps unreasonably high after 1990's brilliant All Shook Down (credited to the Replacements but a Westerberg solo album in all but name) and the soundtrack for Singles (supposedly a showcase for the Seattle sound but stolen by two songs from Minneapolis's Westerberg). 14 Songs is not so much a bad album as an underwhelming one from the best singer/songwriter to emerge from the post-punk underground. There are enough flashes of the old talent to indicate that Westerberg is simply confused rather than burnt-out. Pianist Ian McLagen helps a sax-blowing Westerberg through an inspired Stones imitation, "Silver Naked Ladies," and guest singer Joan Jett helps him through a smart Clash imitation, "Someone I Once Knew." The first single, "World Class Fad," boasts a great rock & roll hook to go with its sneering putdown of sell-out musicians, but the best song is "Something Is Me," which manages to be both a full-tilt punk charge and a telling confessional: "Something going wrong; my name is Paul. Something always happens eventually; the something is me." --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart, funny, romantic as hell..., May 6, 2004

By	M. Casarino (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With "14 Songs," Paul Westerberg released exactly the kind of album you expect when the leader of one of the most influential bands in history breaks off to tell his own stories. The quality of such records rarely matches the ambitions behind them, but "14 Songs" is one amazing album.

Like all the best punks, Paul is a smart, smart man, with an affection for wordplay and 9th chords. He puts that intelligence to great use right away with "Knockin' on Mine," a rocker about reading(!). And then Paul lets his romantic side shine, with the heartbreaking "First Glimmer," "Runaway Wind," and my fave, "Even Here We Are." Paul moves effortlessly through hard-driving post-punk ("Something is Me," "Down Love"), confessional pop ("Dice Behind Your Shades," "Things"), humorous commentaries ("Someone I Once Knew," "Mannequin Shop"), and mid-tempo rockers.

Well, so did the 'Mats, you say. And you're right - but this album is packed with idiosyncrasies that are pure Paul. It's great to hear albums that seem to flow from one's soul, and "14 Songs" is one of those albums. Some of the critiques complain that too many of the 14 songs are filler, but I hear no filler here - every tune is vital, robust, and brimming with the joy of a great artist finding a new path to rock and roll.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Growing Up Is Hard To Do, March 1, 2000

By	"zregime" (People's Republic of Maryland) - See all my reviews

OK, here's the deal on this CD...

-- The Replacements were lovingly known as "The Mats" in Minneapolis, MN, from which they hailed

-- A couple of years ago I read in some magazine that "Let It Be" by The Mats was one of the Top Ten most favorite albums as rated by college students

-- This album is NOT like "Let It Be"

And to anybody who's familiar with the history of The Mats but doesn't like this album...well, have another adult beverage.

14 Songs is Paul Westerberg throwing off the mask. Admitting, yes, that the last Replacements album ("All Shook Down") was his alone, practically...and that the punk/grunge expectation tied to that band's name was starting to bum him out, big time.

So he goes solo. "Ego trip," the thrash-faithful scream. Have another adult beverage, I say to them.

"An English teacher from Vancouver asked me to write something for her students." So starts the album ("Knocking on Mine") as Westerberg lets us in on his problem: So-called intellectuals are now proclaiming him the James Joyce of the '90s! His reaction to that (unwanted) praise is at first reactionary ("Wisdom is ignorance"), then measured ("First Glimmer" and "Runaway Wind" are beautiful, looking-back-in-fondness songs). In between, "World Class Fad" and "Something is Me" remind the faithful that you can never fully escape the stuff that goes with being born into The Mats family.

But most of all, Westerberg finally gives us a glimmer...musically and lyrically...that he's done with the broken hands, falling off of stages, .36 blood alcohol content performances that The Mats were (in)famous for. If you listen closely to "Black Eyed Susan" you might become convinced that this was the work of a guy who decided to stay home on a Friday night and just fool around with his guitar, a drum machine, and a crude 4-track recording system...a guy who had decided that was better than going out and getting blasted out of his mind.

In other words, a guy who had finally started growing up.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars uncertain certitude and 14 little songs, November 13, 2003

By	"peterg78" (CA) - See all my reviews

"14 Songs", an apt title for someone constantly stating the obvious in often revelatory ways, has been part of my life for over a decade. I remember the day I bought it...summer before freshman year in high school and miniture golf would never cut it again. All those hormones and songs such as "First Glimmer" and "Runaway Wind", quite a heady mix. I latched onto the cynicism of "World Class Fad", "Dice Behind Your Shades" and, really, the whole album. "Things" though, remains the melancholic lament that rings true over and over whenever i'm love sick. It's the parts more than the whole, whatever that means, that make this the bluest and truest album I own.