Customer Reviews

Let It Be

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Damn, man. Albums don't get any closer to perfect than this one.

"Let it Be" is so dead-on, it makes me want to cry. It's deeply satisfying, even as it throws curves at you from all sides. What kind of punk band opens their album with a pop song? What kind offers blistering hardcore, then slows the tempo and throws in a piano? What kind captures teendom better than John Hughes ever did (and Hughes is the MAN) with "Sixteen Blue?" Who else could make a punk mantra from the lines "Seen your video/You don't wanna know?" And who would end an album with a solo acoustic song - except that's no acoustic, it's a beautifully distorted Fender?

"Let it Be" is a truly transcendent album. The individual songs are all magnificent - not a sour track, or even a sour moment, among them - but there's something more. It creates its own energy, its own aura. These kids were making music in their early 20s that not only sounds brand-new and timeless, but it still speaks to this balding 33-year-old.

So much post-punk, including some work by the 'Mats, was and is monstrously overhyped. "Let it Be" cannot be hyped enough. It can't be labeled, either. It's music, rock and roll. In a legacy of outstanding and important albums by the Replacements and Westerberg, "Let it Be" is the best - which makes it one of the best of all time.

Truly one of the greatest American rock bands of the 1980s, the Replacements spent much of their career just under the radar of the consciousness of the mainstream. While the band built up a loyal following throughout the Reagan years, the 'Mats never broke through the way other college favorites like REM or The Red Hot Chili Peppers did. While the band offered some of the best music of the decade and while they were later signed to a major label and even appeared on Saturday Night Live, true recognition and praise eluded them in their day. But while the band never managed to enjoy a real cross-over hit with the mainstream, they remained a cult favorite throughout their existence.

The `Mats early albums boasted raucous punk that was authentic and memorable, but a far cry away from the best work the band would offer. While the Minneapolis quartet's first three releases "Sorry Ma, I forgot to take out the Trash," (1981) "Stink" EP (1982) and "Hootenanny" (1983) showed much promise, it was the band's fourth album "Let it Be," (1984) that saw the band reach their full potential. The Replacements "Holy Trinity" of albums, "Let it Be," "Tim," (1985) and "Pleased to Meet Me" (1987) saw singer/songwriter Paul Westerberg blossom as a writer, churning out his most memorable work.

While "Let it Be" has the punk aesthetics of its predecessors, the songs are more refined and crafted. While "Let it Be" isn't overtly commercial or has any singles that scream "HIT" written on them, the album was up to this point the band's most assessable offering. To get right to the point, "Let it Be" is just a great album. Track after track, each song is memorable and well structured with an infectious hook, killer groove and keen sense of melody. Westerberg, Bob Stinson, (guitar) Tommy Stinson, (bass) and Chris Mars (drums) struck the perfect balance between finely crafted songs and anarchic, unrestrictive punk. The band is loose and hungry, but also meticulous, making sure the album is raw and organic, but without sounding sloppy.

With "Let it Be" Westerberg really honed in as a lyricist. Songs of alienation, dissatisfaction, frustration, and problems with interpersonal relationships are the prevailing themes. And while these are the prevailing themes with many, many bands, Westerberg sounds authentic and the listener can really sympathize with his plight. While he sounds genuinely distraught, he never indulges in self-pity or drains the listener. There is nothing forced or contrived about the feelings he is trying to convey. All the while Westerberg has a real sense of humor as songs like "Tommy gets his Tonsils Out" and "Gary's got a Boner" would suggest.

The opening mid-tempo "I Will Dare" is probably the album's best song, if not the greatest Replacements track ever recorded. Estrangement and unrequited love but with a sense of hope seem to be the prevailing theme. Tommy Stinson's sparse bass over the lush playing of Westerberg, Bob Stinson, and guest guitarist Peter Buck (of REM) make this song a triumph. "Favorite Thing" goes at an almost manic pace and has a real sense of urgency, as Westerberg tells of his affection for the one he loves. "Were Coming Out" may have been a contender for "Hootenanny" as this punk-rocker is somewhat chaotic, but without loosing structure. The light piano offers a nice touch. "Tommy gets his tonsils out" is also reminiscent of the Replacements early work, as this humorous punk number tackles the bassists' fear of going to the dentist. The album takes a complete left turn for the bizarre "Androgynous," a melancholy piano balled dealing with the issue of sexual identity and self-acceptance. A cover of KISS's "Black Diamond" stays pretty true to the original, while giving it a bit of a punk-make-over. Perhaps the most earnest song on the album "Unsatisfied" articulates the frustration one feels with the emptiness of an unfulfilled life. A poke at MTV, the mostly instrumental "Seen Your Video" shows the band cut loose and just rock out. Bob Stinson shows his fee-wheeling skills over this catchy little ditty. The humorous "Gary's Got a Boner" is somewhat like "Tommy gets his tonsils out" and is somewhat reminiscent of Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever." A morose plight detailing teenage angst, "Sixteen Blue" is gentle and bittersweet, yet rough-around-the-edges. The almost exclusively guitar closing track "Answering Machine," while very sparse and stripped down, is quite effective. The song's theme, longing frustration, sums up the premise of the album in a nutshell and makes for the perfect closing number.

Released over twenty years ago, "Let it Be" has aged quite well. It sounds as good and as poignant today as it did in 1984. The themes of "Let it Be" are timeless. As long as there are humans on the Earth, people will long for companionship and meaning and be unhappy with their life. Bands like Green Day, the Offspring, and countless others owe a lot to the Replacements.

How this band seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle of 80's rock and roll I don't know. It was the Replacements, along with Husker Du and REM, that kept the late 70's-early 80's punk spirit alive until Nirvana forced it down all of our throats again in the 90's. And this was their best album. Clocking in at under 40 minutes, the Mats blitz through 11 songs ranging from pop-rock ("I Will Dare", "Favorite Thing") to punk ("We're Comin' Out") to ballads ("Unsatisfied", "Sixteen Blue"). Perhaps the most redeeming quality of Let It Be is its healthy sense of humor. A straight up cover of Kiss - "Black Diamond" is one of the album's finer moments. Thrashing guitar carries "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" and "Gary's Got a Boner", easily the most fun songs on the album. Paul Westerberg solidifies himself as one of the best songwriters of his generation - both for his tongue-in-cheek pop songs and the inciteful ballads. Lyrics don't have to be deep or metaphoric, just honest. This is probably one of the 10 best rock albums ever made, and easily one of the most underrated. The Replacements are a band that every rock fan should discover.

I just finished listening to Let it Be about three minutes ago and decided I needed to write this review and let everyone know how great of an album this is.

The Replacements were one of the most inspired and ambitious rock bands ever. All of the songs on Let it Be are diverse, emotional, rocking, and catchy. There are 11 songs total, and all of them are perfect. Period.

The album starts with "I will dare", a very swingy, bouncy, and catchy rocker that features a nice guitar solo by none other than REM's Peter Buck. The next song, "Favorite Thing" continues in the same vain as "I will dare" and is another catchy, pop-rock gem. Just when you're about to say to yourself, "oh, this is going to be an album full of nice, catchy pop-rock songs," the next track, "We're comin' out" hits you like a brick. This is a hardcore punk song that wouldn't sound too out of place on a Minor Threat record...oh yeah, except for the jazz breakdown in the middle. The Replacements like to do stuff like that. After "We're comin' out" is another fast, snotty punk song called "Tommy gets hit tonsils out", which seems to be about an evil dentist...or something. After hearing this song, you may think to yourself, "oh, ok, I get their gimmick now. The Replacements are pretty much a punk band who can do both hardcore and poppier punk," but then you're hit with "Androgynous", a song unlike any of the first four. This one features only a piano, sandblocks, and Paul Westerburg's impassioned vocals. This quieter, emotional performance is followed by, of all things, a KISS cover (see why I love the Replacements now?). They cover the song "Black Diamond" and make it much better than the original.

You get the idea, right? I don't need to explain the songs anymore. The only album I can really compare Let it Be to would be the Clash's London Calling. The Replacements are an amazing band that makes catchy, emotional, inspired, unpretentious rock and are for any fan of alternative (Husker Du, Minutemen, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana) or punk rock (Ramones, Clash, Buzzcocks, Descendents). I give this album my highest recommendation.

Living in a small town in Florida I did not get much of a chance to hear much alternative music. I had got to love the Ramones, Clash, U2 and other better known bands and was looking to hear something new. While visiting relatives in Philedelphia I bought this cd on the reccomendation of the clerk in the summer of 89. I fell in love with first listen. Over the years I have bought all of the Mats albumns but I still consider this my favorite. This is the perfect cd for someone not that familar with the replacements to get. It is the middle ground for them as artist. Not as raw as their earlier recordings and not as produced as the later stuff.

The first of the Replacements' perfect triology of post-adolescent angst backed by some of the fiercest, freshest and most potent rock (even on the ballads) since the Stones' 68-72 heyday. Acoustic, electric, full band, solo, fuzzbomb guitars, even "Chopsticks"-level piano ("Androgynous"), a little jazz and R.E.M.'s Pete Buck on mandolin...Paul Westerberg may have been drunk, but he certainly wasn't wasted, or even jaded, when he lay down these 11 tracks with his pout-scout troop of Minneapolis misfits.

In an alternate alternative universe, this was "Nevermind," every song a hit, everything that followed stepping carefully in its sneakerprints. Audacious enough to be named after a Beatles album (naturally, the one that everyone hates) and pledge allegiance to Kiss ("Black Diamond" is the only cover on an official Placemats record, rather remarkable given their tendency to maul everything from Abba to ZZ Top in concert), "Let It Be" is ground zero, the tipping point and "Please Please Me" for college-rock, emo, grunge, pop-punk, alt.country, Americana, and every single note ever played by Wilco, the Goo Goo Dolls and especially Ryan Adams, among other flailing idolizers who got their degrees from Westerberg High, just like Veronica and her friends in "Heathers."

Sure, "Tim" and "Pleased To Meet Me" are equally essential, as is "Color Me Impressed" and "Beyond Your Reach" from "Hootenanny" and "I'll Be You" from "Don't Tell A Soul" (their second most perfect song after this set's "Unsatisfied"), but if you only want to own one Replacements' album, this is it, from the call-to-skinny-arms of "I Will Dare" and "We're Comin' Out" to the primal scream of "Answering Machine" that was too powerful for the band to compete, so they let Paul sing it appropriately alone, from the goofball giddiness of "Tommy Got His Tonsils Out" (now there's a rockstar medical condition only Britney or Hanson could appreciate) and "Gary's Got A Boner" (ibid) to the keening wistfulteria of "Sixteen Blue," "Let It Be" proves that four guys in a garage can create great art that doesn't sound anything like a typical retroweenie garage band (note to Strokes, Hives, Vines and White Stripes: Austin Powers is not an ideal role model).

Wish it included a few bonus tracks, like maybe the Alex Chilton-produced demos for "Tim" that featured a speedmetal take of "Kiss Me On The Bus," acoustic and electric versions of "Can't Hardly Wait" and the unfairly neglected "Nowhere Is My Home," but there's something to be said for getting it so right the first time and, er, letting it be.

One of the greatest albums of all time. Not a single dull moment (yes both "Gary" and "Tommy" ROCK! so don't you dare call them immature). And Paul Westerberg's writing is at his all time high here with not one but THREE of the greatest ballads ever ("Sixteen Blue", "Answering Machine" and "Unsatisfied", which I guess is more of a rock song than a ballad, but can't a guy generalize? ). Oh and another really cool part: The Mats become probably the only band in history to successfully merge jazz and punk: RIGHT in the middle of the ragefest "We're Comin' Out" they all of a sudden slow down and then this really swingly piano part comes in and everyone snaps their fingers! It's a swing section that's played PERFECTLY straight. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW COOL THAT IS! Then it starts speeding up again and the guitars start thrashing all over the place with Paul screaming "We're Coming OOUUUUUTTTTTT! " A great album. Easily in the top three for albums of the 80s (along with Murmur and Paul's Boutique). Buy it today!

In 1984, I went to a small but superb record shop on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin, looking for some new records. I came away with three, arguably the best three-disc haul in my life. The three were ZEN ARCADE by Husker Du, WILL THE WOLF SURVIVE? by Los Lobos, and LET IT BE by The Replacements. Three stunning records, all from 1984, one of the single greatest years for music that I can remember.

I have been stunned over and over at how many serious music fans in their early twenties have never heard of the Mats. In my lifetime, I have never witnessed a major group fall from public awareness as quickly as did the Replacements when they broke up in Chicago on the Fourth of July, 1991 in Grant Park at a free WXRT show. If I remember correctly, after playing for about a half hour, members of the band started snapping at each other, and eventually Westerberg threw up his hands and stalked off the stage. And the Replacements were history. I had seen them the previous February at the Avalon, at a combined show for several of the local universities, including the University of Chicago, where I was in grad school at the time. The old saying about the Replacements, that they were both the world's worst and the world's best rock band, depending on which night you saw them, was brutally true that night: if there was a better rock band in the world than the Replacements were that night, I would love to hear them. I talked to a rock reviewer later who said he had heard the Replacements nearly 20 times, and had never seen them better.

Yet, as good as the Replacements were, so many people have forgotten them. I recently wanted to get TIM, and went to one of Chicago's largest record stores, and asked a clerk who I know is pretty knowledgeable about contemporary music if they could get it quickly, he replied that he wasn't familiar with the band. Looking at the online database, he saw Paul Westerberg's name and said, "Oh, did Paul Westerberg play with the Replacements?"

Nirvana made Alternative pop, but if I were asked to select one album as the definitive alternative album, this would be it. The music was still fresh, snotty, brash, and brash. The sounds are bold, reek of attitude, and nonetheless manage to be remarkably accessible. There are almost gimmicky songs like "Answering Machine" and "Androgyny," and youth anthems like "I Will Dare" and, my favorite song on the album, "Unsatisfied." This is simply a great album, and one that everyone who loves rock needs to own. And it should be absolutely mandatory to anyone who likes Paul Westerberg but didn't know he was in the Replacements. Friends, this--and not his post-Mat output--is his real achievement.

I remember when i first discovered the replacements, That was the day my tastes in music changed forever. It was also the day i was inspired to try and start my own band. Now compared to many who love the replacements i may be youngtoday i'm only 19, but they have had an effect on everything in my life. I was digging through my dads cd collection when i found 'Let It Be'. It was such a great album. The songs are catchy, much more so than earlier Replacements albums, but they're also raw. This album contains every form of alternative rock one can imagine. If you dont already own this go and buy it. You should, it will be the best money you ever spent.

If you're new to this band, you might be wondering about the fuss. Maybe you'll get this CD and not really think it's the greatest. "I guess you had to be there". It's one of those things, where you have progress and change, and this band, maybe this record, influenced all the alternative bands in the mid 90's, so, they might have done it a little better, or a little tighter, so, Let It Be comes off as a little uneven or loose. Back then, though, there weren't too many bands that would put out ballads and rockers like The Replacements. You're a teenager or 20 or so, and you've raised yourself on hardcore or punk or hippy music, and you're not that into the pop or Rush or whatever, and somewhere deep down, you still want to hear something quieter but something you can relate to. So this record enters your life, and you realize that you're not the only smart screw-up in the world who likes sappy stuff. PW's lyrics are subtle, and he's a limnal genius. He talks about the big thing, but in small ways, so you don't feel like your getting a sermon from some artist. I guess you had to be there.