Tim

Replacements

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1985
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sire / London/Rhino
• ASIN: B000002L8C
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,477 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
The middle title among the triad of seasoned-but-not-depleted mid-'80s Replacements albums, Tim isn't as inspired as its predecessor, Let It Be, nor as involving as its successor, Pleased to Meet Me. Still, it's the work of a wondrous foursome near the peak of its powers, and, as collections of songs go, it may be Paul Westerberg's crowning achievement. "Kiss Me on the Bus," "Swinging Party," and "Here Comes a Regular" pretty much set the standard for the sloppy-drunk college-rock romanticism of the '80s. "Bastards of Young," "Lay It Down Clown," and "Left of the Dial" proved that the hard-charging Midwesterners were still scamps at heart...or at least could still fake it. This is the last album made by the original quartet (the excesses that would lead to guitarist Bob Stinson's early death prompted his dismissal after Tim came out) and provides a key to understanding the appeal of an astonishing band that did everything right except figure out how to become stars. --Steven Stolder

Product Description
US LP 180-gram vinyl pressing. Rhino. 2008. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "There are some who call me 'Tim'...", April 14, 2004

By	Wheelchair Assassin (The Great Concavity) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

It may have a rather modest title, but "Tim" is one monster of an album, easily deserving of the considerable praise it's earned over the years since its release. Led by the impassioned howl of Paul Westerberg and the incendiary guitars of Bob Stinson, the Replacements here cranked out a memorable collection of rousing anthems and brash rockers, with a few curveballs throw in just for good measure. Westerberg's lyrics told tales of hopes, dreams, fears, and disappointments in a way that just anyone can relate to, without pandering to the lowest common denominator like so many of the lousy "look at me; I'm so angst-ridden" alterna-lite bands crowding the airwaves nowadays. The result is a collection of stories that's alternately cocky, poignant, and upbeat, and always insightful. The album's finest cut, "Bastards of Young," a Springsteenesque tale of the struggles of the working class, especially deserves to be quoted at length:

"The ones that love us best
Are the ones we'll lay to rest
And visit their graves on holidays at best
And the ones that love us least
Are the ones we'll try to please
If it's any consolation, I don't begin to understand."

There are a few other classics to be found here as well. There's the twangy foot-stomper "I'll Buy;" the yearning "Kiss Me on the Bus;" the raucous "Dose of Thunder;" the swinging, ultra-catchy "Waitress in the Sky;" and the heart-rending domestic woe of "Little Mascara." And it's all topped off with "Here Comes a Regular," an acoustic ballad about the bonds between drinking buddies that somehow manages to be both depressing and uplifting at the same time. It takes a truly gifted composer to pull off such a song, but fortunately Westerberg is more than up to the task, as he more than amply proves on this album. Vocally, musically, and lyrically, "Tim" is a classic album that belongs in any good music collection. Period.

36 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back to the future, September 5, 2002

By	JBM (Puget Sound, WA USA) - See all my reviews

When this album came out in the fall of 1985, it was my salvation...When I heard songs like "Bastards of Young", "Hold My Life" or "Swingin' Party" they didn't just speak to me in a partial or approximate way ala Springsteen's working man Jersey girl salvos or Clash/Jam/Pistols Anglo angst on the dole. These songs were EXACTLY about who I was and how I felt at the time: young, American, white, lazy, smart, rebellious yet indifferent, passionate and yet displaced, enraged but sadly disappointed -- to quote an earlier classic "SO unsatisfied." Conservatives now like to claim the 80's as their prosperous bright sunny "Morning in America" time. Baloney, not from where I stood. This was the last great rock and roll record that I truly fell madly in love with on vinyl before the transition to digital came about and CDs and cassettes became my main modes of listening. And it saved me from the boredom and brutal disappointment of working a dead end minimum wage job after a childhood and young adulthood that held out promises that Reaganomics could not keep. And my God, what songs! Its for that reason that when I finally stood in line for an hur earlier this year to meet Paul Westerberg at a record store and shake his hand, all I could say was "Thanks" - what more can you say to those who saved your life from the impossible doldrums that would have been your complete, total and utter destiny otherwise? In these times of economic recession and a false security and promise held out by the current national leadership, this record may just be poised for a Second coming or rediscovery by a new generation of disenfranchised rock fans who can only laugh at what the legacy of classic rock has become -- legally scalped ... a ticket to see McCartney and the Stones this year on tour. Believe every word of praise you hear of this band and this record. It was a moment in time missed by many and never to be forgotten by those who shared it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute masterpiece, and I was there., November 7, 2005

By	Reuben I. Thaker MD MPH "RITMDMPH" (USA) - See all my reviews

Among Mats fans in Houston Tx, this was regarded as their crowning jewel by unanimous account! Recognizing its brilliance, feels like having seen Van Gogh for a genius before the world took notice, and then seeing the bandwagon begin.

Westerberg achieved high art when he expressed the sorrow and pain and joy of growing up, all at once. So complex for such simple songs here.

My favorite line of all time 'little girls keep growing up, playing makeup and wearing guitar'. Was that not growing up 'punk rock' before it became a shopping mall fad?

In the summer they played a show in Galveston, if 'played', =30 minutes of missed bar chords before PW crashed into the drum kit. Shows over punkers! Wow, what a privilege to experienced this moment in history, the beginning and end of American underground rock, and this their crowning jewel.

It is so good, any cool 15 year old can pick it up and instantly get why it is brilliant.

It is timeless, like any great work of art, music or otherwise.