Monday, October 09, 2006

Hootenanny (1983)

"Take Me Down to the Hospital" Glory days, glory days. Except for "Johnny's Gonna Die" I never much cottoned to the debut, and Stink was for the laughs. But this is where the legend of the Replacements locked down: the sound of a band furiously trying to escape collapse, the collapse itself at some of the shows, the brilliant nights, the many and various excesses, sets of some or all spontaneous covers, Bob Stinson in a dress, Tommy Stinson the perennial Boy Wonder, and the whispers and hints of Paul Westerberg, said to be one of the Great Ones. The only thing left was the watchful wait for fame.

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2 comments:

  1. Your words ran into a pole with me...

    Stink is great, and Sorry Ma is just as wonderful. Yes, both albums were reflections of their punk upbringing, predecessors in which whom they surpassed in their early efforts, and, both albums were made before they found any sense of the word "pop," but these two earlier works need to remain recognized as triumphs. I just wanted to note the brilliance, energy, and beautiful rough edges of their earlier works. They can't be disregarded. Pop started with Hootenanny, which I also love. You've got a nice blog going here, thanks.

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  2. Thanks Chris :-) No offense intended. I enjoyed Stink a lot, played it every day all that summer it came out.

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