musicinsight's Full Review: Don't Tell a Soul by The Replacements
Long ago, alternative music lived up to its name. It was vibrant, loud and thumbed its nose at the abysmal pop music of the day. You could find alternative music on college radio, and on a very few commercial stations that barely stayed in business. After all, you can't get rich playing music made for and by outsiders...
The Replacements hit their stride during the latter half of the 80s, and their career essentially mirrored the state of Alternative music. They came on strong, with a noisy wall-of-sound that enveloped a core of muscular pop songwriting. They were signed by a major label, labeled as sellouts by the cool crowd, and eventually rotted from within and imploded. The band was legendary for their erratic behaviour. One night you might see them play a brilliant set of powerfully original rock, and the next appearance could easily feature a band too drunk to play their instruments, bashing out covers of "Iron Man", "Radio Free Europe" until their drummer passed out and then asking that age-old question: "Is there a drummer in the house?" Of course their (self-)destructive ways were tolerated by their label to a point... Then they released Don't Tell A Soul. It's a very good album, but lacks a bit of their old-time nihilism.
The album has a strong opening with "Talent Show", an ode to the joy of showing off your newly formed band. While it starts with voice and acoustic guitar, it eventually turns into a rocker, with a set of witty-yet-nostalgic lyrics: "Well we got our guitars
And we got our thumb-picks
And we go on
After some lip-sync chicks
...
Well it's the biggest thing
In my life, I guess
Look at us all
We're nervous wrecks
Hey, we go on next!"
"Achin' To Be" describes the girlfriend that all the male Replacements fans wish they had. It has an loose, easy, country feel and terrific lyrics: "And she's kinda like a movie
That everyone rushes to see
And no-one understands it
Sitting in their seats
She opens her mouth to speak and
What comes out's a mystery
Thought about, not understood
She's achin' to be"
The closest thing to a hit from Don't Tell A Soul was "I'll Be You", which is about boredom and rebellion and features a guitar part that's perfectly sloppy. The lyrics are a play-by-play of life as a teenager: "Left a rebel without a clue
Won't you tell me what I should do
Oh if it's just a lull
Why am I bored right out of my skull?
It's been ages since I've listened to this album from start to finish and I'm definitely surprised by how well it holds up after 11 years. The Replacements started as a gang of drunken goofs, blessed with songwriting genius and playing at breakneck speed. By the time they released "Don't Tell A Soul", they had gathered the courage to back off on the pace of their tunes and to vary their musical palette with acoustic guitar and synthesizers. Some cried "Sell-out!", but this album, while not the absolute best by the Replacements, still represents a solid effort with a lot of good songs and a few great ones, too.
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