The Replacements

Part of the Replacements' appeal always was that they didn't quite fit into any tidy category and nowhere was that truer than on their 1981 debut, Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash. Falling over themselves to fit into the Minneapolis hardcore scene, the 'Mats played fast and loose, which was part of the problem they were too loose, lacking the discipline to fit within hardcore, which even in '81 was adhering to the loud-fast rules that would later morph into straight-edge. Then again, that was a common problem in the Twin Cities, as Hüsker Dü also were too big and blustery to be a standard hardcore band, but where the Huskers traded in violence and fury at this early stage, the Replacements wallowed in cheap thrills.

This expanded Let It Bleed edition of the Replacements' fourth studio album Tim—the final with their full, original lineup—is a marvelous, absolutely necessary corrective to the muddled-sounding original release from 1985.

The Replacements’ 1981 Twin/Tone Records debut, Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash, heralded the Minneapolis-based band’s competing tendencies toward indelible genius and reckless abandon. With now classic songs including 'Takin' A Ride,' 'Shiftless When Idle,' 'Customer' and 'Johnny's Gonna Die,' the 'Mats' legendary founding line-up of lead singer/songwriter and guitarist Paul Westerberg, Chris Mars (drums) and brothers Bob and Tommy Stinson (lead guitar and bass, respectively) unleashed a shambling, dynamic sound.

Two albums into their major-label contract and the Replacements had yet to have a hit they racked up some respectable sales but they were still a cult college band, never coming close to the Top Ten success R.E.M. had with Document. This lack of hits certainly weighed heavily on the band's label, which exerted a slightly heavier pressure than the chorus of fans and critics lamenting the group's lack of success, but all of this pressure from supporters and suits led the band to place a big bet on Don't Tell a Soul, a highly lacquered dilution of the 'Mats that is as misguided a crossover attempt as can be imagined.

First in a series of authorized double live Replacements LPs to be released! This one captures the band at their reunion show (after a 22 year absence) at Toronto's Riot Fest in 2013, before nearly 10,000 fans.