Over the years the Replacements have gained an almost mythical status. Saviors of rock and roll in the eighties
they brought back a rawness and spontaneity to the music that felt nothing short of the second coming of the Rolling Stones (or maybe the Sex Pistols). Anyone that got to see them live back in the day has an anecdote to share from good to terrible that could be describing the same night. This was part of the charm of these lovable losers who refused to cater to expectations yet won fans over with an authenticity wrapped around a Miller draft. While Our Band Could Be Your Life scratched at the surface of the group, Bob Mehr’s new book Trouble Boys goes much more in depth with unprecedented access to the band and the people around them cutting straight to the heart of their story.
Part ticking time bomb and part visceral ride the book reads like an ushering into the group’s inner circle. This is everything you wanted to know about the band and perhaps a few things you didn’t. Bob Stinson, lead guitarist for the Replacements, cuts the most tragic figure; from his abusive childhood to starting the band that he’s eventually ousted from for his drug abuse and creative differences with Westerberg. A bipolar diagnosis given only weeks before his death simply comes too late, but helps contribute to a redemption of his image as a drunken clown. Elsewhere you’re given an inside view of their infamous SNL appearance, from Paul’s nerves “We just pretended we weren’t on camera.” to Bob’s obliviousness “I didn’t even know those three had switched clothes. I was in the bathroom getting high”. Throughout Mehr does a fantastic job steering clear of Westerberg idol worship, instead offering an unflinching glimpse that includes his forcing Bob to drink onstage after he’d recently come out of rehab.
Along with the gradual ascent of the band the pages are filled with the stuff fans thirst for from stories behind songs (“take me down to the hospital” was Paul’s bad reaction to some speed) to picking the famous Let it Be title (“The next song that comes on the radio, we’ll name it after that” said Westerberg). As the major labels come into the mix though, their personalities start to get more self destructive and the band starts to turn on each other. While there are still gleeful moments from this point on, like throwing their album masters in the Mississippi River, they’re never the tight knit group they once were with. Drug abuse is a big reason; Paul and Tommy’s excessive drug use graduates to speedballs by All Shook Down.
If anything can be taken away from the book it’s that the ‘mats were simply the right band at the wrong time. If Pleased To Meet Me was released in 1992 instead of ’87 there’s no doubt it would have been a hit. In addition it makes you take another look at their later records which aren’t nearly as terrible as the sellout cries that were shouted at them at the time suggested. It seems that success was just never in the cards for this band, but then again if it had been, would they still have been the Replacements?
In true 80’s fashion below is a mixtape of the ‘mats early influences from the obvious (Johnny Thunders) to the unexpected (who knew Bob Stinson was a huge Yes fan?)
