Let It Be vs. Tim: What’s The Replacements’ Best Album?
The post Let It Be vs. Tim: What’s The Replacements’ Best Album? appeared first on Consequence of Sound.
This feature originally ran in October 2015. We’re reposting it for the 35th anniversary of Let It Be.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Art is subjective. Music and movies aren’t about competition; they’re about artistic expression. Well, for those of you who know better than to believe those lies, welcome to another installment of Vs. This time, Ryan Bray and Collin Brennan debate over The Replacements’ two most iconic albums.
The Replacements’ career trajectory spanned 12 years and seven records, but the sizable bulk of their legend is couched in one pivotal year-long stretch in the mid-’80s. October 1984 saw the release of Let It Be, the arrival of The Replacements as fans still lovingly remember them today; wayward, wreckless, funny, and utterly human. The Minneapolis band followed up the album a year later to the month with Tim, a logical extension of the brash rock ‘n’ roll and heart-on-sleeve balladry showcased on its predecessor.
Thirty-five years later, the argument still persists between Replacements obsessives who favor one record versus the other, and for good reason. The parity between Let It Be and Tim is so strong that it almost begs you to take the former record’s advice. Why split hairs between “I Will Dare” and “Bastards of Young?” Is there really any quantifiable way of proving that “Answering Machine” is a superior song to “Here Comes A Regular?” It’s about as close to a push as you’ll find between any two records in the alternative rock cannon.
My colleague Collin Brennan is an unapologetic Tim supporter, while I favor that critical transitional period highlighted on Let It Be. But being the suckers that we are for a good musical debate, we thought we’d roll up our sleeves and dive into the issue headfirst, weighing the pros and cons of each record track by track. It was every bit the emotional train wreck you’d imagine it to be, but hey, nothing a case of beer couldn’t fix.
–Ryan Bray
Senior Writer
Track 1
“I Will Dare” vs. “Hold My Life”
Ryan Bray: “Hold My Life”, you were a formidable opponent. But did you really think you’d slip past “I Will Dare”? Don’t take offense, there’s few tracks in the Replacements’ catalog that can best it. Track one of Let It Be pretty much lays the blueprint for what we still understand the band to be more than 30 years later. It’s jangle pop, college rock, pre-alternative, and couched in the kind of 20-something distress that’s long made the band coming-of-age musical heroes. Plus it’s got Peter Buck playing on a fucking mandolin.
Collin Brennan: I’m taking the side of Tim in this general discussion, so our first matchup puts me at a pretty immediate disadvantage. “I Will Dare” is that rare song that shows every side of the Replacements at once. It’s a love song that’s either sinister or goofy depending on the mood you’re in. If you’re trying to explain the phrase “college rock” to an alien and you have just over three minutes to do it, you could do a lot worse than these three minutes.
Winner: Let It Be
Let It Be vs. Tim: What’s The Replacements’ Best Album?
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