The Replacements – Pleased To Meet Me

Upon firing long-standing member Bob Stinson, The Replacements, now a trio, headed to Memphis to meet with Jim Dickinson at Ardent Studios, where Big Star had recorded their first three albums. Unaffectedly, Paul Westerberg's hero worship of Big Star led to the recruitment of Alex Chilton, who was by now using jazz musicians in his performances. Initially set to produce, Chilton felt that no matter how much Westerberg revered Big Star's first three records, the sound engendered by The 'Mats bared no resemblance to any of them. Despite Chilton not overseeing the recording sessions - that role went to the ready, willing and able Dickinson - "Pleased To Meet Me" was nevertheless tailor-made to meet his requirements, with his input pronounced on a firmly intentional token of Westerberg's esteem, "Alex Chilton", contributing greatly to the album's power pop foundations. It is the heaviest-sounding inversion of power pop you are ever likely to hear, which makes it all the more exquisite.

Dickinson's colourful arrangements further enhanced Westerberg and Tommy Stinson's improved musicianship and songwriting. Every song is amplified in some way, shape, or form. Tommy Stinson's bass (now upright, at the behest of Dickinson) is conspicuously audible, as evidenced on "Never Mind", and Westerberg's clashing guitar work is at its rocking best on "The Ledge" and "Alex Chilton", both of which immediately as being noticeably fuller in of sonic presence. Impressionably, Dickinson's effect on The 'Mats induced an earnestness in their demeanour, and they opted to take a deeper approach as lyricists and instrumentalists, albeit not at the expense of Westerberg's slacker stance, which informed the bitterness of "I.O.U.", luridness of "Shooting Dirty Pool", and the deadpan "I Don't Know". Dickinson's presence also inspired the band to forego their punk inclinations and puerility to a degree, and aided by his studio perceptivity, the combination of robust production and Westerberg's polemic cynicism somehow works. The band managed to condense their former coarseness to such an extent that it culminated in the genteel acoustic number "Skyway" and shimmering closer "Can't Hardly Wait," two of the band's most polished and lustrous efforts, made all the more affecting and heart-rending with the utilization of keyboards, harmonica, strings and horns. It was the consistent quality and embellishments that elevated the album's overall coherence, lyrical sharpness and divergent textures, but what did not work in their favour in of commercial viability was the subject matter of "The Ledge", a harrowing of suicide; releasing it as a single was ill-advised, and probably damaged the chart performance of the album. Nevertheless, it remains a welcome addition in the band's much-lauded discography, perhaps because of its lack of commercial success, not in spite of. It showcases the band at their most non-combative and accomplished, and the fact they ostensibly sought to achieve success with this album only to fail is particularly perplexing.

Such cultivation and respectability may be contrary to the spirit of the 'Mats, and whilst Dickinson's deft touch adds some grandness, fragility and depth into the mix necessary to their growth and development as a musical unit, Westerberg's refusal to entirely adhere to the saccharine lyricism and accessible immediacy of the pop formula keeps it from straying too far from their roots. It may have destroyed the band's chances at repeating the anthemic, angsty appeal of "Tim", but Stinson's departure enabled diversification and professionalism, altering many crucial aspects of the band's aesthetic for the better; the outcome of said instrumental expansion was an at once aggrandized and mellifluous beautification of their inelegant overtones. "Pleased To Meet Me" is the band's last great album -- refined, muscular, processed, with less emphasis on recklessness and rawness, it boasts as many merits as its predecessors. In exploring new musical territories, incorporating layers of varied instrumentation within their compositions, the band unquestionably embraced the formerly underlying pop sensibilities within their framework, generating a set of consistently catchy and, for the most part, sophisticated songs that rank among their very best.

Rating: 4.5/5