Great and ever more influential '80s American rockers the Replacements have just announced the release of an unearthed 1986 live recording as their first live LP since their cassette-only 1985 LP The Shit Hits the Fans. The 29-track For Sale: Live at Maxwell's 1986 is out October 6 and features one of the final Replacements performances with the group's "classic" lineup of frontman Paul Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, bassist Tommy Stinson (who later joined Guns N ’Roses) and drummer Chris Mars.
The Replacements came out of Minneapolis at the tail end of punk. Their ramshackle approach mixed classic '60s/'70s rock’n’roll roots with drunken abandon and a refined trash aesthetic that saw them covering the likes of Kiss well before Kiss became ‘cool’. They helped boost the credibility of ‘70s cult Memphis power poppers Big Star no end with their ’86 track “Alex Chilton” and inspired subsequent generations of artists including the likes of Afghan Whigs, Green Day, Wilco and The Gaslight Anthem with their heart-on-sleeve passion and brilliantly melodic songwriting.
In Australia, You Am I and Tim Rogers were and are HUGE fans, and you can hear the influence of Paul Westerberg in Tim’s songs. In fact, when the Replacements’ reformation tour of 2015 hit the UK and someone thought Tim and the boys would be perfect openers, You Am I flew themselves over just to be part of it.
The forthcoming live album includes classic Replacements songs like "Can’t Hardly Wait”, “Answering Machine”, "I Will Dare" and "Favorite Thing", covers of songs like Kiss' "Black Diamond", T. Rex's "Baby Strange" Sweet's "Fox on the Run" and the Beatles' "Nowhere Man" and early fan faves like "Johnny's Gonna Die" and "Takin' a Ride".
Replacement fans should note they can stream the band’s entire catalog, including a couple of advance tracks from the new live album, on Spotify, here.
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-DL
