The Replacements – Let It Be (Deluxe Edition)

LET IT BE by The Replacements_Paul Westerberg, Bob Stinson, Tommy Stinson, and Chris Mars – originally released by highly revered indie label Twin/Tone Records, is widely hailed as one of the greatest albums of the 1980s and a cornerstone of indie rock. The DELUXE EDITION gathers a wide range of unreleased material from the LET IT BE sessions, including alternate versions of “Gary’s Got A Boner” and “Favorite Thing,” as well as previously unreleased outtakes “Who’s Gonna Take Us Alive” and “Street Girl.” The alternate version of “Androgynous” out today features a different vocal take and the full piano intro, restored for the first time. All five bonus tracks from 2008’s LET IT BE (EXPANDED EDITION) are included here, newly remastered for this set. The collection also includes GOODNIGHT! GO HOME!, an unreleased 28-song performance recorded in August 1984 at the Cubby Bear in Chicago. Sourced from an audience tape and newly remastered, it finds the Minneapolis quartet charging through material from the not-yet-released album (“I Will Dare” and “Unsatisfied”), early favorites (“Color Me Impressed” and “Takin’ A Ride”), and characteristically offbeat covers “Help Me Rhonda/Little G.T.O.” (originally done by The Beach Boys/Ronny & The Daytonas) and “Can’t Get Enough” (Bad Company). The Rhino exclusive bonus 10-inch vinyl Live at City Garden is a six-song soundboard recording made on February 11th at one of the band’s favorite punk clubs in Trenton, NJ. One highlight is a rare performance of the ballad “You’re Getting Married,” a birthday request from the band’s original manager and Twin/Tone co-founder Peter Jesperson. Westerberg altered the lyrics mid-song, delivering them to a punk crowd Jesperson feared “might eat him alive”_but didn’t. “In all of The Replacements’ lore,” he says, “I think this is one of the greatest moments ever.”