Two albums into their major-label contract and the Replacements had yet to have a hit -- they racked up some respectable sales but they were still a cult college band, never coming close to the Top Ten success R.E.M. had with Document.
This lack of hits certainly weighed heavily on the band's label, which exerted a slightly heavier pressure than the chorus of fans and critics lamenting the group's lack of success, but all of this pressure from supporters and suits led the band to place a big bet on Don't Tell a Soul, a highly lacquered dilution of the 'Mats that is as misguided a crossover attempt as can be imagined.
Matt Wallace's enormous, bottomless production -- as fathomless and dull as a muddy lake -- is merely a symptom of the illness that infected the Replacements during the making of Don't Tell a Soul, an illness that left the bandmembers with little sense of themselves.
Blame for this can't be placed on the shoulders of Slim Dunlap, a Minneapolis rock fixture belatedly replacing Bob Stinson almost four years after his departure, as the guitarist is an easy, comfortable fit, lending nice country grace notes to ballads and goosing rockers with understated leads.
So, does the blame for Don't Tell a Soul lay at the feet of Paul Westerberg? In part, yes, but not because the lead Replacement comes up with a set of substandard songs.
Yes, a couple of his worse numbers are here -- none more egregious than the bewildering ham-fisted funk of "Asking Me Lies," and the muddled anthem "We'll Inherit the Earth" isn't far behind -- but so are a couple of his finest, including the lovely "Achin' to Be," the haunted "Rock 'n' Roll Ghost," the sweetly self-mythologizing "Talent Show," and "I'll Be You," whose urgency masks its melancholy.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talent ShowPaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Back to BackPaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | We'll Inherit the EarthPaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Achin' to BePaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | They're BlindPaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 04:32 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Anywhere's Better Than HerePaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Asking Me LiesPaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | I'll Be YouPaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | I Won'tPaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 02:37 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Rock 'n' Roll GhostPaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Darlin' OneThe Replacements | The Replacements | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 38 mins | 88 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Akre | Engineer |
| 2 | Michael Bosley | Assistant Engineer, Engineer |
| 3 | Kim Champagne | Art Direction |
| 4 | Kyle Davis | Production Assistant |
| 5 | Peter Doell | Assistant Engineer, Engineer |
| 6 | Heidi Hanschu | Assistant Engineer |
| 7 | John Beverly Jones | Engineer |
| 8 | Chris Lord-Alge | Mixing |
| 9 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 10 | Pat McDougal | Assistant Engineer |
| 11 | The Replacements | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 12 | Skip Sailor | Mixing |
| 13 | David Seltzer | Photography |
| 14 | Matt Wallace | Engineer, Producer |
| 15 | Paul Westerberg | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |