Let It Be looms large among '80s rock albums, generally regarded as one of the greatest records of the decade.
So large is its legend and so universal its acclaim that all the praise tends to give the impression that the Replacements' fourth album was designed as a major statement, intended to be something important when its genius, like so many things involving the 'Mats, feels accidental.
Compared to other underground landmarks from 1984, Let It Be feels small scale, as it lacks the grand, sprawling ambition of the Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime or the dramatic intensity of Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade, or if the other side of the Atlantic is taken into equation, the clean sense of purpose of The Smiths.
Nothing about Let It Be is clean; it's all a ragged mess, careening wildly from dirty jokes to wounded ballads, from utter throwaways to songs haunting in their power.
Unlike other classics, Let It Be needs those throwaways -- that Kiss cover, those songs about Tommy getting his tonsils out and Gary's boner, that rant about phony rock & roll -- to lighten the mood and give the album its breathless pacing, but also because without these asides, the album wouldn't be true to the Replacements, who never separated high and low culture, who celebrated pure junk and reluctantly bared their soul.
This blend of bluster and vulnerability is why the Replacements were perhaps the most beloved band of their era, as they captured all the chaos and confusion of coming of age in the midst of Reaganomics, and Let It Be is nothing if not a coming-of-age album, perched precisely between adolescence and adulthood.
There's just enough angst and tastelessness to have the album speak to teenagers of all generations and just enough complicated emotion to make this music resonate with listeners long past those awkward years, whether they grew up with this album or not.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Will DarePaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 03:18 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Favorite ThingChris Mars, Bob Stinson, Tommy Stinson, Paul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 02:19 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | We're Comin' OutChris Mars, Bob Stinson, Tommy Stinson, Paul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 02:21 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Tommy Gets His Tonsils OutChris Mars, Bob Stinson, Tommy Stinson, Paul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 01:53 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | AndrogynousPaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Black DiamondPaul Stanley | The Replacements | Play | 02:40 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | UnsatisfiedPaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Seen Your VideoPaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Gary's Got a BonerChris Mars, Ted Nugent, Bob Stinson, Tommy Stinson, Paul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 02:28 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Sixteen BluePaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Answering MachinePaul Westerberg | The Replacements | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 33 mins | 76 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bruce Allen | Cover Design |
| 2 | Peter Buck | Guest Artist, Guitar, Soloist |
| 3 | Dan Corrigan | Photography |
| 4 | Steven Fjelstad | Engineer, Producer |
| 5 | Irene Innes | Photography |
| 6 | Peter Jesperson | Producer |
| 7 | Chris Mars | Composer, Drums, Finger Snaps, Maracas, Tambourine |
| 8 | Ted Nugent | Composer |
| 9 | Chan Poling | Piano |
| 10 | The Replacements | Primary Artist |
| 11 | Paul Stanley | Composer |
| 12 | Bob Stinson | Composer, Guitar |
| 13 | Tommy Stinson | Bass, Composer, Finger Snaps, Vocal Harmony |
| 14 | Bill Sullivan | Photography |
| 15 | Howie Weinberg | Mastering |
| 16 | Paul Westerberg | Blocks, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (12 String), Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (12 String Electric), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar (Steel), Lap Steel Guitar, Mandolin, Percussion, Piano, Producer, Vocal Harmony, Vocals |
| 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. |