0319. The Replacements
Let It Be

After playing support on R.E.M:s Murmur-tour The Replacements were not only almost breaking up, they were also tired of the fast and furious punk they'd played up till then (which also didn't seem to entice the R.E.M.-fans either). Said and done - they recruited R.E.M:s Peter Buck to play on a song or so and almost got the whole thing produced by him too, and then you might wonder if they'd got so fed up with their previous sound that they just were aiming at copying a more commercially successful act.

But no. The resulting album, Let It Be, is similar to R.E.M. in that same way that a freight train is similar to a hummingbird - they both move, but that's about it.
This is rock, punk, ballads and more played by a punk band taking the punk approach: doing what the hell they like and doing it good.

One of the most striking things about this album is the LBGTQ-type lyrics that pop up here and there (Androgynous and Sixteen Blue) and while they might not always hit the mark it's helluva step up from a lot of the homophobic stuff that got airtime in the eighties.