Customer Reviews
Better than average 80's college radio rock 
2008-06-30
At least the whole record doesn't sound like REM. I've just listened to this record for the first time in many years and I'm glad I didn't buy it (borrowed a friends copy). A lot of this music does not hold up for me at all. Songs like "Androgynous" and "Unsatisfied" were never my favorites but I find them completely unlistenable now. Westerberg seems to be trying WAAAYY to hard to be Springsteen or Petty. Those guys are bad enough (especially in the 80's), who would ever want to imitate them?
Back in 1984/85, you would put on a Replacments record to try and please everyone. The girls would talk about how "amaaazing" Paul is, the lame guys from the college radio station would talk about the "quality of the songs" and it would sort of rock enough to please the hardcore crew. Ultimately, I don't think anyone really liked these guys enough to get too excited one way or the other.
Anyways, if you're on this page chances are you have your own opinion and it's totally different than mine. If you've never heard this record, check it out. I prefer Sorry Ma and Stink and don't like anything after this one (you need a college degree to be cool enough to like them). But don't say I didn't warn you if you think it doesn't live up to the hype!
Check out Mighty High...In Drug City. You'll probably hate it, too!
The material demands a better reissue. Period. 
2008-06-03
I've been a fan of this band for a long time, so I was understandably looking forward to proper reissues/remasters for at least ten years. Let It Be may be their best sounding disk and most representative of the band's sound. However, aside from unearthed photos - which are poorly placed inside (with text on the photos?!?) - and better sound than earlier issues on compact disc this reissue simply isn't up to snuff.
And Rhino/Ryko are not to blame either. The band has acquired a certain legacy over time and simply deserves much better. First off the bonus track selection is very half-baked. Fans of the band are familiar with their outtakes by now. Let It Be's include "Who's Gonna Take Us Alive" (the best outtake of the bunch stupidly absent), the lyrically alternate version of "Gary's Got A Boner", "Street Girl" (a fine little ditty), the rocking "You Look Like An Adult" (the original version of "Seen Your Video") and a big whoops was the (new) mix of the alternate version of "Sixteen Blue". The same version (did) include Chan Polling of The Suburbs' grand piano through the entire song. A truly beautiful version, and they botched it! Why they included the same version WITHOUT the best part - or at very least a new interesting feature - of the song is simply poor on all counts.
Gina Arnold (author of the pretty decent 'Route 666: On the Road to Nirvana') wrote the liner notes. While sure, it may be sweet and cute for her to recount what it was like to be a Replacements fan twenty years ago (if that's the case for a filling up liner notes why don't a segment of us Replacements fans start sending in our of sweet stories for Tim now?) it doesn't make for definitive liner-notes writing. We still know as much about the album and there's nothing legitimate about why is it's included here in the first place. It has it's place - but not in the liner notes to one of the best albums the 1980's.
Why there was no input from any band member is certainly unfortunate and perhaps even telling. No first hand stories, memories, information of any kind from the band (aside from their ex-manager informing us that the bonus tracks...were outtakes...from the Let It Be sessions). Considering that these reissues have been in the works - or more accurately been touted as "to be released next year" for the past ten years or so - by the time they actually arrive and they don't have the bonus tracks that the fans would hope they'd include or simply expect, it's hard not to wonder what DID in fact take so long? Surely it wasn't the attention to detail. Having said ALL this, it should please a percentage of fans. I'm going to assume that casual fans (do the 'Mats even have casual fans?) of the band should be fine with this reissue.
It's issues (or reissues as it were) like this that prompt illegal trade of this great bands' music and that's not fair to the band or it's fans.
Oh yeah, and the classic iconic cover is now a few shades darker and cropped to boot!
Agree with Bill Wikstrom's review and... 
2008-06-02
"I Will Dare", "Unsatisfied" and "Answering Machine" have ALL BEEN EDITED!!!
Small, but significant edits have been made to the tracks. Which changes the identity of the track(s) and the album. "Answering Machine" the beginning has been chopped off. No more Paul count off over buzzing guitar. No more back round fumbling before the start of "I Will Dare", in turn the track sounds more confident (for a lack of a better word). The backround after "Androgynous" are not only edited but also now bleed over onto the front (beginning) of "Black Diamond". Which sounds like a careless post-production boo-boo. But being intimately familiar with this album, it now sounds like it's someone else's album.
For something so well-established, it just seems pretty foolish for a revisionist history lesson as far as ANY editing of the original album tracks.
Glaring omissions aside ("Who's Gonna Take Us Alive", "Street Girl", "Sixteen Blue" - without Chan Polling's piano on the entire track (!!) which also had a very nice guitar feedback ending courtesy of Bob - now gone (as if it was never even there). And simply uninteresting, very uninforming and self-indulgent liner notes. The purchase is fine for the photos (with staples in the middle of frames) and beefier sound. Otherwise, it's just a bad re-issue which is unfortunate as it's been in the works (the idea of a reissue at very least) for a while now.
Will there be a box set forthcoming for all of the ommisions?
Replace Your "Replacements" 
2008-05-28
No band from the glory days of punk/alt rock expressed their angst through music better than The Replacements. Well, maybe the Sex Pistols, but really, who could listen to that sober? The Replacements were on the other hand gifted with the incredible talents of both Tommy Stinson and Paul Westerberg - who were probably as close to Lennon and McCartney in raw talent as rock has seen since the Beatles started suing each other.
"Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash", "Stink", "Hootenanny" and "Let It Be" have all been remastered and reissued through Rhino Records with bonus material included. Most critics have proclaimed "Let It Be" their masterpiece - but I'm still holding out for "Don't Tell A Soul" as their best work. Regardless, no CD deserves a return listen - or first time buy - more than "Let It Be." From the opening notes of "I Will Dare" you will know that you're in for a musical ride unlike the best efforts of many a band since.
Speaking of which, I'm still a bit peeved at an editorial from "Paste" magazine a couple of months ago that basically blasted us older listeners for complaining about the lack of quality new music. I meant to send a letter to the editor, but I think that was the week my car exploded, my dog died, and my girlfriend fell in love with a folk singer - I forget. But my point was, while I appreciate folks wanting music from "their" era to be more special, and more meaningful than that of generations proceeding them - I triple dare you to play one of today's top tier artists - say Death Cab For Cutie - whom I find immensely enjoyable to listen to, but at the same time instantly forgettable - in say, 30 years, and find anything of real value in it. Compare that to Led Zeppelin II or Abbey Road - both which came out over 40 years ago - and both still make anything being released today sound like garage band music. Sorry, but the truth does hurt sometimes!
Underground classic. 2008-05-17
So yeah, this is an album eveyone should own. If you don't have it already, then get this reissue. The bonus tracks are interesting from an historical standpoint and the liner notes are light but informative. I pretty much agree with everyone else that if you already own the previous remastered version, then you don't really need to run out and buy this just for the bonus tracks. This is a good initiation for new fans.
Let It Be 2008-05-12
The Replacements-Let It Be *****
The first time I listened to Let It Be by The Replacements the first thing that ran through my mind was "Kurt Cobain is the biggest fraud I have ever heard in my life!" Now every time I hear Cobain all I can think is that he was just ripping off Paul Westerberg.
But back to the album. This was my first introduction to The Replacements. It came along at the perfect time. I was seventeen when I first heard it and I really felt a connection with everyone of the songs, which I am sure is what a lot of people say. I now own all the bands albums. From `I Will Dare' which features a guest spot from the great Peter Buck from R.E.M. through `Favorite Thing' which is easily one of the greatest punk songs of all time as well as just one of the greatest songs of any genre. The angst of `We're Coming Out' which boasts the classic lines "One more chance to get it all wrong," to the humor of `Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out' something the band was known for. I assume the song is about bassist Tommy Stinson having his tonsils removed, being as he was only about seventeen or so when this album was released. `Androgynous' is pure Westerberg, pure poetry with a slice of humor thrown in for good measure. `Black Diamond' which seems like the most obscure of covers for a band like The Replacements being as it is a Kiss song, but for those who know anything about the band realize it fits perfectly, and in fact The Replacements do it much better then the original. `Unsatisfied' more or less describes Westerberg's permanent state of mind. `Seen Your Video' really is a song that everyone can relate to when bands they love become to big for their original fan base. `Gary's Got A Boner' is pure punk. Great lead guitar work from the great Bob Stinson, and excellent drumming from Christopher Mars. Great fun. `Sixteen Blue' is more or less Sixteen Candles put to music, and really a song everyone in their mid-teens should be required to here. `Answering Machine' ends the album with perhaps the indie anthem to end all indie anthems. It may be the most tortured love song of all time, and ends the album like no song ends any other album.
Let It Be is one of those albums that should be in everyone's music collection. It is easily one of the greatest and most important albums of all time and should be required listening, even over such albums as Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon.
Let It Be 2008-05-02
It's a shame that "Let It Be" is getting anything less than 4 stars. I don't think this is the place to air grievances against the record industry. Whether or not this reissue is a rip-off, that doesn't make the album any less great. So I'm giving it 5 stars to even out the ratings here, but the reissue probably deserves about 3.
That being said, I wouldn't bother buying this re-release if you already have the 2002 Restless reissue, but it is worth updating if you still have the original TwinTone CD.
The liner notes represent the worst kind of musical nostlagia, complete fluff. I found the bonus tracks rather underwhelming and they really don't add anything at all. "20th Century Boy" is a rather tired performance, lacking the energy of the original and probably of the Mats' own live versions. The sole new original song among the bonus tracks, "Perfectly Lethal" boasts a few good lines, but was left off the album for good reason. "Temptation Eyes" and "Heartbeat - It's a Lovebeat" are solid covers but hardly required listening. And the two alternate versions of "Sixteen Blue" and "Answering Machine" add nothing.
The real problem with reissues like this (when the bonus material kind of stinks) is that now you can never just listen to the whole album by itself, but the bonus tracks will always come on after "Answering Machine" if you just let the disc play. So it is probably smarter to stick to the 2002 reissue.
Like the 'Mats themselves, a mixed bag 2008-04-30
For those of us hoping that the Ryko/Rhino would give the Replacements the same treatment they gave Elvis Costello, LET IT BE and their other reissues are something of a disappointment.
The sound is great, no question. But there are two main shortcomings. One of which has rightly been noted already: there is too much wasted room on these discs. With all the boots extant from throughout the 'Mats career, there is a literal goldmine of material out there that could have been included to get these timings closer to 80 minutes -- and, more importantly, give a more complete picture of what the Replacements were all about. Without some chunk of concurrent live material, there is something important missing. For those of us lucky to have seen the band live over the years, that void is all the more glaring.
Second, the liner notes are mediocre to downright bad. There are some great bits from Peter Jesperson. The LIB essay is a navel-staring disaster. How anyone could have let that stand as a "tribute" to one of the greatest albums in rock history is beyond me. Again, unlike the gold standard that both Ryko and certainly Rhino had set with their reissues of Costello's work, there is absolutely no input from the artists themselves. No words/thoughts/remembrances from Paul, Tommy, or Chris. And maybe this was their choice. But it certainly makes for a less-than-definitive reissue of this work.
The music does sound great. Bottom line. And I don't mind paying a little more for a great repackaging of important music -- and both Ryko and Rhino have done this very well in the past. Unfortunately, this effort doesn't live up to that same standard.
Too Bad for the whiners... 5 Stars 2008-04-27
Too bad for everyone that complains about the price. Purchase it from amazon and you won't have to pay
18 bucks or whatever you paid. This is a great CD. Remastered so we can enjoy the music the way it was suppose to be.
Great album. Terrible price 2008-04-27
Remember when CD's were coming out for the first time and the mafia, oops recording "industry" trumpeted the price drops that would occur because CD's were soooo much cheaper to produce than vinyl? Problem is they kept price fixing like they always have done and prices actually went up. Remember Best Buy's 11.99 CD's? The "industry" got a hold of them and threatened to pull all of their POP (point of purchase) materials if they didn't price fix like they wanted them to. No posters, no displays, etc. The "industry" payed a fine for price fixing, which was like me paying a days wages. These guys are finally getting their payback with stock prices in the tank, and a consumer that wont take what they're shoveling. All they do these days is redo old product to keep their cash flow up, while at the same time blaming pirating on their problems. The real problem is there is little talent out there and they know it. They do an open call audition with 300 boys, pick 4 for a boy band, write some crap and see if it sticks to the ceiling, repeat with girls, etc.
Their business model is a dinosaur and I hope to be alive to see them fold up their tents. Bands are releasing their own material, which has to scare the living crap out of those idiots. Radiohead's pick your price model was brilliant.
