The Replacements

Dead Man’s Pop

Warners/rhino A key album overhauled, plus 49 bonus cuts.

When it first appeared in 1989, The Replacements’ Don’t Tell A Soul was designed to be the album that elevated them from respected cult status and on towards mainstream adulation. The slick and shiny production helped single I’ll Be You into the Billboard Hot 100 for the first (and, as it transpired, last) time in the band’s career, but the parent disc under-performed and its makers soon fell out of love with it themselves.

The chief purpose of this box set is seemingly to return the record’s 11 tracks to a more earthy, stripped down sound – with producer Matt Wallace reinstating all the rough edges that had been sacrificed in pursuit of pop success – but it offers more than that. Certainly, the likes of Anywhere’s Better Than Here benefit from the make-under, more in the spirit of the group’s trademark dishevelled devilment, although the biggest draw is the plethora of out-takes and demos.

Tom Waits moseys into view for a handful of numbers, including a joyous trudge through Billy Swan’s country hit I Can Help, while a 15-song live set (during which they ferociously attack The Only Ones’ Another Girl, Another Planet) shows The Replacements at their ramshackle, off-kilter power pop best. ■■■■■■■■■■