Let It Be

After the discord of The Beatles, the group sought to get back to basics with a rock LP and a film about its creation. This was the eventual result. As the 1960s wound down, so did the Beatles. The symmetry was perfect: youthful energy, optimism, and camaraderie had given over to cynicism, discord, and looking out for number one. As the decade's final year began, the White Album was still riding high on the charts and the Yellow Submarine soundtrack was days away from release. But the Beatles were in serious trouble. Nothing about being in the band was enjoyable or easy. The power vacuum left by the death of manager Brian Epstein a year and a half earlier had never been satisfactorily filled; Apple Corps, the multi-media company started by the band a year earlier, was bleeding money; and toughest of all, the once-Fab Four didn't generally enjoy being in the same room together. All were either married or close to it, closing in on 30, and tremendously weary of all they'd been through. Paul McCartney, the most devoted of the gang to the notion of the Beatles (Ringo Starr called him the "Beatleaholic"), thought that the group needed a special project to bring it together. Another White Album-style scenario, with the songwriters in the band working alone in separate studios, enlisting each other to serve as a de facto backup band, was bound to fail. Too much good will and trust had been lost. They needed something big they could all submit to. Several ideas were proposed, most involving a return of some kind to live performance: perhaps a live album of new songs or a huge show in a remote place; maybe the band would charter an ocean liner and make an album on it. Ultimately, it was decided that the band would be filmed on a soundstage rehearsing for a show and developing material for a new album-- a document of the Beatles at work. The theme for the project would be back-to-basics, a return of the group as a performing unit, sans overdubs, emphasizing their inherent musicality. Working title: Get Back. It was an awful idea. First, no one was sure exactly what he was supposed to be doing. Glyn Johns was there, a new presence behind the boards, but he never quite figured out if he was producing or just engineering. Regular producer George Martin was technically on board, but his participation was minimal. While Let It Be was initially meant to be a return to simplicity, Phil Spector's later involvement (he was brought in to "reproduce" the tracks, adding extra voices and instruments to thicken arrangements and remix the record, a decision made without McCartney's input) killed that angle. Organizational chaos aside, the sessions were painful. We all know what it feels like to be around people we don't like for days on end; if reality television has taught us anything, it's that a camera crew in a room full of such people does nothing to ease tension. The time the Beatles spent recording and filming was described by all as supremely unpleasant, despite a later uptick when they'd returned to finish up at Abbey Road. And when they finished, no one really liked what they'd laid down on tape. So not surprisingly, the essential nature of Let It Be is that it feels incomplete and fragmented; it's a difficult album to peg because the Beatles were never sure themselves what they wanted it to be. So the best way to approach it is as a collection of songs by guys who still were churning out classics with some regularity. It may not succeed on the level of the Beatles' previous albums, but there's enough good material to make it a worthy entry in their canon. Outside of the title track, there's little here that feels consequential to the Beatles' legacy. The easy acoustic shuffle of the John Lennon and Paul McCartney duet "Two of Us" has appeal, though, as do the prickly rhythmic drive of George Harrison's "For You Blue" and the bubbling Booker T-isms of McCartney's "Get Back". The swampy "I've Got a Feeling", possibly reflecting McCartney's recent interest in Canned Heat, is intriguing because it sounds so classic rock 70s. And Lennon's "Across the Universe", recorded during the White Album sessions and sounding like it was beamed in from somewhere else, has a certain ringing brilliance. For balance, there's "Dig a Pony" and the boogieing "One After 909", the latter actually written by Lennon and McCartney as kids in the fifties. Still, for plenty of good bands, the best of these would be career highlights. Recorded without joy, set aside for months while a better album was assembled, and finally remixed in a way that enraged one of the band's principals, Let It Be finally saw release in May 1970. But by that point, the Beatles break-up had been official for several weeks. There's since been a live album, compilations, digitization, trolls through the archives, and an ocean of ink spilled about this little band that made it very big. And now there are these CD issues, done beautifully. But there never was a proper reunion, and we can assume that there will never be another Beatles. Ahh fuck, this is the wrong Let it Be, isn't it?

Has a song called androgynous and its a love song concerning two non binary people. In 1984. 5 stars

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. All this works because there is an utter lack of affect in Paul Westerberg's songs and unrestrained glee in the Replacements' roar. Sure, Let It Be has moments where the thunder rolls away and Westerberg is alone, playing "Androgynous" on a piano and howling about having to say good night to an answering machine, but they flow naturally from the band's furious rock & roll, particularly because the raw, unsettled "Unsatisfied" acts as a bridge between these two extremes. But if Let It Be was all angst, it wouldn't have captured so many hearts in the '80s, becoming a virtual soundtrack to the decade for so many listeners, or continue to snag in new fans years later. Unlike so many teenage post-punk records, this doesn't dwell on the pain; it ramps up the jokes and, better still, offers a sense of endless possibilities, especially on the opening pair of "I Will Dare" and "Favorite Thing," two songs where it feels as if the world opened up because of these songs. And that sense of thrilling adventure isn't just due to Westerberg; it's due to the 'Mats as a band, who have never sounded as ferocious and determined as they do here. Just a year earlier, they were playing almost everything for laughs on Hootenanny and just a year later a major-label contract helped pull all their sloppiness into focus on Tim, but here Chris Mars and Tommy Stinson's rhythms are breathlessly exciting and Bob Stinson's guitar wails as if nothing could ever go wrong. Of course, plenty went wrong for the Replacements not too much further down the road, but here they were fully alive as a band, living gloriously in the moment, a fleeting moment when anything and everything seems possible, and that moment still bursts to life whenever Let It Be is played.

The Replacements always show up at the right time. This is the most perfect coming of age album I can think of. The sound is mid-maturing from punk to melodic rock. The lyrics are mid-maturing from teen humor to trying to make sense of all the heavy shit that just dropped with adulthood. Post-puberty, post-punk. Songs have huge range of themes: anger, disillusion, massive heartbreak, anti-consumerism, gender identity, angst, boredom, boners. Drunk and sloppy as hell the whole time. Unsatisfied and Answering Machine have always struck a deep chord for me. This time around We're Comin Out knocked me out. Did they create indie rock, college rock, post-punk, and alternative all in one album? I don't know the official lineage. Easy 5 for me. A+

How young are you? How old am I? Old enough to remember when this album came out and all the warm feelings it evokes of another time. Let’s count the rings around my eyes. This is a longtime favorite that I was delighted to listen to today. The Replacements were always two bands, the rowdy barroom punks and the band with surprisingly thoughtful lyrics and poppy hooks who hinted at aspirations for something bigger. This album showcases both of those impulses to nice effect. They never really got rid of the rough edges, but they are more prominent on Let It Be than on later albums. These are just some young guys having fun and figuring things out, which sat really well with Gen-Xers who were trying to do the same thing. The album is a touchstone for a lot of people of a certain age. The songs are classic Replacements, ramshackle falling down the stairs rockers mixed with beautiful, wistful, jangly, hooky songs still with edges too rough for them to ever really have that big pop breakthrough. They're fun, punchy, pissy, and bittersweet. And I love them for it. You know what, I just realized after all these years that on the cover of the album, the band is sitting on a roof. Get it, Let It Be... on the roof? That's pretty funny. They knew they weren’t the Beatles and they didn’t want to be the Beatles, so why not have a seat and hang. It doesn’t get more Gen-X than that. Fave songs: I Will Dare, Favorite Thing, Black Diamond, Sixteen Blue, Unsatisfied

Not the 'Let It Be' I expected the generator to throw up. It was ok but nothing special. I think it says a lot about the state of rock music in the 80s if this is considered to be one of the decade's best albums.

Although I can appreciate the emotions and energy that went into creating this music, it simply is not something I find enjoyment in listening to.

It's finally happening, 97 albums in... an album I'd never heard in full before is getting an instant 5 stars. I've left it a good few weeks before committing to a review because I wanted to know if it would stick… but from start to finish, it absolutely has. Paul Westerberg and the rest of The Replacements were in their mid 20s when "Let It Be" was released, with the exception of 18 year old bassist Tommy Stinson. It was their effort to hone their sound and produce something a little more sophisticated than the raw heavy rock of their earlier work, while retaining the angst and grit which gives them their charm. They deliver in spades, with the band turning in committed, energetic and emotive performances. As powerful as Westerberg's raspy, impassioned vocals are, often it's the instrumental accompaniments which steal the show. The album begins at a blistering pace with its only single, "I Will Dare", comprised mostly of polished jangly guitars over a crisp, swung beat. "Favorite Thing" has an even more melodic guitar line than its vocal, with a riff throughout the verses forming one of the catchiest moments on the album. When "We're Comin' Out" threatens to torpedo the quality with some thrashing hardcore, it's suddenly stripped back to gradually accelerating piano and handclaps in the last minute. Later, "Seen Your Video" allows the instrumentals to reign supreme, not bringing in vocals until the last forty-five seconds. Halfway through this tight set of defiant post-punk, there's an unexpected KISS cover ("Black Diamond") which manages to be a vast improvement on the original. It's one in a long line of transgressions The Replacements seem to revel in across the album, along with giving their album the same name as a Beatles release and incorporating titles like "Gary's Got a Boner". At first, I thought any album devoting a song to an erection could only be crass, childish, irritating… but actually it's just one part of a wonderfully scattered, skewed portrait of a band throwing out the rules and, almost accidentally, creating a warts-and-all paean to adolescence. Every one of these songs is torn up with the anxiety of youth, with growing up and seeking satisfaction, identity and love. Songs like "Gary's Got A Boner" and "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" respectively contribute the struggle of being a teenager and the terror of being a child: no nuance or understanding, all confusion and mixed emotions. Completing the picture, "Androgynous" and "Unsatisfied" (perhaps my two favourite songs on here) reveal the substance behind the band's style. They're honest, direct and heartaching pleas for a more straightforward life, while the finale, "Answering Machine" becomes a wider call into the void for any kind of answer. The fade-out gives an impression that none is coming, but the Replacements will keep asking the questions. There's so much going on in "Let It Be"'s lean 33 minutes: it's perfectly paced and structured so that not a second is wasted, and it is never boring. The last few weeks, as I've listened track by track and discovered the hidden joys of each song, have been wonderful. "Let It Be" has reminded me how energising it can be to discover a new favourite, and fall in love with music in all its messy ways.

Possibly better than the other Let It Be...

I so wanted to be a Replacements fan. But I just don't see the attraction. Average songs, annoying vocals, minimal musical talent displayed. How this album got highly ranked by Spin and Rolling Stone magazines I will never understand. Highlights: Cover of T-Rex's "20th Century Boy", cover of Grass Roots "Temptation Eyes". Says a lot when best songs are covers. D+

This is the band that knows the simple joys involved with hanging around long enough for Last Call. Nothing quite beats People Watching, and the Mats might have invented it. Why go home when Gary's popped himself a boner and all that's waiting for you is an answering machine? And besides, Tommy's worried about having his tonsils removed. Bonus points for the Peter Buck guitar solo on "I Will Dare" and a great Kiss cover. Ride for the Deluxe edition to enjoy more covers.

This took a second listen, but I really loved this. Just a very kick-ass punk/post punk album. Definitely feels like it inspired Nirvana and The Strokes. 4.5 Stars

You know when you have a song saved on your playlist but you don’t even know who sings it? That was me with Within Your Reach. That was off the Hootenanny album, never heard anything off this album before today. The stripped down sound of an early 80s punk 4-piece band really makes me yearn for a decade I never experienced. It sounds a bit boring now, but I’m sure it sounded absolutely mind-boggling back then. I wish I wasn’t desensitized and used to big production music done by computers. This album truly makes me want to spike my hair and walk around in a ripped jean jacket and Converse on the streets of New York smoking a cigarette and flipping off policemen. I’m learning from this project that often the bands that influenced the sound or created it aren’t as widely recognized or remembered as the bands who perfected it. This is one of those times. If I were a teenager in 1984, this would be on my record player every night as I laid on the floor of my bedroom hating my parents. My favorites: I Will Dare, We’re Coming Out, Black Diamond, Answering Machine

Surprisingly modern sounding, both lyrics and the jams

Bangers. The lot of them. 4.5 rounding up to five. I hate that I never fully listened before and shout out to Laura Jane for exposing me to Androgynous.

Old school rock that makes my feet dance. Androgynous is possibly the best track on the record, but some tracks like Answering Machine and 20th century boy come close

aw man, i’m a sucker for the 80’s really fun album, my favorite song has to be Androgynous, that piano with the vocals were just beautiful to listen to, and the lyrics were really sweet and warmed my heart, the message was based as fuck, like the idea of gender is arbitrary and we should be able to where whatever we want wether it be masculine, feminine or something else. Really nice song :) really ahead of its time. Sixteen Blue also had some really pretty instrumentals, great song. I loved the rest of the album too, great hard rock. I’ll give it a 9/10.

One of my top five of all time. Amazing album.

One of the essential drunk albums The big riff halfway through Seen Your Video is one of the most thrilling things in music Most bands work hard to seem cool. These guys couldn't care less and thus speak to the young idiot fuckup in me and I suspect many others. As Pynchon said somewhere I can't remember, being in a rock band is the last just profession.

The album that screws with your expectations. Starts off New Wave-esque, then reveals itself as hardcore punk the next track, taking this the extreme in "We're Coming Out" sounding like the Bad Brains. And yeah, it's funny, loud, and engaging, continuing this trend with the next track. It's a fantastic blend of high energy and easy melodic riffs. And then they tell you to screw yourself with "Androgynous," coming out of nowhere is a piano ballad that sounds like a guy on the brink of tears playing in a deserted club. That almost continues to "Black Diamond" but the drums kick in a half minute later and it starting sounding like a glam metal track, but the guy still sounds like he's about to cry, I don't know what to make of it, but it rocks. "Unsatisfied" is probably my favorite but future me don't quote me on this, I really like most of them. "Seen Your Video" is a rocking instrumental but tricks you by having lyrics. I don't get how they could put so much quality in all their tracks; it's frankly scary and impressive. None of these songs are even just decent, and yet there's no repetition at all. I've always heard about these guys but this is my first time playing them, and I'm thoroughly impressed. They have something for everyone here, and they're so open and inviting for the audience to join in. If you just listened to the instrumentals, you'd enjoy it. If you just read the lyrics like poetry, you'd enjoy it. Doesn't matter what genre of rock you like, there's something anyone will enjoy. I don't care if you're a fan of Elton John, Guns n Roses, Sum 41, or Megadeth: there's something. It's not one of my favorite albums yet since I've only just heard them yesterday, but I don't see any reason not to give a perfect score here.

"Let It Be" is the third album by Minneapolis rock band The Replacements and happens to be one of my favorite albums of the 80's. Heck, of any decade. Lead singer/guitarist Paul Westerberg had grown tired of playing noisy and "fake" hardcore rock and wanted to write songs a little more sincere. A one-line description is a post-punk album with coming of age themes. I think that's accurate but The Replacements didn't completely throw away their punk and brattiness and as Pitchfork points out, that's what takes this album to the next level with sincere, more serious songs mixed with loud, brash, harder, less serious songs. The yin and the yang. A whole of album of "Unsatisfied"'s would have been very overwrought. The album was named for the next song they heard on the radio (and to poke fun at their manager, a big Beatles fan). Westerberg said it came close to being named "Let It Bleed." I guess "Gimme Shelter" was the next song they heard. There was a huge critical response then and since being described as "The peak of American indie rock" and "A cornerstone of alternative music." Jangly guitars open "I Will Dare." Catchy guitar and vocal choruses. The Replacements at their pop-rock best. About the band willing to do anything. Guitarist Bob Stinson couldn't come up with a solo so R.E.M.'s Peter Buck did and does the solo. Things speed up on "Favorite Thing" but are still melodic. The rhythm guitar carries this one. I think a love song. Alright we go snotty-'Mats' punk and attitude on the next two songs: "We're Coming Out" is another song about the band taking chances. "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" is, well, about bassist Tommy Stinson getting his tonsils out. True story during one of their tours. Let's go back to the sensitive side of things in "Androgynous." Only piano. Appearance and sexual identity shouldn't matter. An album high point. Why not end with a KISS cover in "Black Diamond." Killer Bob Stinson solo. And then we begin one of the best album sides in rock history. Paul Westerberg had to record "Unsatisfied" away from everyone and facing the wall to get and because of his emotions. An incredible raspy, vocal performance as the music plays with him. Great layered guitars. A song about discontent (with the music industry). I think all of the emo genre is based on this song...for better or worse. "Seen Your Video" is mostly instrumental with great guitar interplay. Obviously, a very anti-music song. And The Replacements backed it up by making very lame videos themselves. Touché. We need one yang song on Side Two and that one is the rockin' "Gary's Got a Boner." "He's got one but not for long." "Sixteen Blue" is about the awkwardness of being sixteen. Hey, I was sixteen when this album came out. Was I awkward? I don't remember. Probably. Hell, what do you mean was? Great, great guitar melody and an absolutely searing Stinson guitar solo fading the song out. Westerberg keeps upping the emotional level and just tears threw it on the closer "Answering Machine." Westerberg on the 12-string as he asks and screams "How can I say I love you to an answering machine." Drums kick in. An operator's voice comes in asking for change. We end in chaos. Wow! It's a shame this is the only Replacements' album in the challenge. Their next two albums "Tim" and "Please to Meet Me" are also brilliant. At that time and after this album, there was a major label bidding war between The Replacements and R.E.M. Well, we know how that ended but emphasizes how highly this album was thought of. It still sounds great and deserves every bit of its many accolades.

One of the best albums ever. No doubt

I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to find this album on the list. The Replacements are (perhaps) my favorite band, and this is (perhaps) my favorite of their albums. All of their work is great, but the trio of "middle" albums - Let It Be, Tim, and Pleased To Meet Me - are classic. This one is the most rough-around-the-edges of the three. They were still sort of raw punk rockers, but Paul Westerberg's songwriting was maturing by leaps and bounds, and it's the intersection of those two things that makes this album so great. The Replacements, and this album in particular, exemplify rock n' roll. 5 stars, of course.

this albums a little inconsistent. half of it is like garage rock punk rock bullshit that has some nice guitar tones but feels a little weak and lame, the other half is a bit lighter and honestly better. my fav stuff on here is the couple of jangle pop-y songs they are Quality. honestly i might just like jangle pop? worth exploring more. nothing here is rly bad anyways but its split between like amazing and light 8. album discussion over

4/5 (excellent). I loved this. Keanu Reeves at his peak. The scene where they all dance to "I Will Survive" in jail chokes me up every time. https://youtu.be/OAKOwWsu-nk?t=74 Seriously though, the kicker from the replacements could be in this band. recommended for: smoking a cigarette on the sideline

I think that I have somehow never heard a Replacements song before. I recognized nothing on this album, or any of their other top hits. But I know the name, and even know a bit of singer Paul Westerberg's solo work from his songs on the soundtrack of the movie "Singles." So who are the Replacements? And who were they replacing? Oh, it was Westerberg who did the replacing, by convincing the bands' original singer he was going to be fired, goading him into quitting, then taking the reins and renaming the band!? Well, damn. And I see that the band name itself was a replacement, a definite upgrade from Dogbreath and apparently a necessary rebranding after being banned from a venue they played for disorderly behavior. I'm glad to now know Paul Westerberg and The Replacements better. But I feel like they are constantly replacing and reinventing their sound, sticking to punk and hardcore in their early years. Their attempt on "Let It Be" to move away from that sound led them in lots of different directions, as you can hear on the albums. There's a lot of variation in genre here, which makes the band hard to get comfortable with. Who needs to be comfortable, though? The Replacements also challenged people to be uncomfortable in 1984 with the song "Androgynous," which stood out the most on "Let It Be." After a 2022 filled with debates about transgender rights and drag shows, this song's tolerance reminds us that there have been allies as long as there have been non-conforming people. It also served as a reminder that 1970s and 80s rock music was filled with challenges to gender conformity. While Westerberg sang "Tomorrow who's gonna fuss," we are still waiting for the day the last vestiges of that fussing fades away. As I read about "Androgynous," I realized I had heard a Replacements song before. A couple years ago I heard a cover of "Androgynous" (not realizing who wrote it) in a live backyard session by Joan Jett, Miley Cyrus, and Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! Check it out, and while you're at it, dive even deeper with Against Me!'s "Transgender Dysphoria Blues."

Raw delivered competently.

A few riffs that got me going, but the vocalist is awful

Eh. The album was 33 minutes long and even that felt like a chore. A couple of songs sounded familiar but that's because they were covers apparently. Not desire to relisten to it. Should not have listened to it in the first place.

Not sure why this album is on for 1001 albums to hear. There's absolutely nothing notable about these guys, you can go into town any weekend and there'll be a group of misfits playing in some pub somewhere of the same calibre as these guys. So they stole a few rifts from early Jam and Undertones tracks, and wrapped some variations around it... but none of it was stand out or memorable.

A forgettable album that doesn't appear to know what it wants to be, veering from punk to rock and roll to MOR. A couple of ok tracks.

A high school Staple for me. Love how you can hear the band beginning to shed their hardcore skin. Love how this band clashes melody into raging guitars. Androgynous was light years ahead of it’s time.

Yesss

Descobriment total. Havia escoltat algun tema seu, el nom sempre ha aparegut com a una de les grans influències dels grups de rock alternatiu de finals dels 80 i principis dels 90, com Pixies o Nirvana. Però mai havia escoltat cap àlbum seu. I deu n'hi do quina sorpresa. M'ha agradat molt aquesta barreja de punk amb rock i balades, la veu trencada del cantant, les progressions de les guitarres. Un disc súper entretingut i ple de bons temes. Em deixa amb ganes d'escoltar més d'ells.

Rock gostoso demaaaaais

One of my favorite albums

Brillante. Canciones eternas, ritmo perfecto, frases contundencia, el punto justo de gilipollez, ideas brillantes musicalmente, canciones ideológicamente avanzadas. 9.5 o 10. Ahí ahí.

loved it

Actually liked this one a lot!

Love this one

Classic

How have I not heard this before? Stunning.

Awesome rowdy fun.

Full disclosure; I bloody love the replacements and how much they influenced so many of my favorite bands today. no many Indie Rock bands (although they'd describe themselves as punk) could get away with a Kiss cover (Black Diamond) in the middle of the album, but it ends up being pure rock thunder! Unsatisfied, Androgynous, Sixteen blue and Answering Machine are cries from the heart that I instantly connected with on first listen and identified the replacements as a band for misfits everywhere. His cracked pained vocals are beyond compare. Even the nod back to early more silly punky stuff like "Gets its tonsils out" and "Garys got a bone" still have an immense amount of heart. Love it. 5/5

Great album. Listen to it loud

Verrassend album! Leuke riffs en stevig met momenten

One of my favourite albums from the 80s. It's got all the energy of punk but clearly some brilliant melodic songs underneath. They might have been huge in the 90s alternative scene

Never really heard of them before, now I'm not sure how! Sound like an Australian clash-influenced proto-nirvana - I was astounded to find they were from the USA. Really enjoyed it, and was nice to see what the rock kids were listening to when the pop and indie kids were in charge of the charts. Definitely going to listen to more of their stuff, and read more about them too. Wonderful

This was surprisingly youthful and raw. Soft, aggressive, pensive, and driven. Good surprise.

I love an album with a strong identity, and this has the feeling of coming-of-age in spades. Not only in the lyrics; somehow the music seems to carry it too. Excellent energy, emotion, and solid variety too. This one will be sticking in my mind for a long while.

My heart has been broken by two girls who loved Paul Westerberg. I cannot argue with what my heart wants.

It's an interesting sound, but in my case not very fond of punk.

This is great. Will definitely be checking out more of their stuff.

Very mature album on this band transition to alt rock. Good one for building up energy on your day.

This album defies genre. It opens with new wave, and progresses through tinges of punk, hardcore, and even crosses over into power ballad territory. This album has been immensely influential and it is rightfully seen as one of the greatest albums of the 80s

One of my favorite 80's albums ever. So many great tracks on here. Funny, because I listened to this album again the day before this popped up.

A perfect album. Much better than that other album of the same name. 10/10 1. Androgynous 2. Unsatisfied 3. Answering Machine

It took some months to appreciate it, but Let It Be is a perfect album. Its songs grew on me after each listen and it is now part of my playlist. The rhythm in I will dare is perfect -I think that Peter B from REM played the solo- other songs like Androgynous, Answer Machine, are also bangers. The Replacements are a special band, indeed. A group of intriguing people with whom you’d like to suffer and laugh with.

Tardé mucho en fijarme en el. Me costó unas cuantas escuchas entrarle. Pero cuando lo hice, este disco me resultó absolutamente maravilloso. He leído que se suele referenciar como college rock, a mí me parece una antesala perfecta para el camino del rock alternativo de los 80-90.

I bought this album after reading about it in Spin magazine, probably in part because it had the song "Gary's Got a Boner" on it, which sounded intriguing. It's the only Mats album I ever owned because money was tight, but listening to it on Tidal Master after all these years, the nuances stand out. The mandolin on I Will Dare, the solo from Peter Buck, and the obvious allusion to I Will Follow. The hardcore speed of We're Comin' Out and the thrashy solo with the accelerando finger snaps and piano. Androgynous, which is so prescient of the present moment with the classic verse: "Don't get him wrong and don't get him mad He might be a father, but he sure ain't a dad And she don't need advice that'll center her She's happy with the way she looks, she's happy with her gender." Black Diamond is their Kiss cover, which is an interesting choice at this point in the 80s. Next up is Unsatisfied which resonates with almost any relationship. Seen Your Video with its disdain of MTV anticipates their video for Bastards of the Young. Gary's Got a Boner is a great piece of punk rock raunch with coining the phrase a "soft-on." Sixteen Blue is a great song about sexual identity and the end of adolescence. Finally, it's a shame that Answering Machine no longer has the same poignancy that it had back in the 80s when answering machines were dominant. How do you top these lyrics? "How do you say I miss you to an answering machine? How do you say good night to an answering machine? How do you say I'm lonely to an answering machine?" Voice mail just doesn't cut it with the eager anticipation of seeing the blinking light on your answering machine and the bittersweet disappointment when there are no calls. In the outtakes from the expanded version, Westerberg shows that he can do wistful and longing but not sexy in the cover of 20th Century Boy. Perfectly Lethal is about the banality of TV pre-cable and drugs

Seems to get better each time I listen to it.

Such a great album. I don’t know if they invented these different genres of punk but to hear metal ballads, hardcore punk, folk punk and a wide variety of styles while still solely still being the replacements is awesome. They were the pioneers of bands who had a style but would change it up and didn’t give a fuck what people think. 5/5 buying this asap.

Raucous genius. A band at the height of their sound. I love the Replacements

This album is embedded in my DNA. Loved it from the moment I first heard I Will Dare, then the CD lived in my car CD player on repeat for months. They had moments of greatness after this, but this album is their finest moment.

I liked this a lot. Really cool sound throughout.

One of my faves.

A classic.

Great album from a great band - might be the best 80s album in the list (which in an ideal world should contain a couple of more albums of the Replacements)

Funk on funk. All good not a bad song on it. Couple songs stand out even on this album

Love love love love ❤️ will always be one of my favorites.

This is a great album all the way through. Love it.

This is one of my favorite albums.

As a big fan of Stink, Sorry Ma, and Hootenanny it took a couple listens to “get” a lot of this record. Later, I remember one time sitting in my car listening to the tape start to finish and when Answering Machine ended just sitting quietly for a bit. This record is just exceptional. Punk adjacents, hard rockers, pathos laden feelies, boozy party kickers,… it’s all here. They were playing with a tight ease and a sense of barely contained chaos. And Answering Machine has one of my favorite guitar riffs on repeat that I have never tired of. Even after almost 40 years.

Been a long time since I listened to this gem. Punk, pop and rock, come the 90's this sound went mainstream, but when this released it was groundbreaking.

Tällaista voi syntyä, kun laulajakitaristi kyllästyy autotallibändinsä "hyvään meininkiin" (eikä aina niin hyväänkään) ja keskittyy vaihteeksi biisinteossa koukkuihin. Lopputuloksena on levy, jolla (a) ei ole yhtään huono kappaletta, (b) on monia upeita kappaleita (I Will Dare, We're Coming Out, Androgynous, Unsatisfied, Sixteen Blue...) ja (c) on vain yksi, jolla ei ole selkeää roolia (Gary's Got a Boner). Eikä se niin vaikeaa ole.

I was a Replacements fan from their first release. Let It Be may be their best. The sloppiness of their early work is gone. The over production of later releases isn't present. Just the Mats playing great tunes from start to finish. I Will Dare is a perfect start. There is humor (Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out and Gary's Got a Boner). Some great covers. (Black Diamond). Even Paul Westerberg playing Androgynous on the piano works. It is an understated classic, but a classic, nonetheless.

I loved the album, a lot of genres mixed together, it was a total blast, the whole album was a roller-coaster, from punk, thrash to sort of power ballads and more 80's type rock it had everything that I didn't knew I could want in an album I hadn't heard anything from The Replacements before and I think I'm going to go and listen to more of them

This is a great album. Punk rock pioneers. I've added the song "Unsatisfied" to my main music playlist. Love this one.

I've loved this album for quite a few years now. It has great variety, is funny, delightfully messy, and is brimming with creativity and talent. It's influence is very obvious when you look at the rest of the 80s and 90s alternative scene - very ahead of its time! "I Will Dare" and "Unsatisfied" are obvious gems, "Androgenous" is fantastic as well and often brings a tear to my eye. I love the cover of "Black Diamond" too, but I don't think I've ever thought to look up the original. Overall a great album, possibly one of my favourites of the 80s.

Never really heard of them before, now I'm not sure how! Sound like an Australian clash-influenced proto-nirvana - I was astounded to find they were from the USA. Really enjoyed it, and was nice to see what the rock kids were listening to when the pop and indie kids were in charge of the charts. Definitely going to listen to more of their stuff, and read more about them too. Wonderful 5 🌟

I don't know why but this reminds me of the beatles and I like it

listening now hehe

Lotta memories associated with this this album and this sound. I was fortunate to have lived a great childhood with some absent parents who in the summer would dump me at the sailing club as race crew for regattas. Those boats were often skippered by older kids, who probably weren't more than 15 or 16 at the time. Greg, nicknamed me 'Tober' because I was quiet. He and Bobby turned me onto girls, shitty beer and music like this album and the Femmes in the late summer evening sun while putting the Thistle's away for the night. The Replacements made even more appearances while I was in high school. Let it Be was viewed as a rebellious slant in my middle-class, conservative suburban Va neighborhood, but more importantly a favorite of my preferred 'ladyfriends' of the days. Wow... those were good days... we didn't know how amazing those times were... and this album gets me right back there. I could get lost in this one ... So good.

Loved this album. The songs are varied with different styles but it all flows very well Saved tracks: I Will Dare, We’re Comin’ Out, Androgynous, Black Diamond, Temptation Eyes

Skippa alla album för att få lyssna på lite replacements så bra

love it

A classic. Starts out more fun and punk and then Westerberg starts showing of his songwriting chops. Androgynous was way ahead of its time and Unsatisfied (a top 20 song for me) proves that raw emotion and simple lyrics can do wonders. The back end of this album just does not let up. Seen Your Video and Answering Machine are other highlights.

I still remember a friend lending this to me in the mid 90s. Such perfection on track after track after track.

Pretty good

yesss

An 80s classic. Moments of greatness are balanced out by less intelligent ones: case in point being that ‘Androgynous’ and ‘Gary’s Got a Boner’ are both songs on this album. They also do a good Kiss cover, which is surprising because I hate Kiss.

Love this album - a great collection of tracks in a style which is probably one I most find myself gravitating towards. A great range of sounds here, and the back and forth between the light jangly bops, the slower ballads, and the loud garage numbers make for a dynamic listen throughout that doesn't get tired or dull. The somewhat spent yet impassioned vocals are also a charm for me. There's a really effective way of depicting some of the joys and struggles of growing up without dipping into cliche - the whole essence of this album just seems like a considered but snarky reflection at rock and roll as it used to be projected in the decades before them (take either the borrowed Beatles album title or the punky spin on a KISS song). This record seems to be both youthful and quite grown up at the same time. Big fan of this one - an indie classic I'm completely here for. Four and a half. Fave track: Androgynous

Apparently I'm a fan of the Replacements now. Gonna dive into them deeper.

What an amazing album...absolute classic. In the words of Eddie Argos of Art Brut...I found myself baffled in my early 30's wondering "how have I only just discovered the Replacements?" Clearly the highlight of an impressive catalogue, including some of my all time favs like "I Will Dare" and "Seen Your Video", this one could truly be considered "My Favorite Thing". 5/5

Yes! Love this album and love this band. One of the greatest opening tracks of all time. After playing fast and loud for their first two albums, this came in like a cool breeze. Perfect album.

4.5

Start to finish, Let It Be is my favourite Replacements album! The songs are strong and Paul Westerberg's growing confidence as a well-rounded songwriter is on full display. Though this album had no "hits" in the traditional sense, I Will Dare, Favorite Thing and Unsatisfied are some of the best Replacements songs that many people probably haven't heard. Even the lesser songs that probably have been heard from by other artists, Black Diamond, the Kiss cover (the only cover song the Mats put on record) and Androgynous, that was covered by the Crash Test Dummies are solid and the Replacements recorded superior versions. The Replacements was a band that changed how and why I listened to music and I've been a huge fan ever since I first heard their next album, Tim, their major label debut. Let It Be remains an essential record to anyone that hates "phony rock'n'roll" and feels unsatisfied with the music that was forced on us in the 80's. And yes, it's way better than that other Let It Be album!

Discovered this in high school at some point, I love this one. Bangers from start to finish, one of my favorite post-punk/indie rock albums. I need to put it on more tbh, I had it on repeat a lot at one point but it's been a WHILE. Anyway, easy 5 for me.

Prophetic. Rowdy. Sloppy. Bubblegum. Life.

Immediate impression: Not sure if I like this? But then I started to hear it roaming out of punk, into garage alternative rock, into metal. I can hear Nirvana? Then a touching love song that questions gender. Then puerile adolescent rock. All laced with punk ethos that feels slapped together. It just finished and I need to go put it on again. This will be my first 5 given to a formerly unknown album. I will absolutely be listening to this for years to come.