The Replacements – Let It Be (Deluxe) 4xLP 1984/2025

Although The Replacements started as a punk band, they quickly transcended that genre. Similar to their contemporaries, R.E.M., their songwriting was too good to stay in the punk gutter for long. On their third studio album, 1984’s Let It Be, they found their voice and helped invent indie rock. The hat-trick of their final indie-rock album Let It Be, their major label debut, Tim (1985), and its follow-up Pleased To Meet Me (1987) is their apex. There would be a couple more albums after those, but they ended up being closer to Paul Westerberg’s solo albums than to band albums. By the end of the 80s, the band was spent.

There is not a bad cut on Let It Be, and several are Mats classics like “I Will Dare,” “Favorite Thing,” “Androgynous,” “Unsatisfied,” “Sixteen Blue,” and “Answering Machine.” On Let It Be the band perfectly captures the angst of late adolescence into young adulthood. If I had to recommend one Mats’ album for the uninitiated, it would be Let It Be.

This deluxe edition is the original album remastered (it sounds fantastic), a disk of demos, outtakes, and B-sides (essential for Mats’ fans), and a double disk of a live show a couple of months before the release of Let It Be, at the legendary Chicago rock/sports bar The Cubby Bear. The live show is pretty lo-fi, but the performance is so excellent that I can look past the audio quality. The live covers are to die for. Let It Be (Deluxe) is an essential compilation for Mats’ fans, and it was a no-brainer as an addition to the Desert 🌵 Sessions (I have an original Twin/Tone LP back at the mothership in Minneapolis).

LP One – original remastered

1. I Will Dare (2025 Remaster)
2. Favorite Thing (2025 Remaster)
3. We’re Comin’ Out (2025 Remaster)
4. Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out (2025 Remaster)
5. Androgynous (2025 Remaster)
6. Black Diamond (2025 Remaster)
7. Unsatisfied (2025 Remaster)
8. Seen Your Video (2025 Remaster)
9. Gary’s Got a Boner (2025 Remaster)
10. Sixteen Blue (2025 Remaster)
11. Answering Machine (2025 Remaster)

LP Two – demos, outtakes, and B-sides
12. Gary’s Got a Boner (Alternate Version)
13. Favorite Thing (Alternate Version)
14. Perfectly Lethal (Outtake) [2025 Remaster]
15. Temptation Eyes (Outtake) [2025 Remaster] cover of the 1970 hit song by The Grass Roots
16. Who’s Gonna Take Us Alive
17. Heartbeat, It’s a Lovebeat (2025 Remaster) cover of 1973 single by the Canadian group The DeFranco Family
18. Answering Machine (Home Demo #1)
19. Answering Machine (Home Demo #2)
20. Street Girl (Takes 1 and 2)
21. Sixteen Blue (Alternate Version) [2025 Remaster]
22. Unsatisfied (Alternate Mix) [Full-Length Version]
23. Androgynous (Alternate Version)
24. 20th Century Boy (2025 Remaster) T-Rex cover (1973)
25. Hey Good Lookin’ (Live at Merlyn’s, Madison, WI) [2025 Remaster] Hank Williams cover (1951)

LP Three – live
26. Can’t Hardly Wait (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) – still a couple of LPs away
27. Left in the Dark (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) The Vertebrats cover
28. Unsatisfied (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
29. I Will Dare (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
30. Favorite Thing (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
31. Kids Don’t Follow (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
32. Run It (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
33. Color Me Impressed (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
34. Hayday (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
35. Nowhere Is My Home (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) – pre Tim
36. Love You Till Friday (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
37. Help Me Rhonda/Little G.T.O. (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) Beach Boys cover
38. Takin a Ride (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)

LP Four – live continued
39. Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
40. Gary’s Got a Boner (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
41. Johnny’s Gonna Die (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
42. Can’t Get Enough (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) Bad Company cover
43. I’m in Trouble (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
44. Don’t Ask Why (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
45. Take Me Down to the Hospital (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
46. Shiftless When Idle (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
47. Mr. Whirly (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) Beatles cover
48. Hitchin’ a Ride (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) Vanity Fare cover
49. Black Diamond (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) KISS cover
50. 20th Century Boy (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) T-Rex cover
51. Go (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
52. Gimme Noise (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
53. White and Lazy (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)