The Replacements – Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash LP

Description

In 1981, punk rock had come to mean hardcore, and in Minneapolis, bands likeHsker Dand Loud Fast Rules (soon to becomeSoul Asylum) were flying the flag for the faster, louder, and shorter aesthetic. When the Replacements made their way into the Twin City’s underground rock scene, they were initially lumped in with the local hardcore crowd, but their debut album, 1981’s Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, was obviously made of different things. The Replacements were punk in the tradition of earlier bands likeEddie and the Hot Rods,the Damned, and Minneapolis’ ownSuicide Commandos— they played fast and loud with plenty of attitude, but their melodic style was clearly beholden to stripped-down rock & roll traditionalism (as wereBob Stinson‘s guitar leads), and while they liked to play dumb, they were clearly too smart to be boxed in by hardcore’s narrow stylistic boundaries. Sorry Ma is the work of a band that’s rough yet inspired —Paul Westerberg‘s sloppy, full-bodied rhythm guitar gaveBob Stinsonplenty of room for his repurposedSteve Howelicks,Tommy Stinson‘s basslines were lively and carried their share of the melody, and drummerChris Marshad the stamina and the muscle to keep up with it all. Though the Replacements sounded scrappy and exciting here, what truly set them apart wasWesterberg‘s songs — they were clever, funny, and self-depreciating, the work of a young man with a fully functioning bullshit detector whose arrogance about his talent was balanced by his obvious insecurities about life, work, women, and himself.Westerbergwas more than willing to rage (“Careless,” “Takin’ a Ride,” “Don’t Ask Why”) and occasionally wear his heart on his sleeve (“Customer,” “Johnny’s Gonna Die”), though he knew folks would only stick around if he was funny, and Sorry Ma is very funny indeed, and genuinely inspiring in its sloppy but heartfelt wallop. Though the Replacements would get a lot better very quickly, Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash drew the roadmap to everything that was best about them right out of the box, and it remains a dirty, roaring rock & roll delight. -All Music Guide