Live at Maxwell's 1986

Certain Songs #1882: The Replacements – “Go (Maxwell’s, 1986)”

August 3, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Live at Maxwell’s 1986
Year: 1986

. . .

Go, while you can

Let’s pour one last one out for Bob Stinson, shall we?

His unique style of guitar was a key part of the sound of the Twin/Tone Replacements, and there are those who feel like the band was never the same after he left, which was technically true, though — as you will see — I’m not one of those who think Bob’s dismissal killed them. And while he was barely there for the recording of Tim, and tossed after the demoing for Please to Meet Me had already commenced — I’ll be interested in how those demos sound, though I recall hearing him on “Valentine” on a bootleg and enjoying it — one of the cool things about Live At Maxwell’s is just how present he is.

Certain Songs #1881: The Replacements – “Hitchin’ A Ride (Maxwell’s 1986)”

August 1, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Live at Maxwell’s 1986
Year: 1986

. . .

From their earliest days, covers were a key of the Replacements aesthetic. Hell, as everybody knows, they stuck a KISS cover right in the middle of Let It Be. And while that was the only cover they ever put on an album (until Songs For Slim, which was all covers), any Replacements show worth its salt had more than one cover, and the show documented in For Sale: Live At Maxwell’s 1986 had five: an aborted take on Sweet’s immortal “Fox on the Run;” the aforementioned “Black Diamond;” plus T. Rex’s “Baby Strange,” The Beatles “Nowhere Man” and the cheesy pop goodness of Vanity Fare’s 1970 top 5 single, “Hitchin’ A Ride.”

Certain Songs #1880: The Replacements – “Take Me Down To The Hospital (Maxwell’s 1986)”

July 31, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Live at Maxwell’s 1986
Year: 1986

. . .

I already used eight of my lives

Paul Westerberg is one hell of a rock ‘n’ roll singer. I might have mentioned that once or twice in these posts.

And while I was and am thrilled that For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986 gave me fantastic performances of such major songs as “Hold My Life,” “Can’t Hardly Wait,” “Unsatisfied” and “Answering Machine” (at least after the full band kicks in), the song that utterly killed me was the scorching, blistering take of “Take Me Down To The Hospital.”

Certain Songs #1879: The Replacements – “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out (Maxwell’s, 1986)”

July 30, 2020 by Jim Connelly

Album: Live at Maxwell’s 1986
Year: 1986

. . .

Nothing to fear, it’s only murder

I was lucky enough to see The Replacements five times during their original run. And never once did I see one of their infamous disintegration shows. I’m sure they were sloppy and fucked up, but they always seemed like the greatest band ever.

But, of course, during the 1980s, they only put out a pair of live recordings: The Shit Hits The Fans cassette, and the Inconcerated promo-only CD release. And while I admired the story behind the former and the performances of the latter, neither had what I was looking for in a Replacements live album.