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The Replacements - Don't Tell A Soul (1989)

Track listing:
  1. Talent Show 3:32
  2. Back To Back 3:21
  3. We'll Inherit The Earth 4:21
  4. Achin' To Be 3:42
  5. They're Blind 4:36
  6. Anywhere's Better Than Here 2:49
  7. Asking Me Lies 3:39
  8. I'll Be You 3:26
  9. I Won't 2:43
  10. Rock 'N' Roll Ghost 3:23
  11. Darlin' One 3:39

Notes

All of the slick production of Pleased to Meet Me couldn't prepare listeners for the glossy sound of Don't Tell A Soul, the Replacements' last-ditch attempt at mainstream success. Bathed with washes of synthesizers, shining guitars, backing vocals and a shimmering, AOR-oriented production, Don't Tell a Soul puts an end to the Replacements and begins Paul Westerberg's solo career. The bulk of the songs are self-consciously mature, as Westerberg looks back on his career (the autobiographical "Talent Show") and is haunted by the past ("Rock N Roll Ghost," "Darlin' One"), as he attempts to refashion himself as a craftsman. A few of these attempts work, particularly the country-rock ballad "Achin' to Be" and the arena-rock stab "I'll Be You," but the lite-funk workout "Asking Me Lies" and the stuttering "I Won't" are flat-out embarassing. And the rest of the album suffers from Westerberg's determination to be adult. The songs are too self-consciously mature, and the band functions as a supporting act for the lyrics, which lack the unpretentious poetry of his best work. Ironically, Westerberg's desire to be an "adult" is the reason why radio ignored Don't Tell a Soul, because it meant that the record lacked both rockers or power-ballads which would have given them air-time. And most old fans found the production too heavy to make sorting through the album worthwhile.