The Replacements’ Tim Gets New Mix On Rarities-Packed Reissue

Jonathan Cohen
25 Artists, 25 Albums, 25 Years of Vagrant Records
25 Artists, 25 Albums, 25 Years of Vagrant Records

The Replacements haven’t played a note of music in front of an audience since the final 2015 show of their improbable two-year reunion, but there’s a big treat from the archives coming this fall. Rhino has set a Sept. 22 release date for a four-CD/one-LP boxed set version of Tim, the beloved Minneapolis band’s 1985 major-label debut album for Sire Records, featuring 50 previously unreleased tracks and an entirely new mix by producer Ed Stasium.

Originally produced by the late Tommy Erdelyi, better known as Tommy Ramone, Tim sports some of the Replacements’ most enduring material, including “Bastards of Young,” “Kiss Me on the Bus,” “Left of the Dial,” and “Waitress in the Sky.” It was previously reissued in 2008 with a handful of bonus tracks, many of which appear again on the new Tim: Let It Bleed Edition.

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Stasium’s new mix was sourced from the original master tapes and brings out a great deal more of the Replacements’ singular rock’n’roll sound than had been previously heard on Tim. “Ed was the only person who we seriously considered, given his incredible history, and also his deep connection to his good friend and collaborator, Tommy Ramone,” says the band’s biographer Bob Mehr, who co-produced the upcoming boxed set with Rhino’s Jason Jones and contributed to its accompanying hardcover book. “When you hear this version, it’s really the full realization of what this record could’ve sounded like.”

Augmenting Stasium’s mix plus a remastered version of Erdelyi’s original mix is the disc Sons of No One: Rare & Unreleased. It boasts previously unheard session outtakes such as the Tommy Stinson-penned, Paul Westerberg-sung “Havin Fun,” alternate mixes and/or demos of “Nowhere Is My Home,” “Left of the Dial,” “Can’t Hardly Wait,” “Bastards of Young,” and “Hold My Life,” and unreleased recordings from January 1985 recording sessions produced by Big Star’s Alex Chilton, after whom the Replacements later named one of their most popular songs.

The box’s fourth disc is dubbed Not Ready for Prime Time and chronicles a Jan. 11, 1986, concert at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro, a week before the infamous Saturday Night Live appearance which got the band banned from NBC. Beyond staples such as “I Will Dare,” “Favorite Thing,” and “Kids Don’t Follow” and deeper cuts such as “Go” and “Mr. Whirly,” the 28-song show includes an uncommon lead vocal from late guitarist Bob Stinson on a cover of the Novas’ “The Crusher.”

Fans who order Tim: Let It Bleed Edition directly through Rhino’s website will receive a limited-edition 7″ vinyl single with two songs from the Chilton sessions: “Nowhere Is My Home” b/w a previously unreleased “cello version of “Can’t Hardly Wait.” The box also features a new Tim album cover comprised of a 1985 photo of the Replacements shot in their Minneapolis rehearsal space by photographer Moshe Brakha.

Despite having once again retreated from the spotlight, the Replacements continue to reach new listeners thanks to covers by the likes of Miley Cyrus and Lorde, high-profile syncs in The Bear and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the ongoing Rhino reissue series, which began in 2017 with the previously unreleased Live at Maxwell’s concert album.

“The unexpected success of that record — which became the Replacements highest-charting release ever, was critically acclaimed, and also a big seller — really set us up to be able to be more ambitious,” Mehr tells SPIN. “It allowed us to dig deeper into the catalog, get creative with the packages, and most importantly go back to the master tapes, and generally offered us more time, budget, and room to explore the archives. With Tim: Let It Bleed Edition, we’ve gone beyond pure archival material and actually done purposeful new remixes that fulfill the original creative intentions of the band.”

Here is the track list for Sons of No One: Rare & Unreleased:

Can’t Hardly Wait (Acoustic Demo)
Nowhere Is My Home (Alternate Mix)*
Can’t Hardly Wait (Electric Demo) [Alternate Mix]*
Left of the Dial (Alternate Version)*
Nowhere Is My Home (Alternate Version)*
Can’t Hardly Wait (Cello Version)*
Kiss Me on the Bus (Studio Demo)
Little Mascara (Studio Demo)*
Bastards of Young (Alternate Version)*
Hold My Life (Alternate Version)*
Having Fun *
Waitress in the Sky (Alternate Version)
Can’t Hardly Wait (The “Tim” Version) [Alternate Mix]*
Swingin Party (Alternate Version)*
Here Comes a Regular (Alternate Version)

(* = previously unreleased)

Here is the track list for Not Ready For Prime Time:

Gary’s Got a Boner
Love You ‘Till Friday
Bastards of Young
Can’t Hardly Wait
Answering Machine
Little Mascara
Color Me Impressed
Kiss Me on the Bus
Favorite Thing
Mr. Whirly
Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out
I Will Dare
Johnny’s Gonna Die
Dose Of Thunder
Takin’ a Ride
Hitchin’ a Ride
Trouble Boys
Unsatisfied
Black Diamond
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Customer
Borstal Breakout
Take Me Down to the Hospital
Kids Don’t Follow
Nowhere Man
The Crusher
I’m in Trouble
Go

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