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Tim
by Sire / London/Rhino
| List Price: |
$11.98 |
Unavailable for
purchase at this time |
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Audio CD
Publisher: Sire / London/Rhino
US LP 180-gram vinyl pressing. Rhino. 2008.
The middle title among the triad of seasoned-but-not-depleted mid-'80s Replacements albums, Tim isn't as inspired as its predecessor, Let It Be, nor as involving as its successor, Pleased to Meet Me. Still, it's the work of a wondrous foursome near the peak of its powers, and, as collections of songs go, it may be Paul Westerberg's crowning achievement. "Kiss Me on the Bus," "Swinging Party," and "Here Comes a Regular" pretty much set the standard for the sloppy-drunk college-rock romanticism of the '80s. "Bastards of Young," "Lay It Down Clown," and "Left of the Dial" proved that the hard-charging Midwesterners were still scamps at heart...or at least could still fake it. This is the last album made by the original quartet (the excesses that would lead to guitarist Bob Stinson's early death prompted his dismissal after Tim came out) and provides a key to understanding the appeal of an astonishing band that did everything right except figure out how to become stars. --Steven Stolder
| Customer Reviews: |
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| Tim |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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The Replacements-Tim ****
Tim is the most difficult Replacements album. It is difficult because The music is phenomenol in some places and dissapointing in other parts.The production works perfectly in some parts and then in others is a complete annoyance. Tommy Ramone, the original drummer for the Ramones, or as he later went by his given name, Tommy Erdelyi was the producer of Tim. That is the biggest flaw to the album. Sometimes it sounds flat, especially the guitar, it just sounds weak. 'I'll Buy' would have been amazing had the guitar been louder and more present. Paul Westerbergs vocals are sometimes hardly auidible which is not exceptable especially concidering the calliber of his lyrics. Tim contains some of Westerbergs all time best lyrics. As before mentioned the guitar is weak in comparison to previous albums, which is understandable being as Bob Stinson was incredibly drugged out during this period left the band shortly after because of it. However that doesn't excuse Westerbergs guitar from sounding like that as he too is a great guitar player. Younger brother Tommy Stinsons bass is the most present instrument on the album which is odd concidering that usually bass is not that loud. Christopher Mars' drumming souds dull and distant which sucks because he is often the driving force behind the songs giving them a danceable feel.
'Hold My Life' 'Ill Buy' 'Bastards Of Young' 'Little Mascara' and 'Here Comes A Regular' are some of the very best written songs Westerberg ever wrote. 'Little Mascara' is simply divine. A fantastic song. 'Bastards Of Young' is just breath taking. Jesse Malin covered this on his Glitter In The Gutter album and did it perfefct. The only problem is that these songs are too serious, and not that it is a problem persay, but this album seems to have lost the since of humor that they once had with songs like 'Garys Got A Boner' and 'Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out.' Humor is something the band always had on the stage and in the studio but they seem to have started taking themselves way too serious here, more so Westerberg then anyone else. However 'Waitress In The Sky' is full of humor and is a very true song at that same time. It is about how everyone feels flying in coach and being treated bad by the flight attendants because you are not in first class, when really the attandants are nothing more then waitress in the sky.
So overall this is a solid album that could have been better had the drug circumstances with drugs, the production and the band as a whole been better but for the cards they held at the time I think for the final Replacements album of the original lineup they did a pretty good job.
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| Piling On |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I missed the Replacements entirely when they were extant, probably because I was mostly out of the country in their working years. Bought Tim a couple years ago, hadn't listened to it for some time, so took it along on a car trip to New England this week. And indeed, they did have it all -- brash, messy, hooks in every song, and funny. But all that is really a brave but futile front against the nihilism that haunts some of their best work -- Swinging Party and the amazing Here Comes a Regular with its bar-sotted turn of a season and (down)turn of a life. So in the overwhelming face of that emptiness, what to do aside from drink? Get mad and funny, Waitress in the Sky (my guess is she cut him off at six drinks or so on a two hour flight), celebrate the radio noise, Left of the Dial, and produce some great radio noise of your own, Little Mascara and Kiss Me on the Bus.
Great stuff, period.
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| "Give my regards to Boston" (* * * * 1/2) |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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The Replacement's 1985 release Tim lacks some of the muscle of 1984's Let It Be. Fortunately, it makes up for that by erasing the odious filler that marred the previous year's album. Yes, there are some weaker tracks on Tim, but they are not rubbish of the sort that reared its ugly head before. Interestingly, even though it was produced by a member of The Ramones (Tommy Erdelyi), Tim shows fewer elements of punk than the band's albums had to this point. Lyrically, Paul Westerberg reflected more on being the young adult that he actually was, rather than on the teenager that he had been.
Although Tim never rocks as hard as it predecessor, it maintains the same dynamic of rock songs interspersed with ballads. The record hits the ground running with the confident rocker "Hold My Life", and the pace is kept up for the first half of the record. The best song among these first five tracks is "Kiss Me On the Bus", an ornery advance to a female passenger whose admirer who may or may not be secret. The first half also includes the closest thing to filler on the record, "Waitress In the Sky". This is an okay song to singalong to, but I don't understand why being a waitress - on an airplane or in a restaurant - is a bad thing. And do flight attendants ever claim to be anything more important than they actually are? (I am guessing that Westerberg wrote this song after a bad flight.)
"Swingin' Party" divides the disc down the middle. This melancholy ballad is about two people - not necessarily a couple - who are outcasts, whether they are around other people or just one another. But however lonely they may be, they always have each other. Again, Westerberg paints a vivid picture of a desolate Midwestern town, where there is little for the young loner to latch onto. "Left of the Dial" is a musically crisp and lyrically earnest valentine to underground radio, and maybe even to a particular female artist whom he heard on one of those stations. The album's closer, "Here Comes A Regular", is Tim's "Androgynous". This is one of Westerberg's best songs, ballads or otherwise. "A person can work up a mean, mean thirst/After a hard day of nothin' much at all" introduces the song's narrator as someone who has only his nightly trip to the watering hole to look forward to each day. Is he actually thirsty? Yes, but more for somewhere to go and someone to talk to rather than for alcohol. For all the goofy, sloppy rock songs that Westerberg writes, it is songs like this one that demonstrate his worthiness of being treated as a serious songwriter.
Speaking of goofy, sloppy rock songs, there is no shortage of them on Tim. Not surprisingly, these are the tracks on which Bob Stinson's guitar shines through the most brightly. Among these are "I'll Buy", "Dose of Thunder", and "Lay It Down Clown". But the best of these rockers is "Bastards of Young", which isn't really goofy or sloppy at all. In fact, it is as anthemic as the clarion call opening riff suggests it is. This is not a teenage anthem, but a twenty-something anthem, with its references to "the ladder of success", "graduat[ing] unskilled", and "income tax deduction". It seems that Westerberg dares skeptics to write him off with songs like the three above, only force them to reconsider with ones like this one, as well as "Kiss Me On the Bus" and "Here Comes A Regular".
Let It Be and Tim, taken together, secured The Replacements a spot among the pantheon of great American indie rock bands. 1987's Pleased To Meet Me continued their winning streak, but would be the last in a trio of great albums. Fans and critics can argue over which of these albums was actually their best, but I think that they would all agree that Tim was their most consistent collection, even if the best songs on Let It Be were better than the best ones on Tim.
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| I didn't like this at first, but over time I grew to love it! This is great 80's indie rock! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I'll admit that the first couple of times I heard "Tim" that I only liked about five songs ("Hold My Life", "Kiss Me On The Bus", "Waitress In The Sky", "Swingin' Party" and "Here Comes A Regular"). These are obviously the standout tracks here and the ones with the best musicianship and lyrics, but the others are also good - they will definitely grow on you. The problem with most of the album is (and this is the reason it took some time to like) is that singer Paul Westerberg has a kind've unlikable voice at first (he sounds like he's been drinking whisky every day for the past 10 years). He's not horrible, but I can certainly see some people not liking him on their first listen (you'll grow to like him, though - he definitely has a very cool personality). Thankfully all the songs here are good, and the musicianship and lyrics are fantastic. The five songs I mentioned before all have very deep and memorable lyrics that will definitely grab your attention - "Here Comes A Regular" is an especially classic track. Unfortunately the production isn't all that good (I don't think this has been remastered yet), but it isn't bad enough to annoy anyone. The album itself came out in 1985, and you can imagine the impact it had (NOTHING sounded like it (or still sounds like it) - many bands even today are influenced by The Replacements). It has a sort of raw and edgy indie rock sound with a folk and country twist - it's pretty unique, basically. Overall I think that indie rock fans and those interested in music's history will love this album (eventually)! Absolutely recommended!
Highlights include:
"Hold My Life"
"Kiss Me On The Bus"
"Waitress In The Sky"
"Swingin' Party"
"Here Comes A Regular"
the rest are good, too
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| This is one of the greatest albums ever made! Buy this!! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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My words cannot appreciate this beautiful piece of mid-eighties rock n' roll glory. This was my first Mats album and after becoming a big fan, I have noticed that Paul Westerberg has became this metaphysical saint-like figure in the audible cosmic atmosphere called "rock music." From talking to different sorts of people, I have noticed that Westerberg has activated two extremes within the hearts of folks who have heard the Mats or Westerberg's solo stuff... they love him or hate him. How on God's green Earth can you hate a genius like Westerberg? From those who adore Paul, they have noticed that Westerberg has the ability to write songs that are about what an individual has felt or is currently feeling or going through. This is done in such a deep way, his lyrics are connected online to the human heart, mind, and nervous system.
All these songs are good. "Hold My Life" kicks off the album and this particular track is one of those songs that I am attached to. The Replacements dive into a pool of diversity on this album, beautifully blending the elements of popular American music past and present. "I'll Buy" is a rockabilly/country rocker, "Bastards of Young" is an electric anthem that is timeless, full of distorted rage and the acne of innocent youth. "Kiss Me On The Bus" is a romantic ditty, placing the listener into a realm where you mystically envision a first kiss, or remember your own. Country, folk, rock,...whatever it is. The Mats took these genres and made them their own.
Tim is the last album to have guitar-wildman, Bob Stinson, and their first major label debut on the then-hot Sire Records. I should also mention the album is produced by Tommy Ramone.
Maybe someday, Sire or Warner Bros, will rerelease this album with bonus tracks, not to mention the rough version of "Can't Hardly Wait."
God Bless Paul Westerberg
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Hold My Life
I'll Buy
Kiss Me on the Bus
Dose of Thunder - The Replacements, Mars, Chris
Waitress in the Sky
Swingin Party
Bastards of Young
Lay It Down Clown
Left of the Dial
Little Mascara
Here Comes a Regular
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