Tim (studio album) by The Replacements

The 2023 Ed Stasium remix is exactly the facelift this album needed. Gone is the God-awful tinny drums, reverby vocals and guitars that sound like they were recorded in the hallway on the front cover. Hidden in the masters all these years was a brilliant set of mature, vulnerable songs that sound as fresh today as they were in the studio in 1985. The intentional sloppy grit that was the band's trademark remains in place, it was just buried under a terrible original mix.

The live set also includes several essential songs that the band had recorded up to this point, making the Let It Bleed edition a decent introduction into the band for unfamiliar listeners wondering what all the fuss is about.

It is clear that Tim was the band's moment to shine, and shine they did, but only a few years later the ends frayed and the band came apart.

From HoldenM 09/23/2023 20:24

The Let It Bleed version just dropped. Both the Ed Strasium mix and the '23 remasters are phenomenal. Well worth checking out.

This is not a bad record, but not as brilliant as its predecessor, the sound is not so raw and lyrics although still great less memorable. I want to highlight Hold My Life, Swingin Party, Bastards of Young and beautiful lyrics on Here Comes a Regular.

"God, what a mess, on the ladder of success
Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung."

The opening lines of Bastards of Young perfectly describe the major label debut from The Replacements: A sad tale of talent ruined by insecurity, recklessness, intoxication and self-sabotage.

Tim mixes the fiery post-punk energy of their early years with a mixture of brilliant introspective gems and forgettable rockers.

Side 1 is particularly weak, with I'll Buy and Lay It Down Clown. Waitress in the Sky attempts to charm, but leaves a dull impression.

Side 2 is particularly memorable, with the ballad Here Comes a Regular and the underrated Little Mascara. There's also the anthemic Bastards of Young and Left of the Dial.

Left of the Dial is a particularly charming song about college rock stations that played alternative music in the 80s, romanticized with a troubled couple that yearn for an earlier time when the relationship was young.

It's messy, and The Replacements may have missed the first rung, but they wore their hearts on their drunken sleeves the whole way. Perhaps it's that vulnerable and emotional connection that continues to win them fans to this day.

The momentum here would all come together on a much more solid set of songs on the following LP called Pleased to Meet Me.

Recommended.

Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Bastards of Young
B-Side: Swingin' Party

From Larcx13 11/17/2020 12:12

Not to the same level as Let It Be for me but still a really good album

From Droophus 01/19/2020 16:08

Great albums should sound unique, have great memorable songs, and if they are truly special, take the listener on a journey to another place and time. Westerberg and the boys do that on Tim, by making you not just hear the songs but really feel them. You’re reminiscing about people you’ve never met and places you’ve never been.

From buzzdainer 11/21/2019 21:42

I was fourteen years old when Tim was released, and I believe it was a review in Rolling Stone that drew my attention to it. It was the first Replacements album that I ever heard, and that's often the factor that makes me love one album by a particular artist more than all the others. I don't remember hearing an album before Tim that had such pathos: such world-weary wisdom mixed with insolent, adolescent rage. I especially love "Kiss Me on the Bus," which somehow perfectly captures the gossipy, whispering qualities of peer pressure, young love, and first kisses. And "Left of the Dial" is straight-up one of the greatest songs of the eighties.

My favourite album by The Replacements. Second half is much more solid as it has the classics, but the entire album is enjoyable.

From micah88800 08/07/2018 06:44

Tim is an awesome record! Without “Dose of Thunder” and “Lay it down clown”, it would be absolutely perfect. Especially with one of the greatest closers ever “Here Comes a Regular”. This album paints a vivid picture of 1985 small-town America perfectly. 9/10

From Brad1770 04/22/2018 11:03

The Tommy Ramone produced "Tim" is everything you'd expect from a Replacements album -

There's good tracks in 'Hold My Life' , 'Kiss Me on the Bus' & 'Left of the Dial'

There's stinkers in 'Dose of Thunder' and 'Swingin Party'

There's quirky in 'Waitress In the Sky' (written about Paul Westerbergs flight attendant sister)

There's Great in 'Bastards of Young' and ' Little Mascara' and

There's the down right sublime in 'Here Comes a Regular'

The tracks on this album work their way into your psych after a few listens , and never leave

And I would definitely recommend listening to the 2008 "Tim" reissue which is also remastered , the production on the original album sounds incredibly distant & the remaster finally brings all the tracks to life

Shambolic Bliss

70 Mats Out Of 100