Pleased To Meet Me
by The Replacements

I know I'm in a huge minority, but this is the album I come back to,
More than the previous 2. Let it be and Tim are fine albums,
But this one gets me juiced more. Alex chilton and can't hardly wait
Are two of my favorite songs of all time, and skyway is just emotionally
Gorgeous

A strong follow up to Tim, this is the last great album the Mats would make. This set is bookended by a pair of clear late career highlighs; one of Paul's strongest rockers, the scorching I.O.U. and his most lonesome ballad, Can't Hardly Wait.

From Trickington 08/25/2013 14:12 | #84483 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

"Clunkers" huh?
I thought it was all good. Certainly less energetic than Let it Be and Tim, but it has it's own charm to it. (Edited)

Pleased to Meet Me is the strongest set of songs by The Replacements.

The attitude on Let It Be and Tim were sloppy and bratty, with some really brilliant tracks and a handful of throwaway tracks, but everything comes together on Pleased to Meet Me: Mature performances, excellent heartfelt songwriting, cleaner power-pop chords and acceptable production. It is clean and structured enough to allow for the ragged edge to work this time around.

I really appreciate the Memphis-soul horns on this one. It's a nice touch that you rarely see on alternative rock albums and it makes this LP distinctive.

The twin pillars here that bookend the album are Alex Chilton and Can't Hardly Wait. Some really solid tracks also include The Ledge, Never Mind, and the excellent ballad Skyway. Standard rockers that are fairly decent are I.O.U and Valentine. Pleased to Meet Me has some experimental tracks on Side A, Nightclub Jitters and I Don't Know, the weakest track on the album. Side B includes two anthems that work fairly well. Shooting Dirty Pool has the swagger of Rolling Stones and Red Red Wine is almost anthemic, with its sing-along chorus.

Pleased to Meet Me showed the world that hardcore music could be sentimental and charming. Before this, hardcore was mostly a wild, untamed animal, with no emotional undertones. The Replacements, and particularly Paul Westerberg, showed the public that you could play hard rock in a bittersweet way: heartfelt and soulful.

Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Can't Hardly Wait
B-Side: Skyway

From Brad1770 TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/15/2018 06:42 | #216799 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I absolutely adore The Replacements & this is just about my favourite of their stellar catalogue which says it all IMO

"Skyway" is my personal favourite ( a Skyway is an indoor travelator in Minneapolis to transport walkers inside a heated building ) and sits right beside "Here Comes The Regular" as my all time favourite Replacements track

"I Don't Know" is a dead set classic and sums up this band perfectly - slacker / I don't give a fuck lyrics and the magic line: "One Foot In The Door The Other One In The Gutter " , yep that's The Replacements , the band that could have been but would rather be in the gutter

Then there is the really good in "I.O.U" , "Alex Chilton" ( who played on this album) , "Shooting Dirty Pool" and of course "Can't Hardly Wait "

And what would be a Replacements album without the obligatory miss fires in "Nightclub Jitters" and "Red Red Wine"

Paul Westerberg is either the greatest song writer known to man or he's the luckiest , I recon the truth lies some where in the middle

I'm so glad I met you ....Pleased To Meet Me is a triumph

75 "OK That's It's" Out Of 100
(Edited)