Pleased To Meet Me

By their fifth release, The Replacements were down to a trio (guitarist Bob Stinson was out of the band after their excellent album Tim). It was a release that took the best of their punk roots, mixed it with some pop and soul (thanks in part to working with Jim Dickinson in a soul music mecca, Memphis) and the messy poetry of Paul Westerberg - it was also a transitional release that is even depicted on the cover art that depicted a handshake between one person in a suit and the other wearing a ripped work shirt.

It’s my favorite album by The Replacements and Pleased To Meet Me is today’s feature on I Own That CD!

The opening track is the blistering “I.O.U.” I sense from the lyrics that Westerberg is telling the music industry and/or music fans that despite being a major label, he owes you nothing. It’s the perfect opener.

“Alex Chilton” is an homage to Big Star frontman Alex Chilton and is a perfect song. Westerberg had met Chilton (they shared a booking agent) and gushed over Big Star’s music and Chilton’s songwriting. In fact, the lyrics, “I’m in love, With that song” was based on an early conversation the two had, where Westerberg couldn’t remember the title of the Big Star song he loved so much. I was one of the millions of children that sang for Alex Chilton.

The sloppy but fun and funky “I Don’t Know” follows with more lyrics that touch on going from young punks to musicians with a major label deal - “One foot in the door, The other one in the gutter.” I love the sax solo from former Wrecking Crew member Steve Douglas.

“Nightclub Jitters” is a boozy, jazzy ditty of a song that gives the feeling of a seedy spot downtown where the drinks are cheap and nobody talks to anyone. Maybe it serves as a follow up to the fantastic “Here Comes A Regular” from Tim.

Prior to “Jumper” from Third Eye Blind there was “The Ledge”. An ominous teen-suicide narrative that actually had a music video banned on MTV because of the subject matter. It’s a great song that was important before it was cool to celebrate dark subject matters.

“Skyway” is another homage to Big Star - a beautiful and stunning 12-string guitar ballad that uses Minneapolis’s raised walkways as a metaphor for unrequited love with our hapless character wandering the streets while the girl he loves passes high above him.

Maybe the most famous song on the album and of the band all-time closes out Pleased To Meet Me, “Can’t Hardly Wait”. This should-have-been-a-hit song (back when record executives had no clue what to do with catchy alternative songs) is still dark lyrically but the music is a bop. From the opening guitar riff to the full horn section and the fantastic guest appearance from the previously mentioned Alex Chilton, it’s a perfect ending to an outstanding album.