Prior to The Replacements making Let It Be, the basic blueprint for American alt.rock was set in stone. It was unrelentingly fast, loud and hardcore, as embodied by the likes of The Replacements’ Minneapolis hometown rivals Hüsker Dü, Black Flag, Minor Threat and many more.
The Replacements had started out along the very same path. Their debut album for local indie label Twin Tone, 1981’s Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out the Trash, was a mess of breakneck songs, all conceived in the basement of frontman Paul Westerberg’s parents’ house. That much might have suited guitarist Bob Stinson, his younger brother Tommy Stinson on bass and drummer Chris Mars just fine, but it was too confining for Westerberg. “I never really liked being part of a group or a team,” he said in 1984. “I like to be alone.”
