The Replacements: All Over but the Shouting: an Oral History - Tapa dura

Alt. legends gets the oral treatment. In the tradition of Legs McNeil and Gillian Mccain's Please Kill Me, Jim Walshutilises direct quotes to trace The Replacments frenetic journey from the suburbs to the brink of fame before falling into spectacular dissaray. The enduring infulence of the four=piece proto-po-punks - perhaps equally renowned for their boozy boorishness - is reflected in the diverse cast of interviewees ( Billie Joe Armstrong, Peter Buck, Rosanne Cash). The only dissenting voices here belong to the band themselves, who rail fiercly against their rich legacy - perhas unsurprisingly considering their self -destructive history. Minneapolis journalist Jim walsh offers an insider's view that will delight fans and intrigue the casual listener. Eight out of Ten Stars! --Classic Rock Magazine

It s a sad situation when the benchmark for all things eighties American independent rock is Michael Azerrad s Our Band Could Be Your Life. The Replacements were blessed with a chapter in Our Band, but thankfully Minneapolis journalist Jim Walsh a guy who was actually there to experience the Mats heyday and subsequent downfall has culled together arguably the definitive Replacements collection, a biography he calls All Over But the Shouting. Designed to follow the oral history blueprint established in Please Kill Me and Form the Velvets to the Voivods, Shouting pieces together reminisces from all the Mats, as well as from major players including Peter Jesperson, Lori Barbero, members of Hüsker Dü and Soul Asylum, and Craig Finn. Walsh traces the awkward beginnings of the band coming together, offering up rad memories from the Mats parents and siblings, the recounting of their legendary live shows and drunken escapades, memories of Bob Stinson s incredible guitar work, his antics and the drug abuse that ultimately, tragically brought him down, and the supreme dick, flannel-clad loser, and all around great songwriter Paul Westerberg during their intoxicated, substance-abused reign, where he seemingly was speaking for all of us losers-in-love in worn Chuck Taylors. The book is not without its shortcomings, however, although they are few and far between. Westerberg refused to be interviewed, so his quotes are extracted from previously published articles over the years, giving a somewhat disjointed makeup. No Matter. It s still fantastic to read about the much underreported Tim, Pleased to Meet Me, and Don t Tell a Soul years, and the mostly rare photos are a blast. What a f***ing great band, and a great book to boot. --Skyscraper magazine

This is the rollicking story of the notorious and celebrated band, the Replacements, as told by veteran music journalist Jim Walsh, and eye witness who was always at the periphery of the storm and often in its eye. A band in three acts: from its founding through its ascension from the club scene to the national indie circuit and a major label deal in 1985 to its slow and painfull implosion....journalist Jim Walsh tells the story of the band that began in a basement and was eventually celebrated by the Village Voice and Rolling Stone. Walsh follows The Replacements remarkable rise ( seven LP's, a spot on Saturday Night Live, a Grammy nomination) touring with REM and Tom Petty through to their equally thunderous downfall --Uncut