Formed at around 1979 (the year I was born!), The Replacements were a key part of the American alternative scene that existed in the 1980s alongside R.E.M and Husker Du. Sound-wise they were a mixture of both bands, with a good helping of The Ramones and The Rolling Stones thrown in. This was their first album released in 1981 and a far cry from latter day albums such as Tim and Pleased to meet me. It is basically straight up punk rock with some fairly amateurish production and sloppy performances. Which whilst extremely fun and exciting to listen to at times, does not really showcase frontman Paul Westerbergs true song-writing abilities. Still a promising start for one of Americas most important alternative bands.
