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Grandpaboy, "Mono"
The Replacements, arguably one of the best rock bands ever, have alwayshad rumor and innuendo surrounding them. One story tells of the band,upon hearing that Twin Tone, their first label, was going to re-releaseall their old LPs on CD, fooling that label's secretary into lettingthem in the vault. They then stole any master tapes they could find andthrew them in the river. Secretly, they hoped that the tapes would washup on the banks near Prince's house, where he would find them, listen,and change his musical direction.
Now, almost twenty years after TheReplacements left Twin Tone and 11 years after they broke up, Vagrantannounced they had signed Paul Westerberg, and that his first solorelease on the label, "Stereo," would include this CD, "Mono," byWesterberg's alter-ego, Grandpaboy. They also claimed they could notconfirm the latest rumor, that Westerberg had recorded the album withsome or all of his former bandmates. Rabid fans demanded answers, somuch that it seems Vagrant decided to release the CD on its own in alimited pressing. So, are the Replacements recording again under thename Grandpaboy? Westerberg and his new label aren't saying, as allplayers listed in the liner notes are pseudonyms. But it's hard to denyon hearing the release that they may be there sporadically on sometracks. Here and there, the bass/backup vocals sound like TommyStinson, the drums could be Chris Mars or a reasonable substitute (JoshFreese, anyone?), and that "Superfluous Lead Guitar," as the linernotes say, might be Slim Dunlap. But who can say? And does it matter?Not really. True to its title, "Mono" was recorded in "Dynamic Mono,"which sounds far better than any other Mono recording I've heard. Andit is easily the best record Westerberg has recorded since the heydayof the 'Mats. A straight rock record in the best sense, there are noslow piano meanderings or ballads here. There are a few mid-temponumbers, bust mostly it swaggers right along. And there are missteps,as Grandpaboy admits in the liner notes, like songs starting or endingawkwardly, and a few weird passages, notably the break in the middle of'AAA.' The songs are worthy of merit, however, as they possess solidhooks, quirky lyrics, and that Westerberg wail, all true to 'Mats form.Who played it? Who cares. As the Grandpaboy says, "It feels right." Andthat's all that matters.
Now, almost twenty years after TheReplacements left Twin Tone and 11 years after they broke up, Vagrantannounced they had signed Paul Westerberg, and that his first solorelease on the label, "Stereo," would include this CD, "Mono," byWesterberg's alter-ego, Grandpaboy. They also claimed they could notconfirm the latest rumor, that Westerberg had recorded the album withsome or all of his former bandmates. Rabid fans demanded answers, somuch that it seems Vagrant decided to release the CD on its own in alimited pressing. So, are the Replacements recording again under thename Grandpaboy? Westerberg and his new label aren't saying, as allplayers listed in the liner notes are pseudonyms. But it's hard to denyon hearing the release that they may be there sporadically on sometracks. Here and there, the bass/backup vocals sound like TommyStinson, the drums could be Chris Mars or a reasonable substitute (JoshFreese, anyone?), and that "Superfluous Lead Guitar," as the linernotes say, might be Slim Dunlap. But who can say? And does it matter?Not really. True to its title, "Mono" was recorded in "Dynamic Mono,"which sounds far better than any other Mono recording I've heard. Andit is easily the best record Westerberg has recorded since the heydayof the 'Mats. A straight rock record in the best sense, there are noslow piano meanderings or ballads here. There are a few mid-temponumbers, bust mostly it swaggers right along. And there are missteps,as Grandpaboy admits in the liner notes, like songs starting or endingawkwardly, and a few weird passages, notably the break in the middle of'AAA.' The songs are worthy of merit, however, as they possess solidhooks, quirky lyrics, and that Westerberg wail, all true to 'Mats form.Who played it? Who cares. As the Grandpaboy says, "It feels right." Andthat's all that matters.
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