Pleased to Meet Me
The only album made as a trio, cut in Memphis with Jim Dickinson.
The Replacements, 1987
- Released
- 3 March 1987
- Recorded
- November 1986 to January 1987
- Studio
- Ardent Studios, Memphis
- Label
- Sire
- Producer
- Jim Dickinson
Bob Stinson was no longer in the band. He was still a member when demos were recorded in August 1986 and showed up for one session. The main sessions ran from November 1986 to January 1987 at Ardent Studios in Memphis under Jim Dickinson, who floated the working title Where's Bob? Slim Dunlap joined soon after. The cover shows a handshake between a man in a suit, starched shirt and diamond ring and a man in a ripped workshirt. Westerberg was the man in the workshirt, though his face is out of frame, and a hand model played the rich man because nobody in the band owned a watch.
Pitchfork's review of the 2020 deluxe edition says the record was a conscious attempt to tie the band's legacy to Memphis, and that Westerberg plays most of the guitars. The album peaked at 131 on the Billboard 200 and came third in the 1987 Pazz & Jop poll. David Fricke of Rolling Stone described it as "alive with the crackle of conflicting emotions and kamikaze rock & roll fire." MTV's standards department rejected the video for The Ledge because of its suicide narrative. Rhino reissued the album in 2008 with 11 extra tracks and in 2020 as a deluxe edition of three CDs and an LP.
Track listing
- I.O.U.2:57
- Alex Chilton3:12
- I Don't Know3:19
- Nightclub Jitters2:44
- The Ledge4:04
- Never Mind2:47
- Valentine3:31
- Shooting Dirty Pool2:20
- Red Red Wine2:59
- Skyway2:04
- Can't Hardly Wait3:02
Personnel
- Paul Westerberg lead and background vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, piano on Nightclub Jitters, six-string bass on Skyway and Can't Hardly Wait, harmonica on Can't Hardly Wait
- Tommy Stinson bass (except Skyway), background vocals, upright bass on Nightclub Jitters, acoustic guitar and guitar fills on Can't Hardly Wait
- Chris Mars drums, background vocals, cowbell on Alex Chilton, foot tap on Skyway
- Jim Dickinson producer; keyboards on I.O.U., The Ledge and Can't Hardly Wait, organ on Valentine, vibes on Skyway (credited as East Memphis Slim)
- Teenage Steve Douglas baritone sax on I Don't Know, bass flute on The Ledge
- Prince Gabe saxophone on Nightclub Jitters
- Luther Dickinson guitar solo on Shooting Dirty Pool
- Alex Chilton guitar fills on Can't Hardly Wait
- Max Huls strings on Can't Hardly Wait
- Andrew Love and Ben Cauley the Memphis Horns, on Can't Hardly Wait (tenor sax and trumpet)
- John Hampton and Joe Hardy engineers, mixing
- Ted Jensen mastering
More from The Replacements
Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (1981), Stink (1982), Hootenanny (1983), Let It Be (1984), Tim (1985), Don't Tell a Soul (1989), All Shook Down (1990)
Sources
- Pleased to Meet Me, Wikipedia
- Pleased To Meet Me (master release), Discogs
- The Replacements: Pleased to Meet Me (Deluxe Edition), Pitchfork (2020-10-15)
- The Replacements: 10 of the best, The Guardian (2015-04-08)