I Don't Know Who They Think They Were

Rock 'n' roll purists may scoff, but I love greatest-hits packages, especially when they're done up right. Such is the case with Don't You Know Who I Think I Was? The Best of the Replacements, which I picked up upon its release this morning at Sonic Boom.

The disc's 20 kickass tunes are neatly presented in chronological order, spanning the group's entire recording history (1981-1990), drawing at least one track each from their seven albums and lone EP (released on both indie and major labels), and including previously unreleased tracks (in this case, "Message to the Boys" and "Pool & Dive," two new songs recorded by reunited original members Paul, Tommy, and Chris). Of course, this being a hits compilation, the liner notes contain a gushing, superlative-filled essay -- here Bill Holdship claims, "No rock band has ever released a trilogy of albums any greater than the one the Replacements released between 1984 and 1987"... Really?

Regardless, as the Replacements are one of my favorite bands, I already own 18 of these 20 songs. The new tunes are solid, upbeat rockers that hearken back to their glory days (though the guitar hook in "Pool & Dive" brings to mind the Seekers' "Georgy Girl"). However, DYKWITIW?TBOTR is somewhat redundant with the 1997 anthology All for Nothing/Nothing for All, and will also likely be redundant with a rumored box set, a collection of more rare 'n' unreleased Replacements that Rhino will supposedly, um, "drop" next year.

In the meantime, enjoy the Replacements' phoned-in video for "Alex Chilton," my favorite song from my favorite album ever of all-time ever, 1987's Pleased To Meet Me...



BWT, I've never been able to simply call them the "Mats" (as many fans do), like I can't bring myself to call my alma mater the "U-Dub." I just can't.