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All Shook Down

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All Shook Down
Studio album by
The Replacements
ReleasedSeptember 25, 1990
Recorded1990
GenreAlternative rock
Length41:00 (original)
1:15:32 (reissue)
LabelSire
ProducerScott Litt
The Replacements chronology
Don't Tell a Soul
(1989) 		All Shook Down
(1990) 		All for Nothing / Nothing for All
(1997)

All Shook Down is the seventh and final studio album by the American rock band The Replacements, released on September 25, 1990, by Sire Records.

Recording

[edit]

This album was originally intended to be frontman Paul Westerberg's solo artist debut. His management talked him into doing it as a Replacements album before the recording started. As a result of its initial intent, All Shook Down is marked by numerous session, side and journeyman musicians, in addition to the three other Replacements.[citation needed]

Although there are no clear records of which members played on which tracks, there are numerous clues. In an interview with Musician magazine, Westerberg noted that there were four drummers on the record, but 'we didn't bring in any guitar players,' indicating that all of the guitar parts were performed by Replacements members, but many of the drum parts were not. Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson joined the project only about a week after it started, and no bassists are included among the list of session musicians, indicating that Stinson played most of the bass on the record. Stinson has mentioned 'the songs I didn't play on' which may refer to songs like the title track that do not feature bass, or that Westerberg, who occasionally played 6-string bass on the band's earlier recordings may have played some bass in Stinson's place.[citation needed]

Replacements drummer Chris Mars also brought in a cassette tape of his own material that he recorded on a four-track. Mars had written songs for the Replacements before, but when Westerberg became the band's primary songwriter, he began to reject every song that Mars would bring in. When Westerberg dismissed his songs out of hand, Mars decided it was time for him to leave the band altogether.[1]

A number of the tracks also prominently feature Stinson's backing vocals. Guitarist Slim Dunlap joined the project later, and may have participated less than Stinson did, but it is notable that Westerberg kept Dunlap around to add guitar and vocal overdubs after Stinson and Mars finished their parts, and while the album has relatively few guitar leads, several songs feature Dunlap's distinctive lead style. Mars had already been replaced by session drummer Charley Drayton on a few tracks before he arrived at the sessions, and the band used two other session drummers before its completion, indicating that his role was limited compared to the other band members. The only track featuring the entire band performing together may be the acoustic rave-up "Attitude".[citation needed]

Of the other musicians, notable contributors include John Cale, formerly of the Velvet Underground, who plays viola on "Sadly Beautiful",[2] and Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, who duets with Westerberg on the song "My Little Problem".[3]

Release

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Chicago Tribune[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB− (1990)[6]
B (2008)[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
NME4/10[9]
Pitchfork6.3/10[10]
Q[11]
Rolling Stone[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Select4/5[13]

The band issued promotional-only singles for "Merry Go Round", "Someone Take The Wheel", "When It Began", and "Happy Town". "Merry Go Round" was the band's most successful Modern Rock Tracks single, reaching #1 for four non-consecutive weeks.

Drummer Chris Mars left the band in November 1990 (his last appearance as a Replacement being in the "Merry Go Round" video) and Steve Foley filled in on drums for the six-month All Shook Down Tour of 1991. The band were nominated for the Best Alternative Video and Best Special Effects categories at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards for the claymation/live action music video for "When It Began". The band played its last show on Independence Day, July 4, 1991, at Chicago's Grant Park.[14] They also received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.

Rolling Stone ranked the album number three on their Albums of the Year of 1990.

The album was remastered and reissued by Rhino Entertainment on September 23, 2008, with 11 additional tracks and liner notes by Peter Jesperson.

The album cover art was taken in Newport, Kentucky, from the corner of 7th and Brighton St. looking north towards Cincinnati, Ohio.

Track listing

[edit]

All songs written by Paul Westerberg except as indicated.

  1. "Merry Go Round" – 3:29
  2. "One Wink at a Time" – 3:02
  3. "Nobody" – 3:06
  4. "Bent Out of Shape" – 3:42
  5. "Sadly Beautiful" – 3:09
  6. "Someone Take the Wheel" – 3:37
  7. "When It Began" – 3:07
  8. "All Shook Down" – 3:16
  9. "Attitude" – 2:43
  10. "Happy Town" – 2:54
  11. "Torture" – 1:52
  12. "My Little Problem" – 4:09
  13. "The Last" – 2:54
2008 CD reissue bonus tracks
  2. "When It Began (Demo Version)" – 2:47
  3. "Kissin' in Action (Demo Version)" – 2:27
  4. "Someone Take the Wheel (Demo Version)" – 3:37
  5. "Attitude (Demo Version)" – 2:54
  6. "Happy Town (Demo Version)" – 2:40
  7. "Tiny Paper Plane (Demo)" – 2:08
  8. "Sadly Beautiful (Demo)" – 3:15
  9. "My Little Problem (Alternate Version)" – 3:39
  10. "Ought to Get Love" – 3:04
  11. "Satellite" (Tommy Stinson) – 3:39
  12. "Kissin' in Action" – 3:35
  • Tracks 14–20 are studio demos.
  • Track 21 is an alternate take.
  • Tracks 22–24 are from the promo EP "Don't Sell or Buy, It's Crap".

Personnel

[edit]
The Replacements

with:

  • John Cale − viola on "Sadly Beautiful"
  • Abe Lincoln
  • Axel Niehaus
  • Benmont Tench - piano, organ
  • Charley Drayton - drums on "Merry Go Round" and "Someone Take the Wheel"
  • David Schramm
  • Johnette Napolitano - vocals on "My Little Problem"
  • Mauro Magellan - drums on "Bent Out of Shape"
  • Michael Blair - drums on "Happy Town", "My Little Problem" and "The Last"
  • Steve Berlin - saxophone on "One Wink at a Time", ocarina on "All Shook Down"
  • Terry Reid - backing vocals on "Someone Take the Wheel"

References

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  1. ^ Wilonsky, Robert (May 11, 1995). "No mere replacement". Dallas Observer. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Mundy, Chris (October 4, 1990). "All Shook Down". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. ^ "Paul Westerberg on KTCL FM Ft Collins CO Nov 1990 (The Replacements)side A". Soundcloud. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  4. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "All Shook Down – The Replacements". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2005.
  5. ^ Kot, Greg (September 27, 1990). "Replacements: All Shook Down (Reprise/Sire)". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  6. ^ Robbins, Ira (September 28, 1990). "All Shook Down". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  7. ^ Willman, Chris (October 3, 2008). "The Replacements' reissues". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  8. ^ Cromelin, Richard (September 23, 1990). "The Replacements 'All Shook Down' Sire". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  9. ^ Lamacq, Steve (September 29, 1990). "The Replacements: All Shook Down". NME. p. 41.
  10. ^ Richardson, Mark (September 26, 2008). "The Replacements: Tim / Pleased to Meet Me / Don't Tell a Soul / All Shook Down". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  11. ^ Aston, Martin (November 1990). "The Replacements: All Shook Down". Q. No. 50.
  12. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "The Replacements". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 688–689. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. ^ Linehan, Graham (November 1990). "Shakin' All Over". Select. No. 5.
  14. ^ Moss, Charles J. (26 November 2014). "The Disastrous Show That Made The Replacements Legendary". Medium. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
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