I love The Replacements and their albums as much as the next old rock dude. But I love Tim just a little bit more. So I was more than a little bit thrilled to learn that it’s finally getting the deluxe box-set treatment already afforded to some other titles in their catalog. (Granted, it wasn’t exactly a secret; bassist Tommy Stinson revealed a couple of months back that it was next in line.)
The only thing wrong with the original Tim: It was saddled with a terrible mix. Back in the day, I remember monkeying with my stereo’s EQ until I got the sound I liked, then writing down the settings so I could reproduce it whenever I played the album (which was pretty damn often). Although reissued versions have improved the sound, it seems like they’ve finally and fully addressed that issue on this upcoming version. But I’ll let the press release tell the rest of the story:
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Released in the fall of 1985, The Replacements’ major label debut Tim peaked at No. 192 on the Billboard charts, selling just 75,000 copies. Over time, however, the record would find a mass audience among successive generations thanks to the enduring appeal of anthems like Bastards Of Young and Left Of The Dial and ballads like Swingin Party and Here Comes A Regular.
Even with Tim’s evolving status as an all-time classic, The Replacements remained unsatisfied with the sound of the record, largely centered on the mix done by the album’s producer, Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Famer Tommy Erdelyi, aka Tommy Ramone. Now, after four decades, the LP has finally been given a long overdue sonic overhaul as part of Tim: Let It Bleed Edition, arriving Sept. 22.
The Tim: Let It Bleed Edition 4CD/1LP deluxe boxed set is built around a stunning new mix of Tim by legendary producer/engineer Ed Stasium (Ramones, Talking Heads) and features a collection of previously unheard tracks (Sons of No One: Rare & Unreleased) and a classic concert from 1986 (Not Ready For Prime Time).
Stasium, who was a close friend and longtime production partner of Erdelyi (who died in 2014), has fashioned the definitive mix of the 11-track album. Also included is a new and improved mastering of Erdelyi’s original 1985 mix of the album. This deluxe edition also features a disc of unreleased recordings (among them, unearthed material from the band’s January 1985 session produced by Big Star legend Alex Chilton); as well as The Replacements’ entire Jan. 11, 1986, show at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago. In total, the box includes 65 tracks — 50 of which have never been heard before.
Presented in a 12 x 12 hardcover book loaded with dozens of previously unseen photos, the set features a detailed history of the Tim era written by Bob Mehr, who produced the box with Rhino’s Jason Jones. Mehr, author of The New York Times bestseller Trouble Boys: The True Story of The Replacements, won a Grammy for his album notes to the band’s 2019 release, Dead Man’s Pop.
In addition to the revelatory new mix, the Tim: Let It Bleed Edition also boasts a fresh cover, featuring an iconic 1985 image of the band in its Minneapolis rehearsal space, taken by photographer Moshe Brakha. Coincidentally, Brakha shot the cover of The Ramones’ 1977 album Leave Home, a record which marked the first collaboration between Erdelyi and Stasium.
Stasium — who was originally considered to co-produce Tim with Erdelyi back in 1985 — was entrusted with the remix in 2022 and went back to the original multi-tracks, spending months creating a fuller, deeply detailed and ultimately more satisfying version of the record, which finally captures the band’s raw power. Stasium also completed work on several previously unreleased Tim songs and alternates and did mixes of the Chilton session material.
Even before signing with Sire/Warner Bros. in early 1985, The Replacements — singer-guitarist Paul Westerberg, bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Chris Mars and lead guitarist Bob Stinson — began recording new material with their musical/spiritual godfather Chilton that January in their hometown of Minneapolis. They followed up by cutting initial demos with Erdelyi in April, then starting the Tim sessions in earnest that summer. Sons Of No One: Rare & Unreleased collects all that material, including illuminating alternate versions of songs like Can’t Hardly Wait, Bastards of Young and Hold My Life — plus a unique and previously unheard original, Havin Fun, written by Tommy Stinson and sung by Westerberg.
The final disc, Not Ready For Prime Time, captures the band performing live at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro in January 1986. A soundboard recording made by the band’s live mixer, the late Monty Lee Wilkes, the show was a one-off date that came just a week before the group’s infamous appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, which ultimately saw them banned from the network. The 28-song Metro performance finds the original lineup of the band at its final peak, with incendiary versions of Replacements classics (Color Me Impressed, Answering Machine), rarely played deep cuts (Mr. Whirly, Go), as well covers of The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Sham 69, plus a rare lead vocal turn from Bob Stinson on The Novas’ Minnesota garage-rock classic The Crusher.”
Tim: Let It Bleed Edition Track Listing
CD 1: Time (Ed Stasium Mix)
Hold My Life
I’ll Buy
Kiss Me On The Bus
Dose Of Thunder
Waitress In The Sky
Swingin Party
Bastard Of Young
Lay It Down Clown
Left Of The Dial
Little Mascara
Here Comes A Stranger
CD 2: Tim (2023 Remaster)
Hold My Life
I’ll Buy
Kiss Me On The Bus
Dose Of Thunder
Waitress In The Sky
Swingin Party
Bastard Of Young
Lay It Down Clown
Left Of The Dial
Little Mascara
Here Comes A Stranger
CD 3: Sons of No One: Rare & Unreleased
Can’t Hardly Wait (Acoustic Demo)
Nowhere Is My Home (Alternate Mix)*
Can’t Hardly Wait (Electric Demo) [Alternate Mix]*
Left Of The Dial (Alternate Version)*
Nowhere Is My Home (Alternate Version)*
Can’t Hardly Wait (Cello Version)*
Kiss Me On The Bus (Studio Demo)
Little Mascara (Studio Demo)*
Bastards Of Young (Alternate Version)*
Hold My Life (Alternate Version)*
Having Fun*
Waitress In The Sky (Alternate Version)
Can’t Hardly Wait (The “Tim” Version) [Alternate Mix]*
Swingin Party (Alternate Version)*
Here Comes A Regular (Alternate Version)
CD 4: Not Ready For Prime Time
Live at the Cabaret Metro, Chicago, IL, January 11, 1986
Gary’s Got A Boner*
Love You ‘Till Friday*
Bastards Of Young*
Can’t Hardly Wait*
Answering Machine*
Little Mascara*
Color Me Impressed*
Kiss Me On The Bus*
Favorite Thing*
Mr. Whirly*
Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out*
I Will Dare*
Johnny’s Gonna Die*
Dose Of Thunder*
Takin’ A Ride*
Hitchin’ A Ride*
Trouble Boys*
Unsatisfied*
Black Diamond*
Jumpin’ Jack Flash*
Customer*
Borstal Breakout*
Take Me Down To The Hospital*
Kids Don’t Follow*
Nowhere Man*
The Crusher*
I’m In Trouble*
Go*
LP: Ed Stasium Mix
Side A
Hold My Life
I’ll Buy
Kiss Me On The Bus
Dose Of Thunder
Waitress In The Sky
Swingin Party
Side B
Bastards Of Young
Lay It Down Clown
Left Of The Dial
Little Mascara
Here Comes A Regular
*Previously Unreleased
