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the replacements album that replacements fans weren't thrilled about is my personel favorite (and I had been a fan for years,in fact,when I was putting a band together several years before,while advertising for a guitarist,I requested that anyone auditioning should have a rolling stones mind and a replacements heart). All Shook Down probably has a sentimental value to me,but I dunno,I think Westerberg's song writing on trhe record had finally hit a real apex,a real roll,one that he would carry over into his solo work.(Another complaint from replacements fans was that it was really a Paul Westerberg solo album. I saw them twice during the All Shook Down tour. Once at the Beacon in nyc and at Madison Square Garden where they opened for Elvis Costello and believe me,they sounded like THE Replacements (only not a drunken mess).
Either it's a scratch bass-line (the purpose of which is unclear - perhaps a very sloppy guide from Paul for Tommy or whoever was to play on this). "Satellite" (which sounds great here by the way) was recorded at Paisley Park Studios (Prince's studio) after the ASD sessions. However listening to this reissue it's easily the better and more convincing of the two albums song-for-song. It looks like that didn't happen.
I guess we're going to have to believe that the band (Paul Westerberg and company) only recorded sixteen songs for the ASD sessions because that's all that's ever seen the light of day - the thirteen album tracks, "Kissin' In Action", "Who Knows" and the spontaneous goof of "Like A Rollin' Pin" (the latter two not on this release but on their 1997 compilation 'All For Nothing.'). All Shook Down is some people's least favorite album by The Replacements - I'm guessing they never heard the counterfeit-rock album known as Don't Tell A Soul. Either way it causes one cringe as it's in the same place in the song for the entire song and it's just awful.These reissues have been fraught with various issues (edited tracks, audio drop-outs, poor choice of bonus tracks, ill-advised and uninformed/uninformative liner notes, etc). As for singles like "Merry Go Round", "Happy Town' and "When It Began" these never sounded better. The one impostor here - it was recorded at the Don't Tell A Soul sessions and thus should be on the appropriate disc - is "Ought To Get Love" (with click track and all).
So much so that one can't help but wonder if any one QC'd (Quality Checked) these before they went anywhere. Everything sounds nice and clear while not entirely tampering with the original downbeat mood of the album. Regardless of the state of the band itself, Westerberg's writing was very consistent and at a peak here that I'm not certain he's reached again since.Now about the reissue itself. This one is bit better - all things considered. The home demos are surprisingly well-recorded and performed (for home demos) and even show Westerberg in fine, confident form (in fact better form as a performer here than he is in the studio/his basement these days).
The alternate version of "My Little Problem" (without the Johnette Napolitano vocals) is very frustrating as the bass line is a note off-key throughout the entire song. The audio levels are a bit much sometimes leaving tender ballads like "Sadly Beautiful", "Nobody" and the title track begging for some dynamic range - which means there's little difference between the acoustic ballads and upbeat rockers as far as the audio levels are concerned. All in all: Very much recommended.
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