Let It Be
Studio album by The Replacements
Released	October 2, 1984
Recorded	Blackberry Way Studios, Minneapolis
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	33:31
Label	Twin/Tone
Producer	Steve Fjelstad, Paul Westerberg, Peter Jesperson
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Pitchfork Media (10.0/10.0) link Robert Christgau (A+) link Rolling Stone 1985 Rolling Stone 2005
The Replacements chronology
Hootenanny (1983) Let It Be (1984) Tim (1985)

Let It Be is the third studio album from the American alternative rock band The Replacements, released in October 1984 on Twin/Tone Records. By 1983's Hootenanny, the band had grown tired of playing loud and fast exclusively and decided to write songs that were, according to singer Paul Westerberg, "a little more sincere."^[1] Influenced by genres as diverse as metal, Chicago blues and arena rock, Let It Be included more complex arrangements; instruments such as pianos, mandolins and twelve-string guitars feature throughout the album. Image File history File links Cover of The Replacements album Let It Be. ... A studio album is a collection of studio-recorded tracks by a recording artist. ... For other uses, see The Replacements (disambiguation). ... is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Alternative music redirects here. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Twin/Tone Records was a record label based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota that operated from 1977 until 1994 and helped several local groups receive national attention. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Westerberg during a performance. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork, is a United States-based daily Internet publication devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. ... Robert Christgau (born April 18, 1942), is an American essayist, music journalist, and the self-declared Dean of American Rock Critics.[1] In print, his name is sometimes abbreviated as Xgau. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Image File history File links 4_stars. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... For other uses, see The Replacements (disambiguation). ... Hootenanny was the second album by The Replacements, released in 1983 (see 1983 in music). ... Breaking News: Tim Spratts car rolled into the Lawrie van tonight. ... Alternative music redirects here. ... For other uses, see The Replacements (disambiguation). ... Twin/Tone Records was a record label based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota that operated from 1977 until 1994 and helped several local groups receive national attention. ... Hootenanny was the second album by The Replacements, released in 1983 (see 1983 in music). ... Westerberg during a performance. ... This article is about metallic materials. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Arena rock, also called stadium rock or anthem rock, is a loosely-defined term describing a rock era. ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... This article is about the musical instrument. ... The twelve string guitar is an acoustic or electric guitar with twelve strings, which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six string guitar. ...

Although not a commercial success upon its release, Let It Be was critically acclaimed by various American music publications; The Village Voice's Robert Christgau gave the album an A+ rating,^[2] and the Seattle Rocket critic Bruce Pavitt said Let It Be was "mature, diverse rock that could well shoot these regional boys into the national mainstream."^[3] The album is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best rock albums; on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Let It Be ranks #239. This article is about a New York newspaper. ... Robert Christgau (born April 18, 1942), is an American essayist, music journalist, and the self-declared Dean of American Rock Critics.[1] In print, his name is sometimes abbreviated as Xgau. ... Bruce Pavitt is an American, best known for founding the record label Sub Pop. ... This is a list of albums that are particularly notable or influential. ... Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Magazine Cover, November 2003. ...

Background

The Replacements started their career as a punk rock band, similar to their Minneapolis rivals Hüsker Dü. However, The Replacements had gradually disavowed the hardcore aspects of albums like Stink with their third album Hootenanny.^[4] By 1983 the band would perform a set of cover songs intended to antagonize whomever was in the crowd. Paul Westerberg explained that the punks who made up their audience "thought that's what they were supposed to be standing for, like 'Anybody does what they want' and 'There are no rules' [...] But there were rules and you couldn't do that, and you had to be fast, and you had to wear black, and you couldn't wear a plaid shirt with flares ... So we'd play the DeFranco Family, that kind of shit, just to piss 'em off."^[5] This article is about the rock band called Hüsker Dü. For other uses, see Husker Du. ... The DeFranco Family was an early- and mid-1970s pop music group from Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada. ...

Peter Buck of R.E.M. was originally rumored to produce the album. Buck later confirmed that the band did consider him as a possible producer, but when they met Buck in Athens, Georgia, the band did not have enough material. Buck did manage to contribute to the album in a limited capacity; he said, "I was kind of there for pre-production stuff, did one solo, gave 'em some ideas."^[6] Peter Lawrence Buck (born 6 December 1956 in Berkeley, California) is the guitarist and co-founder, along with Bill Berry, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe of the alternative rock band R.E.M. // After spending time in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Buck family moved to Atlanta, Georgia. ... R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by Bill Berry (drums), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar), and Michael Stipe (vocals). ... For other uses, see Athens (disambiguation). ...

Music

Let It Be placed more of a focus on Westerberg's songwriting than previous albums. While elements of hardcore remain, the band's sound also incorporates arena rock, pop, jazz, heavy metal, honky-tonk country and Chicago blues. Unlike previous efforts, the individual songs have distinct sections and dynamic shifts. Instruments such as piano, lap steel guitar, 12-string guitar, and mandolin appear. A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... Chandler electric lap steel guitar, a modern solid body with the classic Weissenborn profile. ... (Redirected from 12 string guitar) The twelve string guitar is an acoustic or electric guitar with twelve strings, which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six string guitar. ... This article is about the musical instrument. ...

The album is divided by more energetic rock songs like "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" and "Gary's Got a Boner" and more dramatic songs like "Sixteen Blue" and "Unsatisfied". R.E.M.'s Peter Buck contributed the guitar solo to Let It Be's first cut, "I Will Dare," which was released as a single prior to the album's release in July 1984. Image File history File links The_ReplacementsUnsatisfied. ...

Legacy

Let It Be received critical acclaim upon its release. The album ranked fourth in the 1984 Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll.^[7] Although Let It Be was far from a commercial success, it is widely regarded by critics as one of the best albums of the 1980s. It is listed in All Music Guide with a five-star rating and is one of the few albums to receive an 'A+' from esteemed music critic Robert Christgau. In 2003, the album was ranked number 239 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 1989, it was rated #15 on the same magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. In the 1999 miniseries "VH1's 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll," VH1 ranked Let It Be #79.^[8] Pitchfork Media rated the album at #29 on their 100 Best Albums of the 1980s. The Village Voice is a New York City-based weekly newspaper featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City. ... The Pazz & Jop critics poll is a highly influential poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Robert Christgau (born April 18, 1942), is an American essayist, music journalist, and the self-declared Dean of American Rock Critics.[1] In print, his name is sometimes abbreviated as Xgau. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Magazine Cover, November 2003. ... Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork, is a United States-based daily Internet publication devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. ...

In 2004 Continuum International Publishing Group published a volume in its 33⅓ series inspired by Let It Be. The book was a memoir written by Colin Meloy of indie pop band The Decemberists. In his book, Meloy wrote, "I listened to Let It Be endlessly. The record seemed to encapsulate perfectly all of the feelings that were churning inside me [...] Paul Westerberg's weary voice sounded from my boombox and I trembled to think that here I was, thirteen and the 'hardest age' was still three years in the making."^[9] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Cover of the Live at the Apollo book. ... Colin Meloy in Atlanta, Georgia Colin Meloy in Brussels (2006) Colin Patrick Henry Meloy (born October 5, 1974) is the lead singer and songwriter for the Portland, Oregon, folk-rock band The Decemberists. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... The Decemberists are a five-piece indie pop band from Portland, Oregon, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy . ...

In 2008, the popular online music magazine Pitchfork Media awarded the reissue of 'Let it Be' a rare perfect 10 score. Pitchfork staff writer Mark Richardson wrote "But the more I listened, the more I realized that all these songs have their place, and each does work on the album that needs doing...'Let it Be' is, in its own way, perfect."^[10]

Packaging

The cover of Let It Be is a photograph of the band sitting on the roof of Bob and Tommy Stinson's mother's house taken by Daniel Corrigan. Michael Azerrad stated that the cover was a "great little piece of mythmaking," showcasing each bandmember's personality via how they appear in the photograph.^[3] The album's title is a reference to the 1970 album Let It Be by The Beatles; the reference was intended as a joke on the Replacements' manager, Peter Jesperson, who was a huge Beatles fan.^[1] Let It Be redirects here. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ...

Track listing

All songs were written by Paul Westerberg, except where noted. Westerberg during a performance. ...

Side one

1. "I Will Dare" – 3:18
2. "Favorite Thing" (Westerberg, Tommy Stinson, Bob Stinson, Chris Mars) – 2:19
3. "We're Comin' Out" (Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, Mars) – 2:21
4. "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" (Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, Mars) – 1:53
5. "Androgynous" – 3:11
6. "Black Diamond" (Paul Stanley) – 2:40

Current Guns N Roses bass player Tommy Stinson Tommy Stinson (born Thomas Eugene Stinson, 6 October 1966 in Minneapolis, USA), currently a member of Guns N Roses, was one of the founding members of the legendary 1980s alternative band The Replacements. ... Bob Stinson (born Robert Neil Stinson December 17, 1959–February 18, 1995) was the founding member and lead guitarist for the legendary post-punk band The Replacements. ... Chris Mars was the drummer for seminal Minneapolis punk/pop/rock band, The Replacements. ... This article is about the metal musician. ...

Side two

1. "Unsatisfied" – 4:01
2. "Seen Your Video" – 3:08
3. "Gary's Got a Boner" (Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, Mars, Ted Nugent) – 2:28
4. "Sixteen Blue" – 4:24
5. "Answering Machine" – 3:40

Theodore Ted Nugent (born December 13, 1948) (a. ...

Notes

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References

• Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991. Little Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1