Although a multitude of bootleg recordings, the 1985 cassette-only When The Shit Hits The Fans, and the limited-edition 1989 EP Inconcerated all float around in the considerable ’Mats firmament, a proper live Replacements album has thus far been a rock holy grail. Even Tommy Stinson discounted such a release ever happening, telling his hometown newspaper in 2007, “There are no good Replacements live recordings.”
But, ’Mats being ’Mats, fans knew something was up this summer, with typical cryptic clues coming from the official Replacements twitter account:
Today, the wait is finally over, as Rolling Stone, The Star Tribune, and other outlets report that For Sale: Live At Maxwell’s 1986 will be available on October 6. It was recorded in February that year at the Hoboken, New Jersey club. The 29-track release will feature one of the Replacements’ last shows with the band’s classic lineup: guitarist/vocalist Paul Westerberg, bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Chris Mars, and guitarist Bob Stinson, before he was kicked out of the band later that year. He died in 1995.
Replacements biographer Bob Mehr, author of last year’s acclaimed Trouble Boys: The True Story Of The Replacements, helped produce the release and worked on the liner notes. He reports: “It’s head and shoulders above all the other recordings in terms of fidelity… There are 29 songs on it, and they actually finish them all.” Below is the track list, which includes an early attempt at “Can’t Hardly Wait,” many songs from classic albums Tim and Let It Be, and the usual offering of ’Mats covers like The Beatles’ “Nowhere Man” and T. Rex’s “Baby Strange.” Pre-orders of the Rhino release—on vinyl and CD—are available at Amazon. Insert inevitable “can’t hardly wait” joke here.
Disc One
“Hayday”
“Color Me Impressed”
“Dose Of Thunder”
“Fox On The Run”
“Hold My Life”
“I Will Dare”
“Favorite Thing”
“Unsatisfied”
“Can’t Hardly Wait”
“Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out”
“Takin’ A Ride”
“Bastards Of Young”
“Kiss Me On The Bus”
“Black Diamond”
Disc Two
“Johnny’s Gonna Die”
“Otto”
“I’m In Trouble”
“Left Of The Dial”
“God Damn Job”
“Answering Machine”
“Waitress In The Sky”
“Take Me Down To The Hospital”
“Gary’s Got A Boner”
“If Only You Were Lonely”
“Baby Strange”
“Hitchin’ A Ride”
“Nowhere Man”
“Go”
“Fuck School”