In 1981, punk rock had come to mean hardcore, and in Minneapolis, bands like Hüsker Dü and Loud Fast Rules (soon to become Soul Asylum) were flying the flag for the faster, louder, and shorter aesthetic. When the Replacements made their way into the Twin City's underground rock scene, they were initially lumped in with the local hardcore crowd, but their debut album, 1981's Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, was obviously made of other things. The Replacements were punk in the tradition of earlier bands like Eddie and ...
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In 1981, punk rock had come to mean hardcore, and in Minneapolis, bands like Hüsker Dü and Loud Fast Rules (soon to become Soul Asylum) were flying the flag for the faster, louder, and shorter aesthetic. When the Replacements made their way into the Twin City's underground rock scene, they were initially lumped in with the local hardcore crowd, but their debut album, 1981's Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, was obviously made of other things. The Replacements were punk in the tradition of earlier bands like Eddie and the Hot Rods, the Damned, and Minneapolis's own Suicide Commandos -- they played fast and loud with plenty of attitude, but their melodic style was clearly beholden to stripped-down rock & roll traditionalism (as were Bob Stinson's guitar leads), and while they liked to play dumb, they were clearly too smart to be boxed in by hardcore's narrow stylistic boundaries. Sorry Ma is the work of a band that's rough yet inspired -- Paul Westerberg's sloppy, full-bodied rhythm guitar gave Bob Stinson plenty of room for his repurposed Steve Howe licks, Tommy Stinson's bass lines were lively and carried their share of the melody, and drummer Chris Mars had the stamina and the muscle to keep up with it all. Though the Replacements sounded scrappy and exciting here, what truly set them apart was Westerberg's songs -- they were clever, funny, and self-depreciating, the work of a young man with a fully functioning bullshit detector whose arrogance about his talent was balanced by his obvious insecurities about life, work, women, and himself. Westerberg was more than willing to rage ("Careless," "Takin' a Ride," "Don't Ask Why") and occasionally wear his heart on his sleeve ("Customer," "Johnny's Gonna Die"), though he knew folks would only stick around if he was funny, and Sorry Ma is very funny indeed, and genuinely inspiring in its sloppy but heartfelt wallop. Though the Replacements would get a lot better very quickly, Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash drew the roadmap to everything that was best about them right out of the box, and it remains a dirty, roaring rock & roll delight. [In 2021, Rhino Records released a remastered and expanded edition of Sorry Ma, featuring four CDs and one LP, with 67 of its 100 tracks previously unreleased. Along with a remastered version of the original album, there's a disc of early demos and rehearsal tapes, another devoted to alternate takes and mixes, and finally, a full concert from January 1981 documenting the band in rowdy, revved-up form. The box also features an LP with an alternate version of the album fashioned from outtakes, and a book with notes by Bob Mehr and Peter Jesperson. While the collection of alternate takes gets samey after a while, most of this set is pure gold for fans, especially the live disc, and anyone who loves Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash will cherish this upgraded edition.] ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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