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On the heels of last year’s revelatory Dead Man’s Pop set exploring the making of Don’t Tell a Soul, Rhino has announced a new box set from The Replacements celebrating another of the Minneapolis band’s finest albums. On October 9, 1987’s Pleased to Meet Me – the immediate predecessor of Don’t Tell a Soul – will get the deluxe treatment as a 3-CD/1-LP set (also available digitally) featuring a whopping 29 previously unreleased tracks.
The ‘Mats’ fifth studio album, Pleased to Meet Me is their only LP as a trio. Guitarist Bob Stinson departed after completing the Tim LP, leaving Paul Westerberg, bassist Tommy Stinson, and drummer Chris Mars to soldier on with a little help from their friends including producer Jim Dickinson. Perhaps owing to the recording sessions taking place at Dickinson’s home base of Ardent Studios in Memphis, the band’s aggressive punk sound was suffused with a newly soulful element. A saxophone and horn section were even utilized, and blue-eyed soul/power-pop hero Alex Chilton dropped by to lend guitar. He also inspired the album’s second track, “Alex Chilton” (what else?).
Rhino’s new box opens with a fresh remaster of the original album by Justin Perkins, who handled the sound on Dead Man’s Pop. It continues on CD 1 with a selection of B-sides (such as covers of Bobby Troup’s “Route 66,” Bob Nolan’s “Cool Water,” and Bobby Lewis’ “Tossin’ and Turnin'”) and Jimmy Iovine’s remix of “Can’t Hardly Wait” (the song on which Chilton guested).
The set’s second and third discs delve into the album’s genesis. CD 2, Blackberry Way Demos, boasts fifteen demos, eleven of which are previously unissued. The title refers to Blackberry Way Studios in Minneapolis, where the four-piece group convened in summer 1986 to record. The first seven of the demos represent the final recordings made together by all four original members of The Replacements before Stinson’s departure. CD 3, Rough Mixes, Outtakes, and Alternates offers a curated look at the three-month recording period of the album with thirteen rough mixes by engineer John Hampton plus unreleased tracks and outtakes. These rough mixes are featured on the accompanying vinyl LP.
Pleased to Meet Me was issued on Sire Records in April 1987, and was the band’s second album to make the Billboard 200. It set the stage for the even bigger successes of Don’t Tell a Soul and All Shook Down with new band member Slim Dunlap. This edition is housed in the same 12 x 12 format as Dead Man’s Pop, and boasts dozens of rare photos as well as a new essay by Replacements biographer Bob Mehr who co-produced the set with Rhino’s Jason Jones.
For a deep-dive into The Replacements’ short-lived period as a trio, the Deluxe Edition of Pleased to Meet Me looks to fit that bill. A number of bundles are available at Rhino.com, including a couple with an exclusive cassette of an interview with Paul Westerberg recorded just prior to the album’s release. Excerpts were included on a radio promo LP, but the cassette marks the interview’s first appearance in full. Look for Pleased to Meet Me on October 9 from Sire/Rhino. You’ll find the track listing and pre-order links below!
Pleased To Meet Me: Deluxe Edition (Sire/Rhino, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Rhino.com)
Disc 1: Pleased To Meet Me (2020 Remaster) + Rare, Single-Only Tracks
- I.O.U.
- Alex Chilton
- I Don’t Know
- Nightclub Jitters
- The Ledge
- Never Mind
- Valentine
- Shooting Dirty Pool
- Red Red Wine
- Skyway
- Can’t Hardly Wait
- Election Day
- Jungle Rock
- Route 66
- Tossin’ N’ Turnin’
- Cool Water
- Can’t Hardly Wait (Jimmy Iovine Remix)
Tracks 1-11 released as Sire 25557, 1987
Tracks 12-15 from “The Ledge” double 12″ single – Sire U.K. 920 707-0, 1987
Tracks 16-17 from “Can’t Hardly Wait” single – Sire 7-28151, 1987
Disc 2: Blackberry Way Demos (previously unreleased except where noted)
- Bundle Up (Demo)
- Birthday Gal (Demo)
- I.O.U. (Demo) *
- Red Red Wine (Demo) *
- Photo (Demo)
- Time Is Killing Us (Demo) *
- Valentine (Demo)
- Awake Tonight (Demo) *
- Hey Shadow (Demo) *
- I Don’t Know (Demo) *
- Kick It in (Demo 1) *
- Shooting Dirty Pool (Demo) *
- Kick It In (Demo 2) *
- All He Wants To Do Is Fish (Demo) *
- Even If It’s Cheap (Demo) *
Tracks 1-2, 5 and 7 from expanded edition of Pleased To Meet Me – Sire/Rhino R2 513982, 2008
Disc 3: Rough Mixes, Outtakes and Alternates (previously unreleased except where noted)
- Valentine (Rough Mix) *
- Never Mind (Rough Mix) *
- Birthday Gal (Rough Mix) *
- Alex Chilton (Rough Mix) *
- Election Day (Rough Mix) *
- Kick It In (Rough Mix) *
- Red Red Wine (Rough Mix) *
- The Ledge (Rough Mix) *
- I.O.U. (Rough Mix) *
- Can’t Hardly Wait (Rough Mix) *
- Nightclub Jitters (Rough Mix) *
- Skyway (Rough Mix) *
- Cool Water (Rough Mix) *
- Birthday Gal
- Learn How To Fail *
- Run For The Country *
- All He Wants To Do Is Fish
- I Can Help (Outtake) *
- Lift Your Skirt *
- ‘Til We’re Nude
- Beer For Breakfast
- Trouble On The Way *
- I Don’t Know (Outtake)
Tracks 14, 17, 20-21 and 23 from All For Nothing/Nothing For All – Sire 46807, 1997
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Xmas came early. Fantastic news
“On October 9, 1987’s Pleased to Meet Me – the immediate predecessor of Don’t Tell a Soul – will get the deluxe treatment…” is a bit cofusing; a copy efitor might suggest, “On October 9th 1987’s ‘Pleased to Meet Me’ – the immediate predecessor of ‘Don’t Tell a Soul’ – will get the deluxe treatment…”
Better yet…”this coming October 9, “Pleased To Meet Me”, originally from 1987 & predecessor of “Don’t Tell A Soul’ is getting the same boxset treatment.”
What’s an efitor? Glass houses etc…
A copy editor might also spell “confusing” and “editor” correctly. People are a damn trip. Sounded fine to me Joe! And I cannot wait for this, I really love the Dead Man’s Pop set so will definitely get this one.
Bingo!
Sigh… another LP and CD package. When will these companies learn that not everyone wants both media? Just makes it more expensive.
Full agreement, Ed!
Disagree…I love these “mixed media” packages, and having the rough takes on the included vinyl makes things even more interesting…plus your vinyl LP would not be irrelevant or a duplicate copy…
Lastly, I do wonder if Rhino is doing these packages for all 8 Mats albums, and not just a few?? Would be nice to know if “Tim” is on the agenda next??
I hope there is a CD version.
With all due respect, Larry, the LP is irrelevant to me – unless I want to sell it separately. But meanwhile, I have to pay extra for something I don’t want because it’s part of the set. And this vinyl has songs one of the cd’s. I understand no one is forcing me to buy this. And I won’t. Just like I’ve passed on every other LP/CD package.
Agreed. 100%.
Same here, another no sale for me. Takes up too much space as well!
This is the double-edged sword of being a big fan. Those of us who have All For Nothing/Nothing For All and the 2008 Rhino release of this album (both easily and cheaply found) already have everything on Disc 1 and can add 11 demos on Disc 2 to our collections.
Of the 18 “new” tracks on Disc 3, 13 of them are just rough mixes of the same recordings. Maybe some people love different mixes but I’ve never found them very compelling bonus material.
(Honestly, I liked the Dead Man’s Pop package, but I think the original release was the better version.)
I understand Rhino can only work with what already exists, but Sign of the Times was an immediate preorder, this can go on the birthday list for the relatives to order whenever.