One of Replacements fans’ favorite things is about to become an even bigger thing.
The Minneapolis rock band’s most influential and critically acclaimed album, 1984’s “Let It Be,” is being expanded into a box set by Rhino/Warner Records with bonus tracks and a live recording from that era, much of it previously unreleased.
It’s due out Oct. 24. Pre-orders of the set are now available as either a four-LP or three-CD collection. A limited-edition 10-inch live EP comes as a bonus for early buyers.
Widely expected from diehard ‘Mats lovers who’ve been following the band’s every reissue move — “Let It Be” was the old LP most ripe to be treated anew — news of the new box set arrived Wednesday along with a streaming alternate version of one of the record’s standout tunes, “Androgynous,” a song later covered by Joan Jett and Miley Cyrus.
Ranked No. 12 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Best Albums of the 1980s” and widely heralded in many similar tallies, “Let It Be” was the go-between record from the Replacements’ thrashy punk-rock early days to its more tender and introspective latter days. Softer and more songwriter-y fan faves such as “Androgynous,” “I Will Dare,” “Unsatisfied,” “Sixteen Blue” and “Answering Machine” run up against hard-blasting rousers like “Favorite Thing,” “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out,” “Gary’s Got a Boner,” “We’re Coming Out” and an off-kilter cover of Kiss’ “Black Diamond.”
The original album — the band’s last for its hometown indie label Twin/Tone Records — has been remastered for the box set. Seven never-before-heard recordings will be featured on the rarities LP/CD in the new collection, also including alternate takes of “Favorite Thing,” “Gary” and “Unsatisfied” as well as unreleased songs “Who’s Gonna Takes Us Alive” and “Street Girl.”
As for the live portion of the expanded “Let It Be” set, it was captured on tape by an audience member at the Cubby Bear in Chicago in August 1984, two months before “Let It Be” was released. The cleaned-up version includes five songs from the then-upcoming record, a lot from the prior LPs, plus cover songs from the Beach Boys, T. Rex and Bad Company.
The band’s original manager and the record’s original co-producer, Twin/Tone co-founder Peter Jesperson, also served as producer on this new deluxe edition. Frontman Paul Westerberg has largely stayed uninvolved in the recent reissue campaigns behind the group’s records, as have drummer Chris Mars and bassist Tommy Stinson. Tommy’s brother, guitarist Bob Stinson, died in 1995.
