Hootenanny (The Replacements album)

Recording and release

Hootenanny was mostly recorded from October 1982 to January 1983 at the Stark/Mudge Mobile Unit warehouse in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, which was described in the liner notes as "a warehouse in some godawful suburb north of Mpls". The tracks "Run It" and "Within Your Reach" were recorded at Blackberry Way, while the song "Treatment Bound" was recorded "in the basement". The album was released on April 29, 1983 by Twin/Tone Records. According to the record label, Hootenanny sold more than 38,000 vinyl copies. In 2008, The album was remastered and reissued by Rhino Entertainment, containing seven additional tracks.

Music and lyrics

Hootenanny is often regarded as the first release on which The Replacements began to branch out from the "breakneck punk" that characterized their earlier work, through the incorporation of various genres such as blues, country, rockabilly, and boogie. The opening track "Hootenanny" features a rearranged lineup of Chris Mars on lead guitar, Tommy Stinson on rhythm guitar, Bob Stinson on bass guitar, and Paul Westerberg on drums and vocals, while "Within Your Reach" features Westerberg on all instruments and vocals. The lyrics for the song "Lovelines" were largely taken verbatim from the classifieds section of an issue of City Pages, a Minneapolis newspaper. The surf-instrumental "Buck Hill" takes its name from a small skiing area in Burnsville, Minnesota, just a few miles south of Minneapolis. "Mr. Whirly" is a parody of the Beatles track "Oh! Darling" (with the opening bars of "Strawberry Fields Forever") and bears the writing credit "mostly stolen" on the record label.

Critical reception

Hootenanny received positive reviews from critics. The album was ranked number 30 in The Village Voice's 1983 Pazz & Jop critics' poll. In a retrospective review, Noel Murray of The A.V. Club felt that Hootenanny "brims with personality, and though The Replacements' real masterpieces were ahead of them, their second LP was a deck-clearer that gave Westerberg the confidence to mature. It's just too bad that he never again made an album this straight-up fun."

Track listing

All tracks written by Paul Westerberg, except where noted.

Personnel