New Vinyl Record - The Replacements, Twin Tone Years, Box Set

Limited four vinyl LP box set from the alt-rock icons. Along with Prince and Hüsker Dü, The Replacements put Minneapolis on the rock map in the 1980s. Among America's greatest alternative acts of the last two decades, the 'Mats rose from chaotic noise-makers to polished craftsmen, leaving at least three unqualified masterpieces in their wake. The Replacements formed in the wake of the punk explosion of the late 1970s. Their anarchic stage shows had earned them considerable notoriety in local clubs. Indie label Twin/Tone took note and signed the quartet, and their first album, Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash was issued in 1981. That record and the Stink EP that followed in the next year were both pretty much standard-issue hardcore thrash. With 1983's Hootenanny, however, audiences began to take notice of the songs beneath all the sound and fury; "Color Me Impressed" had exactly that effect on discerning rock listeners. By 1984's Let It Be, The Replacements' exponential growth as musicians - and most particularly, Paul Westerberg's growth as a writer - was undeniable. The album topped critic's polls across the country and earned The Replacements a place on the roster at Sire Records.