All for Nothing/Nothing for All
November 7, 1997
When listening to the new Replacements compilation All for Nothing/Nothing for All, one must heed the words in the liner notes by producer Michael Hill:This is not a greatest hits disc because, well, there weren’t any real hits.
But this double compact disk package is not a greatest hits compilation mainly because it only covers the band’s major label years from Tim to All Shook Down.
Of course, that does not mean there is not essential Replacements material in this mix of 34 songs. But someone should not purchase All for Nothing in hopes of getting every great Replacements tune. A lot of the band’s best music was recorded before the move to a major label.
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But what should be focused on is what is included in the compilation and not what was left out. The first disc concentrates more on the band’s classics such as I’ll Be You, Achin’ to Be and Kiss Me On the Bus.
Frontman Paul Westerberg’s lyrics withstand the years proving equally effective even on a compilation disk. The ones who love us least, he sings on Bastards of Young, are the ones we’d die to please.
The second disk is what die-hard Replacement fans will find the most appealing. It opens with an early version of Can’t Hardly Wait and concludes with a hidden track of a live version of I Don’t Know.
Rarities Beer for Breakfast and Till We’re Nude epitomize the Replacements raucous sound and disorderly style.
But All for Nothing is strictly for the fans who already own all the other Replacements albums. Others should build a Replacements collection starting with Let It Be or Pleased to Meet Me.
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