The early records hold up smashingly well, especially the cleanly recorded and brilliantly played Stink, which offers the ballad “Go” between manic sure shots like “Gimme Noise,” “Fuck School,” and “God Damn Job” (“God damn it/God damn it/God damn/I need a god damn job”).  

 The early records hold up smashingly well, especially the cleanly recorded and brilliantly played Stink, which offers the ballad “Go” between manic sure shots like “Gimme Noise,” “Fuck School,” and “God Damn Job” (“God damn it/God damn it/God damn/I need a god damn job”).  

 Let It Be, an ill-fated documentary soundtrack, wasn't even released until 1970, shortly following the announcement of The Beatles break-up. The singing, playing, and writing are weak, despite White Album-style gems "Dig A Pony" and "Two of Us." 

 You can hear a typically rowdy Replacements show on the live cassette The Shit Hits the Fans, confiscated from a fan’s tape recorder during an Oklahoma City gig. Paul serenades the crowd with the Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There,” singing the first verse over and over because he can’t remem... 

 Tim sealed the triumph with growing-up tales like “Bastards of Young,” “Left of the Dial,” and “Swingin Party.” Westerberg channels the voice of a young, scared John Lennon in the album-closing “Here Comes a Regular,” the devastating acoustic confessional of a party commando who a... 

 1986’s Boink! collects rarities like the lost classic “Nowhere Is My Home,” an ’85 outtake that would have been the best song on Tim.  

 Like so many other youthful rock hellions, the ’Mats flailed when it came time to grow up or blow up. They fired Bob Stinson under cloudy circumstances, in late 1986, and never got close to their old guitar fire again. Pleased to Meet Me is well sung, poorly played, terribly recorded, and often... 

 Don’t Tell a Soul was a nod to Modern Rock radio, which did not nod back.  

 All Shook Down had an ace ballad about crashing an old flame’s wedding, “Nobody,” which pointed to the rugged, mature solo style that Westerberg never followed through on.  

 All for Nothing/Nothing for All is a poorly selected two-CD summary of the Sire years, emphasizing crap like “The Ledge” and “Talent Show.” But at least it gathers “I’ll Be You,” “Nobody,” and a studio mix of “Can’t Hardly Wait” cut during the Tim sessions: at long last, a... 

 Don’t You Know Who I Think I Was is a career-spanning best-of that somehow leaves out “Androgynous” and “I.O.U” but is otherwise a decent introduction to the band.