Paul Westerberg 14 Songs CD

14 SONGS is the first solo album by the ex-Replacements frontman.

14 SONGS is the first solo album by the ex-Replacements frontman. The limited-edition version of 14 SONGS is packaged in a 40-page hard-cover book that features an interview with Westerberg.

Fans of '80s alt-rock were understandably disheartened when the Replacements decided to call it quits in 1991, just as the genre had finally begun assaulting the upper regions of the US charts. But Replacements' singer/guitarist Paul Westerberg wasted little time issuing his first solo work, contributing two songs ("Dyslexic Heart" and "Waiting for Somebody") to the 1992 mega-hit motion picture soundtrack, SINGLES. Due to that album's success, many predicted Westerberg's commercial breakthrough with his debut album 14 SONGS a year later.

While the album didn't prove the big hit everyone anticipated, it still includes some memorable pop songs, with the slightly rough edges that only Paul Westerberg can create. Those expecting 14 SONGS to sound like the Replacements in their pissed-off prime may be disappointed, but it's hard not to appreciate the tarnished pop of "World Class Fad," the Stonesy "Silver Naked Ladies," and the punk rockers "Someone I Once Knew" (with guest Joan Jett) and "Something Is Me."

Live Recording

Recorded at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, California; R.P.M, New York, New York; Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota; Sunset Sound Factory, Hollywood, California; Paul Westerberg's Kitchen, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Recorded at Coast Recorders, San Fransisco, California; R.P.M., New York, New York; Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota; Sunset Sound Factory, Hollywood, California; Paul Westerberg's Kitchen, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Personnel: Paul Westerberg (vocals, guitar, tenor saxophone, keyboards, bass); Ian McLagan (piano); Rick Price (bass, mandolin, background vocals); John Pierce (piano, bass, percussion, background vocals); Matt Wallace (drums, bass, percussion, background vocals); Josh Kelly (drums, background vocals); Brian MacLeod, Josh Freese, Michael Urbano (drums); Laurie Lindeen, Charmony Brothers, Susan Rogers, Suzanne Dyer, Joan Jett (background vocals).

Personnel: Paul Westerberg (vocals, guitar, tenor saxophone, keyboards, bass); Rick Price (mandolin, bass, background vocals); Ian McLagan (piano); John Pierce (bass, percussion, background vocals, piano); Brian MacLeod, Josh Freese, Michael Urbano (drums); Matt Wallace (drums, percussion, background vocals); Josh Kelly (drums, background vocals); Laurie Lindeen, Charmony Brothers, Susan Rogers, Suzanne Dyer, Joan Jett (background vocals).Spin (7/93, p.77) - Highly Recommended - "...sounds surprisingly jolly in the aftermath of the Replacements' breakup....his most sensible, frivolous music since 1985's [Replacements album] TIM..."
Entertainment Weekly (6/18/93, p.56) - "...stands as a sturdy, if slightly less ballsy, report from a songwriter whose up-against-the-wall anti-anthems proved a musical stepping-stone from punk to grunge....In the end, not a bad start to a new career..." - Rating: B
Q (1/94, p.87) - Included in Q's list of `The 50 Best Albums Of 1993.'
Q (7/93, p.101) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Westerberg, former frontperson of the drunken shambles that was The Replacements, proves it on this quite magnificent LP....there's not a dud track anywhere....He's above grunge, for he can craft a proper melody and he's almost a poet..."
Musician (6/93, p.87) - "...Westerberg doesn't hide behind a wall-of-racket, but pushes his distinctive vocals--warts and all--to the surface....he's the same Westerberg we've come to know and love, except older and slightly wiser..."
Village Voice (3/1/94, p.5) - Ranked #13 in the Village Voice's 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
NME (Magazine) (6/12/93, p.35) - 7 - Very Good - "...he's still got excellent stomping, memorable tunes, a barbed tongue and a warm heart..."