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Don't Tell a Soul

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For the 2020 thriller film, see Don't Tell a Soul (film).
Don't Tell a Soul
A black-and-white photo of a person's face staring into the camera with their mouth obscure by a blurry object in the foreground.
Studio album by
The Replacements
ReleasedFebruary 1, 1989
Recorded1988–1989
StudioCherokee (Hollywood)
GenreAlternative rock
Length38:37
LabelSire
ProducerMatt Wallace, The Replacements
The Replacements chronology
Pleased to Meet Me
(1987) 		Don't Tell a Soul
(1989) 		All Shook Down
(1990)

Don't Tell a Soul is the sixth studio album by the American rock band the Replacements, released on February 1, 1989, by Sire Records.[1]

Recording and release

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Don't Tell a Soul was the first Replacements album featuring Bob "Slim" Dunlap, who replaced founding guitarist Bob Stinson in early 1987.[2] The album was recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles and produced by Matt Wallace and the band. It was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, who decided to give the record "a three-dimensional, radio-ready sound".[3] However, singer and guitarist Paul Westerberg was not satisfied with the new direction, commenting: "I thought the little things I'd cut in my basement were closer to what I wanted."[3]

Don't Tell a Soul was released on February 1, 1989 by Sire Records. The song "I'll Be You" was released as a single.[4] This proved to be the band's only appearance on the Billboard Hot 100: the song peaked at #51 on the May 13, 1989 chart.

In 2008, the album was remastered and reissued by Rhino Entertainment with 7 additional tracks and liner notes by Peter Jesperson.[5] In September 2019, Rhino released Dead Man's Pop, a box set featuring a remixed and resequenced version of Don't Tell a Soul (said to be closer to the band's original intentions) assembled by the album's producer, Matt Wallace, along with rarities, demos, and other unreleased tracks. It includes a two CD release of the 1989 live concert released on vinyl as The Complete Inconcerated Live.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Sun-Times[6]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[7]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
NME9/10[10]
Pitchfork8.0/10[5]
Rolling Stone[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Spin Alternative Record Guide4/10[13]

Don't Tell a Soul received generally favorable reviews, with critics noting the music's more mature themes and increasing disillusionment, along with a more private outlook.[14] Ira Robbins of Rolling Stone praised Westerberg's writing, stating that Don't Tell a Soul "is full of his sharp-tongued wordplay and idiosyncratic musical structures."[11] In February 1990, the album was ranked at number 16 in The Village Voice's 1989 Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[15]

The Smashing Pumpkins' James Iha named the song "Achin' to Be" to his "mixtape for dreamers," commenting, "This is great, because he's talking about a would-be artist who's trying to do bigger stuff. And it sounds like someone everyone knows. Like he or she is an artist, but nobody really takes them seriously. So he's talking about her. She danced alone in nightclubs. She's a poet, she's an artist, she's like a movie, but at the end of the song, he's like, 'I'm like that, too. I've been aching for a while and I'm aching to be.' The narrator reveals himself, like, 'I'm just like her and I don't have the courage to go up to her.' Maybe I read too much into it. [Laughs.] But that's how it reads to me."[16]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Paul Westerberg, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Talent Show" 3:32
2."Back to Back" 3:22
3."We'll Inherit the Earth" 4:22
4."Achin' to Be" 3:42
5."They're Blind" 4:37
6."Anywhere's Better Than Here" 2:49
7."Asking Me Lies" 3:40
8."I'll Be You" 3:27
9."I Won't" 2:43
10."Rock 'N' Roll Ghost" 3:23
11."Darlin' One"Paul Westerberg, Slim Dunlap, Chris Mars, Tommy Stinson3:39
2008 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Portland" 4:28
13."Wake Up" 2:13
14."Talent Show" (Demo Version) 2:54
15."We'll Inherit the Earth" (Mix 1) 4:02
16."Date to Church" (with Tom Waits) 3:49
17."We Know the Night" (Outtake) 3:28
18."Gudbuy t'Jane" (Outtake)Noddy Holder, Jim Lea4:09

Personnel

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The Replacements
Technical

References

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  1. ^ "The Replacements official". The Replacements official. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Don't Tell a Soul – The Replacements". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Mehr, Bob (2016). Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements, the Last Rock 'n' Roll Band. Da Capo Press. p. 315. ISBN 0306818795.
  4. ^ "I'll Be You – The Replacements". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
  5. ^ a b Richardson, Mark (September 26, 2008). "The Replacements: Tim / Pleased to Meet Me / Don't Tell a Soul / All Shook Down". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  6. ^ McLeese, Don (February 6, 1989). "The Replacements, 'Don't Tell a Soul' (Sire)". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "The Replacements: Don't Tell a Soul". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. p. 345. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  8. ^ Willman, Chris (October 3, 2008). "The Replacements' reissues". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  9. ^ Willman, Chris (January 29, 1989). "The Replacements 'Don't Tell a Soul.' Sire". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  10. ^ Martin, Gavin (February 4, 1989). "Quiet Riot". NME. p. 31.
  11. ^ a b Robbins, Ira (February 9, 1989). "Don't Tell A Soul". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  12. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "The Replacements". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 688–689. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. ^ Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Replacements". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 330–331. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  14. ^ Philips, Elizabeth; Robbins, Ira; Thomas, Evan. "Replacements". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  15. ^ "The 1989 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. February 27, 1990. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  16. ^ Eakin, Marah (November 13, 2012). "Guitarist James Iha makes a mixtape for dreamers". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
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