Let It Be

The Replacements kept their rough edges on Let It Be while Paul Westerberg's songs became more open about loneliness and growing up. “I Will Dare” begins with a quick, buoyant pulse, and the album makes room for piano on “Androgynous” alongside the band's unruly guitar sound.

“Unsatisfied” and “Answering Machine” show how much emotion Westerberg could place in a strained vocal. The Kiss cover “Black Diamond” preserves their taste for a joke and a loud finish. That mixture of tenderness and misbehaviour gives the record its particular character.