Pleased to Meet Me is the only album recorded by the band as a trio. After their previous album Tim, guitarist Bob Stinson either was kicked out of the band or quit on his own volition due to creative differences. The band recorded the demos for this album in August 1986, while Bob Stinson was still in the band; however he only showed up for one recording session. The main recording sessions for the album took place at Ardent Studios in Memphis between November 1986 and January 1987, under the supervision of producer Jim Dickinson. Guitarist Bob "Slim" Dunlap joined the band soon after the recording sessions.
Music and lyrics
While the punk roots of the group were still apparent on Tim, by Pleased to Meet Me they were there more in spirit as the band delved into other genres, such as soul and cocktail jazz, alongside tracks featuring their customary hard rocking sound. Perhaps due to the album's recording in soul music centerMemphis, Tennessee, or the influence of producer Jim Dickinson, the band augmented its sound with saxophone on the tracks "I Don't Know" and "Nightclub Jitters" and a horn section on "Can't Hardly Wait", which features Big Star vocalist Alex Chilton on guitar. A music video was made for "The Ledge", but it was banned from airplay on MTV due to its lyrical content about suicide. The song "Can't Hardly Wait" was the inspiration for the title of the 1998 film Can't Hardly Wait, while "Alex Chilton" was made playable in the video game Rock Band 2. In 2009, Justin Townes Earle covered "Can't Hardly Wait" on his album Midnight at the Movies. In 2011, Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional covered "Skyway" on his album Covered In The Flood. The Supernaturals covered "Skyway" on their 1997 single Prepare to Land.
Artwork and release
The album's cover art mocks the band's transition from young punks to successful musicians with a major record deal, depicting a handshake between one person clad in a suit, starched white shirt, glitzy watch and diamond ring and the other wearing a ripped workshirt. Westerberg was the man in the ripped shirt, but his face was not shown in the shot used on the cover. The self-mocking tone continues on the song, "I Don't Know", with its chorus, "One foot in the door/The other one in the gutter." Pleased to Meet Me was released in 1987 by Sire Records and peaked at #131 on the Billboard Music Chart's Top 200. According to Our Band Could Be Your Life author Michael Azerrad, the album sold "about 300,000 copies." On September 23, 2008, Pleased to Meet Me was remastered and reissued by Rhino Entertainment with 11 additional tracks consisting of studio demos, B-sides, and alternate takes.
Critical reception
Pleased to Meet Me was acclaimed by music critics. Writing for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described it as "an album alive with the crackle of conflicting emotions and kamikaze rock & roll fire." In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic felt that Pleased to Meet Me "was the last time could still shoot for the stars and seem like their scrappy selves and, in many ways, it was the last true Replacements album". The album appeared at number three in The Village Voices Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1987. In 2012, Paste placed the record at number 70 on its list of "The 80 Best Albums of the 1980s".
Track listing
Personnel
Paul Westerberg – lead and background vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, piano, six-string bass, harmonica
Tommy Stinson – bass guitar, background vocals, upright bass, acoustic guitar and guitar fills
Chris Mars – drums, background vocals, cowbell, foot tap
Jim Dickinson – keyboards, background vocals, organ, vibes
