''Don't Tell a Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band The Replacements, released on February 1, 1989 by

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

Recording and release

''Don't Tell a Soul'' was the first Replacements album featuring Bob "Slim" Dunlap, who replaced founding guitarist

Bob Stinson Robert Neil Stinson (December 17, 1959 – February 18, 1995) was an American musician best known as a founding member and lead guitarist of the American rock band The Replacements. Biography Early life Bob Stinson was born on December 17 ...

in early 1987. The album was recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles and produced by

Matt Wallace Matt Wallace is an American record producer. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley,mixed by

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...

, who decided to give the record "a three-dimensional, radio-ready sound". However, singer and guitarist

Paul Westerberg Paul Harold Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Replacements. Following the breakup of the Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him re ...

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." ''Don't Tell a Soul'' was released on February 1, 1989 by

. The song "

I'll Be You "I'll Be You" is a song by the American rock band The Replacements. It was written by lead singer Paul Westerberg and released as the lead single from the band's sixth studio album ''Don't Tell a Soul'' in 1989 . After being singled out by Repri ...

" was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. This proved to be the band's only appearance on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

: the song peaked at #51 on the May 13, 1989 chart. In 2008, the album was remastered and reissued by

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was original ...

with 7 additional tracks and liner notes by

Peter Jesperson Peter Jesperson is an American music industry businessman from Minneapolis, Minnesota, known for his involvement in discovering the Replacements, and for later serving as their manager. He also co-founded Twin/Tone Records along with Paul Stark an ...

. 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 Matt Wallace is an American record producer. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley,The Complete Inconcerated Live.

Critical reception

''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. Ira Robbins of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' praised Westerberg's writing, stating that ''Don't Tell a Soul'' "is full of his sharp-tongued wordplay and idiosyncratic musical structures." In February 1990, the album was ranked at number 16 in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

''s 1989

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics' poll.

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

James Iha (born March 26, 1968) is an American rock musician. He is best known as a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. He was a member until the initial breakup in 2000. Among his musical projects of recent years ...

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. aughs.But that's how it reads to me."

Track listing

Personnel

;The Replacements *

– vocals, guitar, harmonica *

Tommy Stinson Thomas Eugene Stinson (born October 6, 1966) is an American rock musician. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the bass guitarist for The Replacements, one of the definitive American alternative rock groups. After their breakup in 1991, Stins ...

– bass, backing vocals *

Chris Mars Chris Mars (born April 26, 1961) is an American painter and musician. He was the percussionist, drummer for the seminal Minneapolis based alternative-rock band The Replacements (band), The Replacements from 1979 to 1990, and later joined the inf ...

– drums, percussion * Slim Dunlap – guitar, mellotron, keyboards, backing vocals ;Technical *

Matt Wallace Matt Wallace is an American record producer. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley,Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...

– mix engineer

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1989 albums Albums produced by Matt Wallace The Replacements (band) albums Reprise Records albums Sire Records albums