14 Songs is the first solo album by the American musician Paul Westerberg, released in 1993. It followed the final Replacements album, All Shook Down, and the dissolution of the band.
| 14 Songs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 15, 1993 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 47:57 | |||
| Label | Sire/Reprise | |||
| Producer | Paul Westerberg, Matt Wallace | |||
| Paul Westerberg chronology | ||||
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The album features contributions from Ian McLagan, former keyboardist for the Faces, a band that Westerberg has often cited as a favorite.
In an interview included with a special edition of the album, he explained that he started the record jamming with drummer Josh Kelly and former Georgia Satellites bassist Rick Price, but found that the combination wasn't working, requiring him to seek other players. (The only song featuring Kelly and Price is the opener, "Knockin' On Mine.") He also revealed that the album title was a reference to Nine Stories, by J.D. Salinger.
The CD version was packaged in book form, with the disc in a pocket inside the front cover. All numbered pages in the book are page 14, including six pages at the back for "Notes."
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[2] |
| The Indianapolis Star | [3] |
| Los Angeles Times | [4] |
| NME | 7/10[5] |
| Q | [6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
| Select | 4/5[8] |
| The Village Voice | B+[9] |
Stereo Review wrote that "Westerberg writes about everyday things without pretense, taking comfort in the ordinary and passing on wisdom in small doses... Perhaps consequently, if anything rings a little hollow here it's rockers like 'Silver Naked Ladies' and 'Something Is Me', which aim for a rambunctious 'Mats/Faces devil-may-care feeling but sound a mite forced."[10] The Indianapolis Star opined that "while it's lamentable that Westerberg continues to put distance between him and that true Mats sound, it's good to have rock's sublime poet/jester back."[3]
By March 1996, 14 Songs had sold over 161,000 copies in the United States.[11]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Paul Westerberg
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Knockin' on Mine" | 3:43 |
| 2. | "First Glimmer" | 4:55 |
| 3. | "World Class Fad" | 3:27 |
| 4. | "Runaway Wind" | 4:23 |
| 5. | "Dice Behind Your Shades" | 4:11 |
| 6. | "Even Here We Are" | 1:39 |
| 7. | "Silver Naked Ladies" | 4:38 |
| 8. | "A Few Minutes of Silence" | 3:17 |
| 9. | "Someone I Once Knew" | 3:06 |
| 10. | "Black Eyed Susan" | 3:33 |
| 11. | "Things" | 3:21 |
| 12. | "Something Is Me" | 2:18 |
| 13. | "Mannequin Shop" | 3:11 |
| 14. | "Down Love" | 2:15 |
Personnel
edit- Paul Westerberg – guitar, keyboards, saxophone, vocals
- Matt Wallace – bass, percussion, drums, backing vocals
- John Pierce – bass, piano, backing vocals
- Rick Price – bass, mandolin, backing vocals
- Josh Freese – drums
- Josh Kelly – drums, backing vocals
- Ian McLagan – piano, backing vocals
- Michael Urbano – drums
- Suzanne Dyer – backing vocals
- Joan Jett – backing vocals
- Laurie Lindeen – backing vocals
- Brian MacLeod – drums, backging vocals
Technical personnel
edit- Produced by Paul Westerberg and Matt Wallace
- Mastered by Doug Sax
- Frank W. Ockenfels 3 - cover photography
References
edit- ^ Rabid, Jack. "14 Songs – Paul Westerberg". AllMusic. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
- ^ Flaherty, Mike (June 18, 1993). "14 Songs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ a b Bacon, Scott (July 2, 1993). "Rock's poet/jester back with serious songs". The Indianapolis Star. p. F18.
- ^ Willman, Chris (June 6, 1993). "The Accidental Poet Laureate of a Generation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "Paul Westerberg: 14 Songs". NME. June 12, 1993. p. 35.
- ^ "Paul Westerberg: 14 Songs". Q. No. 82. July 1993. p. 101.
- ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Paul Westerberg". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 868. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Cavanagh, David (July 1993). "Paul Westerberg: 14 Songs". Select. No. 37. p. 95.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (September 28, 1993). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "Paul Westerberg takes it easy". Stereo Review. Vol. 58, no. 10. Oct 1993. p. 96.
- ^ Rosen, Craig (March 16, 1996). "Paul Westerberg's 'Eventually' Is Now". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 11. Los Angeles. pp. 14, 22. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
