Wikipedia

Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash

Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash is the first studio album by the American band The Replacements. It was released on August 25, 1981 by Twin/Tone Records. Squarely inspired by punk rock, the album stands in contrast to the power pop and indie rock styles of later albums.

Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash
Studio album by
The Replacements
ReleasedAugust 25, 1981
RecordedJuly 1980, March–June 1981
Genre
Length36:47
LabelTwin/Tone
ProducerPaul Westerberg, Peter Jesperson, Steven Fjelstad
The Replacements chronology
Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash
(1981) 		Stink
(1982)

Music and lyrics

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The beginning of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" can be heard at the beginning of the track "Rattlesnake".

The track "Somethin' to Dü" is a reference to the band Hüsker Dü, contemporaries of The Replacements and their Saint Paul counterparts.[1] The track "Johnny's Gonna Die" is a reference to guitarist Johnny Thunders of the Heartbreakers and New York Dolls, specifically his heroin addiction. Thunders died in 1991.[2]

Release

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Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash was released on August 25, 1981 by the independent record label Twin/Tone Records.[3] Before settling on a title for the album, Westerberg considered the names Unsuitable for Airplay and Power Trash.[4]

The song "I'm In Trouble" was released as a single on August 7, 1981, containing an outtake, "If Only You Were Lonely", as its B-side.[5] The album was remastered and reissued by Rhino Entertainment on April 22, 2008, with 13 additional tracks and liner notes by Peter Jesperson.

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, on October 22, 2021, Rhino Entertainment released a deluxe edition of the newly remastered album. Featuring 100 tracks spread across 4CDs and 1LP, it includes unreleased demos, alternative takes/mixes, and a previously unreleased 27-track live concert recorded on January 23, 1981 at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis.[6]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
Pitchfork Media9.4/10[7]
Punknews.org     [8]
The Village VoiceB+[9]

In a 1982 Trouser Press review, Robert Payes described the "I'm in Trouble" single, which was taken from the album, as "(p)ower pop with the emphasis on power, roaring guitars and energy galore."[10] In The Boston Phoenix, Milo Miles said that "One of the gratifying twists of Sorry, Ma, Forgot To Take Out the Trash is that the Replacements are uninterested in (though not unaware of) adolescence and garage rock as pervasive, self-referential pop mythologies."[11]

Retrospectively, AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine considered Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash to be "one of the best LPs the entire scene produced in the early '80s."[3] In a very positive review, Punknews.org praised the album for being different from its counterparts of the hardcore punk scene, stating that the album "never sacrificed its pop appeal for throat-searing screams and whiplash speed."[8]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Paul Westerberg, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Takin' a Ride" 2:23
2."Careless" 1:08
3."Customer" 1:29
4."Hangin' Downtown" 2:06
5."Kick Your Door Down" 3:11
6."Otto" 2:09
7."I Bought a Headache" 2:24
8."Rattlesnake"Westerberg, Bob Stinson, Tommy Stinson, Chris Mars1:48
9."I Hate Music"Westerberg, B. Stinson, T. Stinson, Mars1:50
10."Johnny's Gonna Die" 3:32
11."Shiftless When Idle" 2:18
12."More Cigarettes" 1:20
13."Don't Ask Why" 1:57
14."Somethin' to Dü" 1:41
15."I'm in Trouble" 2:10
16."Love You Till Friday" 1:53
17."Shutup" 1:23
18."Raised in the City" 1:59
Expanded edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
19."Raised in the City" (demo) 2:16
20."Shutup" (demo) 1:39
21."Don't Turn Me Down" (demo) 1:54
22."Shape Up" (demo) 2:11
23."You Ain't Gotta Dance" (demo) 2:24
24."Get on the Stick" (demo) 1:39
25."Oh Baby" (demo) 1:18
26."Like You" 1:44
27."Get Lost" 2:27
28."A Toe Needs a Shoe"Bob Stinson2:09
29."Customer" (alternate take) 2:09
30."Basement Jam"Westerberg, Stinson, Stinson, Mars3:32
31."If Only You Were Lonely" (from "I'm in Trouble", 1981) 2:53

Personnel

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The Replacements

Technical

  • Peter Jesperson – producer
  • Steven Fjelstad – producer, engineer
  • Paul Stark – mixer
  • Laurie Allen – photography
  • Erik Hanson – photography
  • Greg Helgeson – artwork
  • Pat Moriarity – artwork
  • Bruce Allen – artwork

References

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  1. ^ Mason, Stewart. "Song Review by Stewart Mason". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  2. ^ Drozdowski, Ted (July 9, 2008). "Punk Rock's 10 Mightiest Guitar Gods". Gibson.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out the Trash". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  4. ^ Fricke, David (December 2021). "What a waste!". Mojo. No. 337. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  5. ^ "I'm in Trouble/If Only You Were Lonely". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2015-05-09. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  6. ^ "The Replacements announce 'Sorry Ma' 40th anniversary deluxe edition". The Music Universe. 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  7. ^ Mark Richardson (2008-04-21). "The Replacements: Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash / Stink / Hootenanny / Let It Be". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 2009-03-03. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  8. ^ a b Barrett, Tyler (2009-06-05). "Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  9. ^ Robert Christgau (1982-04-13). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2015-03-07. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
  10. ^ Payes, Robert (May 1982). "American Underground". Trouser Press. Vol. 9, no. 3. New York. p. 52. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  11. ^ Miles, Milo (May 25, 1982). "The perils of provincialism: Foundering on regional rock". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
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