The first song to surface from The Replacements' reunion is exactly what you would expect it to be — 24-minute jazz improvisation. "Poke Me in My Cage" has the boys jamming with no end in sight, riffing and stomping like the early days. They've hinted at a new album, but there is no official word on whether this one is the start of a fresh project, Pitchfork notes. We'll have to wait and see.
Paul Westerberg has never hidden his affection for older music. During their reunion trek, the band covered "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5. And the group's 1985 live album The Shit Hits the Fan is jam-packed with classics like 1952's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" by Lloyd Price, 1970's "I'll Be There" also by The Jackson 5 and "Let It Be" by The Beatles. So a jazz instrumental might be annoying to some fans, but it's in no way surprising. Check it out below.
Although The Replacements broke up in the early 1990s following All Shook Down, bands influenced by the Mats continued to pop up while fans waited patiently for a reunion. Westerberg and Tommy Stinson got together in 2012 to record an EP for former Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap, who had suffered a stroke.
A documentary, Color Me Obsessed, followed. It chronicled the greatest band that never was through interviews with fans and musicians.
The band reunited onstage for the first time in more than 20 years in 2013, playing festivals and other gigs right up until September of this year. They returned to NBC's offices after being banned from Saturday Night Live 30 years ago to perform "Alex Chilton" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Westerberg told Rolling Stone in September that another album is likely at some point in the future. The songwriter has plenty of tunes ready to be recorded.
