(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)
Tommy Stinson, bassist in the Replacements, ousted by Westerberg in a murky story of personal envy just as he was becoming the bands second vocalist, sand, wrote the songs, and played guitar in Bash And Pop.
Stinson got his revenge with their first album, Friday Night Is Killing Me (Warner Brothers, 1993). Inspired by the
Faces and the
Rolling Stones, songs such as the title track (worthy of the Replacements main catalog), Never Aim To Please (the most driving), and Loose Ends (which echoes Just My Imagination by the Temptations) serve as a masterclass for the most trivial of Black Crowes. Stinson plays like a cross between Ron Wood and Keith Richards and sings with the intensity of Westerberg: its hard to imagine a more effective combination.
(Original English text by Piero Scaruffi)
Stinson's second crack at a post-Replacements career, Perfect, lasted even
less, just the space of an EP,
When Squirrels Play Chicken (Medium Cool, 1996). The power-pop of
Makes Me Happy, the garage-rock of
Don't Need To Know Where, the easy listening of
Miss Self-Esteem are lame attempts at commercial appeal.
Village Gorilla Head (Sanctuary, 2004) was Tommy Stinson's first solo
album.
