Damn, man. Albums don't get any closer to perfect than this one.

"Let it Be" is so dead-on, it makes me want to cry. It's deeply satisfying, even as it throws curves at you from all sides. What kind of punk band opens their album with a pop song? What kind offers blistering hardcore, then slows the tempo and throws in a piano? What kind captures teendom better than John Hughes ever did (and Hughes is the MAN) with "Sixteen Blue?" Who else could make a punk mantra from the lines "Seen your video/You don't wanna know?" And who would end an album with a solo acoustic song - except that's no acoustic, it's a beautifully distorted Fender?

"Let it Be" is a truly transcendent album. The individual songs are all magnificent - not a sour track, or even a sour moment, among them - but there's something more. It creates its own energy, its own aura. These kids were making music in their early 20s that not only sounds brand-new and timeless, but it still speaks to this balding 33-year-old.

So much post-punk, including some work by the 'Mats, was and is monstrously overhyped. "Let it Be" cannot be hyped enough. It can't be labeled, either. It's music, rock and roll. In a legacy of outstanding and important albums by the Replacements and Westerberg, "Let it Be" is the best - which makes it one of the best of all time.

For those of us hoping that the Ryko/Rhino would give the Replacements the same treatment they gave Elvis Costello, LET IT BE and their other reissues are something of a disappointment.

The sound is great, no question. But there are two main shortcomings. One of which has rightly been noted already: there is too much wasted room on these discs. With all the boots extant from throughout the 'Mats career, there is a literal goldmine of material out there that could have been included to get these timings closer to 80 minutes -- and, more importantly, give a more complete picture of what the Replacements were all about. Without some chunk of concurrent live material, there is something important missing. For those of us lucky to have seen the band live over the years, that void is all the more glaring.

Second, the liner notes are mediocre to downright bad. There are some great bits from Peter Jesperson. The LIB essay is a navel-staring disaster. How anyone could have let that stand as a "tribute" to one of the greatest albums in rock history is beyond me. Again, unlike the gold standard that both Ryko and certainly Rhino had set with their reissues of Costello's work, there is absolutely no input from the artists themselves. No words/thoughts/remembrances from Paul, Tommy, or Chris. And maybe this was their choice. But it certainly makes for a less-than-definitive reissue of this work.

The music does sound great. Bottom line. And I don't mind paying a little more for a great repackaging of important music -- and both Ryko and Rhino have done this very well in the past. Unfortunately, this effort doesn't live up to that same standard.

I've been a fan of this band for a long time, so I was understandably looking forward to proper reissues/remasters for at least ten years. Let It Be may be their best sounding disk and most representative of the band's sound. However, aside from unearthed photos - which are poorly placed inside (with text on the photos?!?) - and better sound than earlier issues on compact disc this reissue simply isn't up to snuff.

And Rhino/Ryko are not to blame either. The band has acquired a certain legacy over time and simply deserves much better. First off the bonus track selection is very half-baked. Fans of the band are familiar with their outtakes by now. Let It Be's include "Who's Gonna Take Us Alive" (the best outtake of the bunch stupidly absent), the lyrically alternate version of "Gary's Got A Boner", "Street Girl" (a fine little ditty), the rocking "You Look Like An Adult" (the original version of "Seen Your Video") and a big whoops was the (new) mix of the alternate version of "Sixteen Blue". The same version (did) include Chan Polling of The Suburbs' grand piano through the entire song. A truly beautiful version, and they botched it! Why they included the same version WITHOUT the best part - or at very least a new interesting feature - of the song is simply poor on all counts.

Gina Arnold (author of the pretty decent 'Route 666: On the Road to Nirvana') wrote the liner notes. While sure, it may be sweet and cute for her to recount what it was like to be a Replacements fan twenty years ago (if that's the case for a filling up liner notes why don't a segment of us Replacements fans start sending in our of sweet stories for Tim now?) it doesn't make for definitive liner-notes writing. We still know as much about the album and there's nothing legitimate about why is it's included here in the first place. It has it's place - but not in the liner notes to one of the best albums the 1980's.

Why there was no input from any band member is certainly unfortunate and perhaps even telling. No first hand stories, memories, information of any kind from the band (aside from their ex-manager informing us that the bonus tracks...were outtakes...from the Let It Be sessions). Considering that these reissues have been in the works - or more accurately been touted as "to be released next year" for the past ten years or so - by the time they actually arrive and they don't have the bonus tracks that the fans would hope they'd include or simply expect, it's hard not to wonder what DID in fact take so long? Surely it wasn't the attention to detail. Having said ALL this, it should please a percentage of fans. I'm going to assume that casual fans (do the 'Mats even have casual fans?) of the band should be fine with this reissue.

It's issues (or reissues as it were) like this that prompt illegal trade of this great bands' music and that's not fair to the band or it's fans.

Oh yeah, and the classic iconic cover is now a few shades darker and cropped to boot!

How this band seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle of 80's rock and roll I don't know. It was the Replacements, along with Husker Du and REM, that kept the late 70's-early 80's punk spirit alive until Nirvana forced it down all of our throats again in the 90's. And this was their best album. Clocking in at under 40 minutes, the Mats blitz through 11 songs ranging from pop-rock ("I Will Dare", "Favorite Thing") to punk ("We're Comin' Out") to ballads ("Unsatisfied", "Sixteen Blue"). Perhaps the most redeeming quality of Let It Be is its healthy sense of humor. A straight up cover of Kiss - "Black Diamond" is one of the album's finer moments. Thrashing guitar carries "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out" and "Gary's Got a Boner", easily the most fun songs on the album. Paul Westerberg solidifies himself as one of the best songwriters of his generation - both for his tongue-in-cheek pop songs and the inciteful ballads. Lyrics don't have to be deep or metaphoric, just honest. This is probably one of the 10 best rock albums ever made, and easily one of the most underrated. The Replacements are a band that every rock fan should discover.

Living in a small town in Florida I did not get much of a chance to hear much alternative music. I had got to love the Ramones, Clash, U2 and other better known bands and was looking to hear something new. While visiting relatives in Philedelphia I bought this cd on the reccomendation of the clerk in the summer of 89. I fell in love with first listen. Over the years I have bought all of the Mats albumns but I still consider this my favorite. This is the perfect cd for someone not that familar with the replacements to get. It is the middle ground for them as artist. Not as raw as their earlier recordings and not as produced as the later stuff.