THE SHIT HITS THE FANS:
REPLACEMENTS ARCHIVAL RELEASES
REPLACEMENTS ARCHIVAL RELEASES
1985 - The Shit Hits The Fans (Twin/Tone limited cassette)
"The biggest mistake we ever made" - Paul Westerberg (2002)
A near complete live recording of a show from November 11, 1984 at the Bowery in Oklahoma City, OK. Released as an "authorized bootleg," this cassette-only release has become legendary amongst fans, was itself bootlegged and still commands a hefty price on the collectors market. As the band's sound engineer, Bill Mack, tells the story in the liner notes of a bootleg of this recording, a club employee recorded the show from the balcony on a cassette deck with the understanding that Paul Westerberg had given him permission. After the show, Mack unceremoniously confiscated the tape. Within a few months it was rush-released as a quickie live album, warts and all, complete with original Chris Mars artwork. This isn't a pristine soundboard recording; far from it. But it's perfectly enjoyable listen, capturing the band performing a "loose," cover-heavy set in front of a very small crowd. The setlist is pretty wild, only 5 of the 24 tracks are originals, and only 3 of those had appeared on a Mats album at the time. The other two originals are especially notable: a rare "Hear You Been to College" (less than 20 known performances between 1984 and 1989) and an early outing for future classic "Can't Hardly Wait," just a few months before multiple versions of the song were recorded in Minneapolis at an exploratory Alex Chilton-produced session for the Tim album (the song was re-recorded and eventually released 2.5 years later on Pleased to Meet Me). The cover song selection is spirited, even by Mats "winging it" standards. Snippets, chunks and, occasionally whole songs are spewed out at random: the Carter Family (via Alex Chilton), obscure Robyn Hitchcock, Skynyrd, Sabbath, Led Zep, R.E.M., Jackson 5, X, U2, Motley Crue, etc etc Of special note is the cover of Left in the Dark by The Vertebrats, the pride of Champaign-Urbana in downstate Illinois. It's a shoo in on any respectable Top 10 Mats live covers list and seems to have only been performed a handful of times in 84/85. The Vertebrats - who were together for just a few years and broke up in 1982 - only released one single during their original incarnation (not "Left in the Dark"), so one is left to wonder how the Mats discovered this lost American underground classic. While various bootleg CD and LP releases of The Shit Hits The Fans have shown up over the years, it has never been officially reissued in any form, nor has any of the material ever been a part of any other official Replacements release. INFO
1986 - Boink! (Glass Records mini-LP & cassette, UK only)
8 track UK compilation that included 6 tracks from Hootenanny and Stink. It sold well as an import in the states, and initially attracted considerable attention due to the inclusion of an unreleased Let it Be outtake ("Nowhere is My Home"), known to some fans from a dozen live performances in the last half of 1984 + the first reissue of "If Only You Were Lonely," which had previously only appeared on the b-side of the Mat's debut release, the "I'm in Trouble" single from 1981, and was still somewhat obscure to many fans (it had been done live maybe a dozen times at the time of Boink's release). "Nowhere Is My Home" received a wider release on the 2008 Tim reissue and a 2023 limited edition 45. "If Only You Were Lonely" later appeared on the 2008 Sorry Ma... reissue. Interestingly, both of these Boink! rarities were each performed about a dozen times during the Mats 2013-2015 Back By Unpopular Demand reunion tour. INFO
1989 - Inconcerated Live (Sire promo CD / single sided vinyl)
Promo only release that featured 5 live tracks taken from a June 2, 1989 show in Milwaukee + the album version of "Achin' To Be" from Don't Tell a Soul. The vast majority of these were released on CD; the 12" vinyl version - all the tracks on one side and no artwork - is quite rare. The live track selection is interesting: 2 songs from the then current Don't Tell a Soul, 2 non rockers ("Answering Machine" and "Here Comes a Regular") plus a smokin' cover of The Only One's "Another Girl, Another Planet," which first showed up in a Mats setlist in early 1986 and then went on to become a live staple with over 130 performances over the next 5 years, all the way up to the "final" Mats show in Chicago in 1991 plus a handful of appearances in 2014/15 on the reunion tour. The live "AG,AP" from this promo was also released on the b-side to the "Achin' To Be" single in Australia in 1989, on a flexi-disc included with The Bob magazine in 1990 and on the 1997 All For Nothing - Nothing For All compilation. The full 1989 live show used for this was eventually released on the Dead Man's Pop box set in 2019 and The Complete Inconcerated Live LP in 2020. INFO
1991 - Don't Sell or Buy, It's Crap (Sire promo CD / vinyl)
Promo only release that featured 4 at the time unreleased tracks + the album version of "When It Began" from All Shook Down. 3 of the unreleased tracks were included as bonus material on the 2008 reissue of All Shook Down and the other unreleased track showed up on the All For Nothing, Nothing For All comp in 1997. INFO
1997 - All For Nothing, Nothing For All (Sire 2xCD / digital)
1 CD of previously released "greatest hits" from the Sire era + 1 CD of b-sides, promo only & compilation tracks and 12 unreleased outtakes: 6 from Tim and Pleased to Meet Me (all used on future archival releases), 4 from Don't Tell a Soul (alternate mixes of these appeared on Dead Man's Pop) and 2 from All Shook Down (both currently still unreleased). Reissued digitally in 2010. INFO
2006 - Don't You Know Who I Think I Was? (The Best Of) (Sire/Rhino CD)
First Replacements release of any kind in 9 years. This was the dawn of a new age for Replacements releases, marking the Warner/Rhino acquisition of the entire Replacements catalog. Sporting a typically Westerbergian title, this was a nicely packaged career spanning retrospective of previously released material that included 2 new tracks recorded circa 2005 in Minneapolis with an ad hoc lineup. Perfectly timed for a new generation of Mats fans as the band's legend and reputation continued to grow a decade and a half after they broke up. More info HERE and HERE.
2008 - Catalog reissues
With Rhino now overseeing the Mats catalog, an ambitious reissue project was launched in 2008 that covered the 7 full length Replacements albums (4 on Twin/Tone and 3 on Sire). These were all single CD "deluxe" releases that included the album proper + bonus tracks featuring rarities and unreleased material + new liner notes & archival content. In most cases, the bonus material from these releases ended up on future box sets for the respective albums that have received that treatment so far (as of Spring 2026, only Hootenanny and All Shook Down haven't had large scale reissues; poor Stink has never had an expanded reissue). Some of the bonus material from these 2008 reissues had been used on previous archival releases.
- Sorry May, Forgot To Take Out the Trash (original release 1981) (Twin-Tone/Rykodisc/Rhino CD) 13 bonus tracks. INFO
- Hootenanny (original release 1983) (Twin-Tone/Rykodisc/Rhino CD) 7 bonus tracks. INFO
- Let it Be (original release 1984) (Twin-Tone/Rykodisc/Rhino CD) 6 bonus tracks. INFO
- Tim (original release 1985) (Sire/Rhino CD) 6 bonus tracks. INFO
- Pleased to Meet Me (original release 1987) (Sire/Rhino CD) 11 bonus tracks. INFO
- Don't Tell a Soul (original release 1989 (Sire/Rhino/Reprise CD) 7 bonus tracks. INFO
- All Shook Down (original release 1991) (Sire/Rhino/Reprise CD) 11 bonus tracks. INFO
2017 - For Sale: Live at Maxwell's 1986 (Sire/Rhino 2xLP & 2xCD & digital)
After a decade of no Replacements releases, this fantastic quality multitrack live recording of a February 4, 1986 show at the Maxwell's club in Hoboken, NJ got the ball rolling for a series of several large scale releases that is ongoing. The Mats played Maxwell's at least 4 times between 1983 and 1989. INFO
2019 - Dead Man's Pop (Sire/Rhino box set - 1xLP / 4xCD & digital)
Archival reissue that reimagined the Mats 1989 6th full length album, Don't Tell a Soul. Includes a new Matt Wallace remix of the album (Don't Tell a Soul Redux) on CD & LP + 1 CD of rarities + 2 CDs of live material (The Complete Inconcerated Live) from a June 2, 1989 show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 5 of these live tracks previously appeared on a 1989 promo release, Inconcerated Live (see above). INFO
2019 - Don't Tell a Soul: Outtakes and Alternates (Sire/Rhino limited edition cassette)
Released in conjunction with Dead Man's Pop, featuring 12 rarities from the box set + 2 tracks exclusive to this release: Asking Me Lies (outtake) and I Won't (instrumental Bearsville version). Included with the first 500 copies of Dead Man's Pop preordered from the Rhino website, plus an unspecified number were provided to independent record retailers. INFO
2020 - The Complete Inconcerated Live (Sire/Rhino limited edition 3xLP)
Vinyl reissue of the live album released the previous year on Dead Man's Pop. Exclusive Record Store Day release. INFO
2020 - Pleased to Meet Me (Sire Rhino box set - 1xLP / 3xCD & digital)
Expanded version of The Mats 1987 5th full length album. Includes a rough mix version of the album on CD & LP + a remastered version of the album on CD + 1.5 CDs of rarities, outtakes and demos.
2021 - The Pleasure's All Yours: Pleased to Meet Me Outtakes & Alternates (Sire/Rhino limited edition LP)
Vinyl reissue of select unreleased material from the previous year's Pleased to Meet Me box set. Exclusive Record Store Day release. INFO
2021 - Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (Sire Rhino box set - 1xLP / 4xCD)
Expanded version of The Mats 1981 debut album. Includes a new remaster of the album on CD + 2 CDs of rarities + 1 live CD of a January 23, 1981 live show at the 7th St Entry in Minneapolis that was partially broadcast on a local FM station + 1 LP: Deliberate Noise - The Alternate Sorry Ma ... which features alternate mixes of the album's tracks selected from the 2 rarities CDs.
2022 - Unsuitable For Airplay - The Lost KFAI Concert (Sire/Rhino limited edition 2xLP)
Vinyl reissue of the live album released the previous year on the Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash box set. Exclusive Record Store Day release. INFO
2022 - Live! At Riot Fest Toronto (Cobraside 2xLP)
Live recording of the entire August 25, 2013 Replacements set at the Riot Fest Festival in Toronto, the band's first live show in 22 years, since the infamous 1991 4th of July "final" show in Chicago. Released unexpectedly; it went out of print soon after. This reportedly was going to be the launch of a series of archival releases.... which ultimately began and ended with this release. There were rumors of disagreements behind the scenes surrounding this release that allegedly led to limiting this to one pressing - and the subsequent scuttling of the project. This is one of only two titles on this list that was released outside the Twin/Tone, Sire, Warners/Rhino universe. INFO
2023 - Tim (Let it Bleed edition) (Sire/Rhino box set - 1xLP / 4xCD & digital)
Expanded version of the The Mats 1985 4th full length album. Includes a new Ed Stasium mix of the album on CD & LP + a remaster of the album on CD + 1 CD of rarities + 1 live CD of a January 11, 1986 show at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago.
2024 - Not Ready For Prime Time: Live at the Cabaret Metro, 1986 (Sire/Rhino limited edition 2xLP)
Vinyl reissue of the live album released the previous year on the Tim (Let it Bleed) box set. Exclusive Record Store Day release. INFO
2025 - Let it Be (Sire/Rhino box set 4xCD & 4xLP & digital)
Expanded version of The Mats 1984 3rd full length album. Includes a new remaster of the album on one disc + one disc of rarities + 2 live discs from an August 17, 1984 show at the Cubby Bear in Chicago. INFO
2025 - Live at City Gardens 1984 (Sire/Rhino limited edition CD & 10" vinyl)
6 live tracks from a February 11, 1984 live show in Trenton, NJ released in conjunction with the Let it Be box set. The tracks are exclusive to this release, including one of only 4 known performances (all in 84/85, all in the greater NYC area) of "You're Getting Married," a song that originated as a solo Westerberg demo in the early 80s, done here with blistering passion and intensity. The CD was available exclusively from the Electric Fetus store in Minneapolis and the vinyl was available with preorders from the Rhino store. INFO
last updated 4/25/26
