Paul Westerberg

• 14 Songs [Sire/Reprise, 1993] B+
• Eventually [Reprise, 1996] **
• Suicaine Gratification [Capitol, 1999] *

Consumer Guide Reviews:

14 Songs [Sire/Reprise, 1993]
Like most know-nothings--"Knowledge is power/Got your books, go read 'em"--he equates freedom with individualism and wisdom with unbridled sentiment. But the Replacements were a monument to bad faith by the end, and being as it's time for him to shit or get off the pot, he shits. "Things," to a woman who deserves better than the guy who wrote this song, will tempt you to forgive the songpoems about junkyard flowers and runaway winds. "Down Love" and "A Few Minutes of Silence" are new ways to say shut up. You'll want to hear that riff again--that one too. Because his official solo debut is considerably more raucous than Don't Tell a Soul or All Shook Down. B+

Eventually [Reprise, 1996]
too mean because he's not as important as he thinks he is, too irrelevant because he's not as important as he should be ("These Are the Days," "MamaDaddyDid") **

Suicaine Gratification [Capitol, 1999]
What gives this fool the right to ruminate all over your earhole is his trick cocktail piano ("Whatever Makes You Happy," "Final Hurrah"). *