Tommy Stinson 3: Village Gorilla Head

While his old buddy Paul Westerberg busied himself with lo-fi home recordings that sounded that way, Tommy Stinson took time off between sporadic gigs playing bass in Guns N’ Roses to put together his first real solo album. Village Gorilla Head was mostly recorded solo, with help from GN’R mates, but while he’s still about the raucous rock, he’s still following his old buddy’s lead.

Although it gradually builds to a larger sonic landscape, “Without A View” begins introspectively and manages to stay that way. Similarly, the delicate acoustic guitars on “Not A Moment Too Soon” give way to a surefire hit single if they still made those. “Something’s Wrong” is straight off the Bash & Pop template, but if you’re looking for noise, “Couldn’t Wait” sports a broken-leg meter and complicated riff. “OK” is another grower, with added charm in the childlike gang backing vocals on the later choruses, while “Bite Your Tongue” has some vicious commentary disguised in a rather ordinary track.

The title track is completely out of left field, with a homemade triphop feel, and funky guitars and jazz piano to match, which anyone else would submit to multiple dance remixes but for the experimental breakdown in the middle that incorporates cellos and saxophones. The yearning “Light Of Day” is a sneaky highlight, not too far removed from Tom Petty’s “Echo” but in a good way, with a pedal steel guitar in the mix too. Speaking of homages, “Hey You” hearkens back to acoustic Faces, and while we’re at it, “Motivation” turns it up again with Stonesy snottiness. For a closer, “Someday” is anticlimactic, though it throws a lot of ideas into the pile.

Chances are most listeners would be familiar with the Replacements, or maybe a stray Axl fan might have been curious, but hopefully somebody found Village Gorilla Head worthy of ownership. The kid knows how to write songs, and they deserve to be heard.

Tommy Stinson Village Gorilla Head (2004)—3

Tommy Stinson 2: Perfect

After the Bash & Pop album was basically ignored, Tommy Stinson gave up on music for a while. After all, if Paul Westerberg couldn’t sell records on his own, how could the guy everyone still thought of as the teenage bass player?

By most accounts he tried working real jobs to support the family he’d left in Minneapolis while he was floundering in L.A., but eventually he made his way back to music, and put together a new band called Perfect. With the support of onetime Replacements manager Peter Jesperson, the band hit the studio and recorded an EP for an offshoot of an indie distributor. When Squirrels Play Chicken is a harmless cross between ‘70s punk and power-pop songsmithing, best exemplified by “Makes Me Happy”, which seems unsure of its key, yet matches Tommy’s freewheeling sense of melody. “Sometimes” is a stomp too slow for Green Day but perhaps more suitable for Bob Mould fans. “Alternative Monkey” is ahead of its time, considering how much it sounds today like Jet or the Strokes. “Miss Self-Esteem” comes closest to Westerberg at his most sensitive, and “Don’t Need To Know Where” revs it up to top speed, with truly explosive drums. The best part of the album is hidden at the end, a joyous thrash through “Crocodile Rock”, truly out of affection.

At 20 minutes, the EP was a nice taster of what could be, and the band went off to record a full-length album with Jim Dickinson, whom Tommy had met way back on Pleased To Meet Me. The album was completed, and promptly shelved by the record company. The tapes eventually ended up seven years later with Rykodisc, who took a chance on it, but not after juggling it and dropping one song. Once, Twice, Three Times A Maybe (an Eddie Murphy reference?) is closer to the straight Bash & Pop sound, but more straightahead rock. He’s still not the best singer, but the songs are well-crafted and arranged. (The title notwithstanding, “Making Of An Asshole” is truly terrific, as is “Peg Song”, the track not released.)

Taken all together, the entire official output of Perfect could be squeezed onto a single CD, which only means a future Record Store Day release will have it all on two records at overblown prices. You heard it here first, folks.

Perfect When Squirrels Play Chicken (1996)—3
Perfect Once, Twice, Three Times A Maybe (2004)—3

Tommy Stinson 1: Friday Night Is Killing Me

After the Replacements stumbled to a close, it was surprising that of all the members, the first real solo project was from drummer Chris Mars. Horseshoes And Hand Grenades contained 14 songs, written and performed by Mars, with the exception of the bass and help from members of Soul Asylum on three tracks. The songs are catchy, guitar-based alterna-pop-rock, marred only by the sad fact that he can’t carry a tune in a bucket, unless you’re of the opinion that Skip Spence could really croon. It was easy to read pointed barbs at his former bandmates within the lyrics, and he’d go further with the title of his next, equally harmless album, 75% Less Fat.

Yet while the band’s auteur kept close to his vest, it was Tommy Stinson who made the most of the Mats’ legacy by picking up where they’d left off. He grabbed Steve Foley, the band’s last touring drummer, who conveniently had a brother who played bass. Tommy switched to guitar, recruited another six-stringer, and thus Bash & Pop was born.

Friday Night Is Killing Me shows just how much he learned following Paul Westerberg around for a decade. The songs fall into basic buckets; straightforward rock with clever lyrics (“Never Aim To Please”, “Tickled To Tears”, the title track, “Tiny Pieces”) and noisy stompers (“Hang Ups”, “Loose Ends”, “One More Time”, “Fast & Hard”, “He Means It”), all drawn up from Stones and Faces blueprints. Each side ends with a wistful acoustic strum (“Nothing”, “First Steps”). The overall sound is crisp and clean, following on from All Shook Down. A few famous names are dropped in the notes, notably two Heartbreakers and their occasional percussionist. And while Tommy doesn’t have the greatest voice either, he’s got charm and he’s having fun—something sorely lacking from the ‘Mats’ last days.

Two dozen years after the album came and went, it was reissued by the same label that had been busy curating the Big Star legacy. The obligatory bonus disc is loaded with demos and alternate versions, plus a few contemporary B-sides and strays, including “Making Me Sick” from the Clerks soundtrack. Perfect for the obsessives among us, but at the very least it gives the album another chance at exposure.

Bash & Pop Friday Night Is Killing Me (1993)—3½
2017 CD reissue: same as 1993, plus 18 extra tracks