The Replacements are about to celebrate their 1985 major label debut Tim with the upcoming deluxe edition Tim: Let It Bleed Edition. But before that’s out September 22nd, they’ve shared a preview with an alternate version of their hit “Can’t Hardly Wait” that features some prominent cello shredding.
Frontman Paul Westerberg had always wanted to experiment with the recording of “Can’t Hardly Wait.” Upon writing it in 1984, he made an acoustic guide track — recorded in the cavernous Nicollet Studios, which had once been a movie theater — and then record a full-band version over it. However, the band couldn’t hear the guide track over their instruments, so they decided to record a more standard rock version of the song.
But that wasn’t exactly what Westerberg had in mind. So the next day, he decided to enlist the studio’s receptionist, Michelle Kinney, a trained cellist active in the local Minneapolis music scene: “There wasn’t any music written down,” Kinney recalls in a statement. “I do remember watching Paul through the studio window and him talking in my headphones and kind of singing parts for me. He would kind of conduct me, and I’d try to do what he asked. He was being really hilarious and animated and calling me ‘Maestro.’”
“Can’t Hardly Wait” was meant to be included on Tim, but never got an official release until its follow-up Pleased to Meet Me. By that point, producer Jim Dickinson eventually overhauled Westerberg’s plan, but Kinney’s recordings have survived the four decades since. Hear “Can’t Hardly Wait (Cello Version)” below.
Back in 2020, Josh Boone announced that he would be making a biopic about The Replacements based on Trouble Boys. In the meantime, you can revisit our ranking of the band’s discography.
