All Shook Down

Released on September 25, 1990, by Sire Records, All Shook Down is the Replacements' seventh and final album.

The title All Shook Down is yet another classic Paul Westerberg turn of phrase, this time being an obvious play on “All Shook Up” by Elvis Presley. Although the term “shake down” generally refers to a form of extortion or coercion, it seems to accurately describe The Replacements at this stage of their career arc – dejected, despondant and unsatisfied (see what I did there?) at the lack of commercial success despite a decade of being critics darlings. According to Paul in the biography Trouble Boys, being appreciated by an elite circle of music snobs is fine, but at some point you want to sell some goddamned records and achieve some sort of popular acclaim – a sentiment he and the boys would have never admitted to at the time.

The cover art carries this theme with a photo of two dogs wandering in the street (some suggest they represent Paul and bassist Tommy Stinson, as drummer Chris Mars was barely present for this album), apparently lost or abandoned. On the back is a flyer asking “HAVE YOU SEEN LUCKY?”, Lucky presumably being a lost dog. This is a remarkably subtle but no less sad visual image. Even the hardest of hearts can’t help but break for a person who’s lost their dog – a dog in fact named, ironically, “Lucky.” Lost and unlucky would be the exact manner in which Paul and the boys would have characterized themselves at that point.

A deluxe version was released in 2008 by Rhino Records with 11 extra tracks, including a sampling of the solo demos Westerberg done for the album (tracks 14-20); an early version of “My Little Problem”, and most of the rare 1991 EP Don’t Sell Or Buy, It’s Crap (22-24).