Ex. Interview: Replacements Producer Peter Jesperson

Peter Jesperson's list of credits is lengthy. But he'll forever be linked to the Replacements, the late, great Minneapolis-born band that he discovered, managed and helped produce during the 1980s. I wrote him with some questions upon the reissue of the first wave of Replacements records.

As a fan, I have one complaint. Why did we have to wait until 2008 to get these fantastic reissues?

I’d say simply because, collectively, the band and I weren’t ready. You have to have a certain distance to be able to see things clearly. Tommy, in particular, said that he couldn’t have gone back and reviewed old Replacements recordings until recently. It’s been fun but also a very emotional process and a lot of work.

In the new Spin story on the band, there’s mention of your going through 57 archives discs of material. Is there anything else in there you wish we could hear?

The 57 discs comprise literally everything I have so, as you could imagine, there’s tons of it that’s not usable. There are lots of bad or incomplete takes, multiple rough mixes of the same songs, rehearsals where the tape just ran for 45 minutes, etc. and probably half of what’s on those 57 discs is live. There will be a live box or series eventually but I don’t think there’s much more non-live stuff of releasable quality.

What is the biggest myth that exists about the Replacements?

That they were bad live more often than they were good.

Were the Replacements beyond saving?

If you mean when they broke up, who knows? Seems to me that they had run their course and quit while they ahead, so to speak.

What’s your favorite record from your time with the band?

"Let It Be."

What’s your favorite from the Sire years?

"All Shook Down."

Were they really that drunk all the time?

No.

Do you have a biggest regret as it relates to the Replacements?

No, there’s no one thing I can think of. I mean, I can think of a million things I wish I’d done differently or that they’d done differently. But we were who we were – we had certain resources, talents, handicaps, problems, whatever – and we did the best we could with what we had. They were an important band that left their mark and I’m very proud of having been a part of it.

I know you're working on the Sire reissues. Can you at least tease us with a couple revelations/potential bonus tracks on those discs?

The most exciting track for me is the acoustic version of “Can’t Hardly Wait,” which will go on “Tim.” And there’s a great demo of “Talent Show” for “Don’t Tell A Soul.”