How do you walk away from something as monumental as the Replacements and create music that can be appreciated on its own merits.

You can’t. Ask any Beatle that question… you can’t do it. Everything you do will be judged through the lens of a very large shadow. So now, you have Paul Westerberg circa 1993, nowhere near retirement age with a dump load of songs and no outlet unless he does the unthinkable – release solo records.

This is my theory; even a masterpiece would have been hated by most critics and diehard Replacement fans. Hence the critical under appreciation of 14 Songs the solo debut released by  Westerberg in ‘93.

It’s a shame because it really is an awesome record that delivers a different kind of observation than anything Westerberg could have accomplished within the band setting. You get a sense of growing maturity as if he looks…