SORRY MA Recording Sessions
Session 1
The first tape of Replacements songs dates from the spring of 1980. It included at least the following songs (as per Mehr, 44, 48-50, 64):
1. Customer
2. Down in the Basement
3. Lookin' For Ya
4. Looks Like My Old Girl
5. She's Firm
6. Try Me
7. We Ain't Got No Class
Session 2
A second demo tape was recorded in May 1980 and included at least the following 4 songs (Mehr, 64):
1. Don't Turn Me Down
2. Raised in the City
3. Shape Up
4. Shutup
These were all later released on the SORRY MA CD reissue in 2008.
Session 3
The first actual professional recording session for the first album was held at Blackberry Way on July 21, 1980 (Mehr, 75). At least 5 songs were recorded:
1. Get On The Stick
2. I Bought A Headache
3. Oh Baby
4. Shiftless When Idle
5. You Ain't Gonna Dance
Of these, the ones in yellow were released on the original SORRY MA, while the others were released on the 2008 CD reissue of SORRY MA.
Session 4
A second professional recording session was held again at Blackberry Way stretching from November 1980 to January 1981 (Mehr, 82-84). At least 19 songs were recorded. These included:
1. Careless
2. Customer
3. Don't Ask Why
4. Get Lost
5. Hangin Downtown
6. I Hate Music
7. I'm In Trouble
8. Johnny's Gonna Die
9. Kick Your Door Down
10. Like You
11. Love You Till Friday
12. More Cigarettes
13. Otto
14. Raised In The City
15. Rattlesnake
16. Shutup
17. Something To Du
18. Takin A Ride
19. A Toe Needs A Shoe
Of these, 16 were included in the original release of SORRY MA, the ones in yellow. The other 3 were released on the 2008 SORRY MA CD reissue.
Thus, the actual finished SORRY MA album included 2 songs from the 1st Blackberry session and 16 songs from the November 1980-January 1981 sessions.
The 2008 SORRY MA reissue also included one song ("Basement Jam") whose provenance is unknown. The CD credit simply says it was recorded at the Stinson home in Minneapolis.
Solo Westerberg Recordings:
The following are solo Westerberg recordings that date from 1980-81:
- Bad Worker (Mehr, 89)
- If Only You Were Lonely
- You're Getting Married (Mehr, 78)
Of these, "If Only You Were Lonely" was issued as the b-side to the single "I'm In Trouble." The others were released on the 2008 reissues of STINK ("You're Getting Married") and HOOTENNANY ("Bad Worker").
TOTAL LIST OF SONGS RECORDED:
1. A Toe Needs A Shoe
2. Bad Worker [solo demo]
3. Basement Jam (rehearsal)
4. Careless
5. Customer
6. Don't Ask Why
7. Don't Turn Me Down
8. Down in the Basement [unreleased]
9. Get Lost
10. Get On The Stick
11. Hangin' Downtown
12. I Bought A Headache
13. I Hate Music
14. If Only You Were Lonely [solo demo]
15. I'm In Trouble
16. Johnny's Gonna Die
17. Kick Your Door Down
18. Like You
19. Lookin' For Ya [unreleased]
20. Love You Till Friday
21. Looks Like My Old Girl [unreleased]
22. More Cigarettes
23. Oh Baby
24. Otto
25. Raised in the City
26. Rattlesnake
27. Shape Up
28. She's Firm [unreleased]
29. Shiftless When Idle
30. Shutup
31. Something To Du
32. Takin A Ride
33. Try Me [unreleased]
34. We Ain't Got No Class [unreleased]
35. You Ain't Gonna Dance
36. You're Getting Married [solo demo]
A total of at least 36 tracks were recorded for SORRY MA, of which 19 were released at the time (including the b-side "If Only You Were Lonely"). Nine other tracks were released on the SORRY MA CD reissue in 2008.
Other Unrecorded and/or Unreleased Songs from 1980-81:
- Excuse Me (Mehr, 79)
- Get Off The Plane (Mehr, 69)
- It's Hard To Wave In Handcuffs (Mehr, 89)
- Looks Like My Old Girl (Mehr, 79)
- Mistake (Mehr, 79)
- Off Your Pants (Mehr, 79)
- We Ain't Got No Class
- We'll Get Drunk (Mehr, 78)