Five Producers I Would Have Loved To See Work With The Replacements!

Part of the charm of The Replacements was their irascible nature and willingness to throw a wrench into the spokes of convention, even if those spokes happened to be attached to the bike they were riding at the time. Once you realize, or remind yourself, of that fact, it is truly a wonder the band ever sat still long enough to make a decent record, much less four of them.

In that sense, Tommy Ramone was the perfect producer for such a band as they entered the big leagues. After all, this man hadn't just produced the Ramones, he'd been one, so he knew more than most about dealing with chemical-fueled dysfunction.

Even so, his production on Tim, while passable, leaves just a wee bit to be desired.

Thing is, due to the band's combustible brand of studio chemistry, most producers of note would choose to hammer rusty nails into their own knee caps than work with the band, leaving their label with only a short list of "name" producers willing to work with the band.

This left Sire Records with no choice but to consider those producers that one might call "unproven talent". After all, who better to produce an unpredictable band than someone who lacks the leverage to say no to such an offer?

Even so, there are at least five great producers that this writer would have loved to see the band work with and who, I believe, could have achieved stellar results in the process.

Ed Stasium

Stasium is best known as the guy who was ushered into the producer's chair after Tommy Ramone relinquished his role as the Ramones' drummer and producer. The first result of this arranged marriage was the pop-punk pipe bomb known as Road To Ruin.

Based on the number of bands that cite that album as a major influence, it remains a mystery as to why Stasium's dance card was not immediately booked solid for the next five years. Not only would he have been a perfect fit for the Mats, he could have used the work.

Of course, by 1987-88, he was busier than a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest, working on pivotal albums by Soul Asylum (Hang Time) and Living Colour (Vivid), not to mention the Smithereens' 11.

What Stasium could have brought to the Mats' second album for Sire  would have been the radio-ready crunch that the label was looking for without forcing the band to be something that they weren't.

This, as many know, is a tightrope act that only chosen few could have accomplished and it is my belief that Stasium is one of them.

Don Dixon

Before Stasium worked his magic for the Smithereens, Don Dixon had manned the boards for an album that was little more than a paying gig for a retro pop act signed to a then-fledgling indie label based in El Segundo, California.

That label was Enigma Records and that record, 1986's Especially For You, would eventually blow up thanks to MTV's near-constant airplay of videos for the songs "Blood And Roses" and "Behind The Wall Of Sleep".

Dixon's production packs a punch without overstepping its bounds and, due to his own background as an artist, never fails to serve the songs, making him the perfect studio foil for Westerberg, whose songwriting was quickly transitioning from shambolic greatness to works of ambitious genius.

Jack Douglas

The two members of the Mats that I have had the honor of speaking to over the years both name-checked the first Cheap Trick album, which, it just so happens, Douglas produced. 

Seeing as how litigation with Yoko Ono had led to him bowing out of Cheap Trick's Standing On The Edge sessions in '85, maybe the timing would have been wrong for him to take part in the Replacements' first record for Sire, but it sure as hell seems like he could have fit a Replacements record in between platters for the likes of Zebra and Rough Cutt.

Doing so could have also rescued him from the hair metal parking lot he'd found himself in when, in truth, he was a great pop producer who never got his due in that arena.

For proof, one need only listen to his work on John and Yoko's Double Fantasy.

Also, if Zebra and Rough Cutt could afford him, the Mats could have as well, I suspect.

Dave Jerden

When I think of Dave Jerden, I am reminded of an ace engineer who was looking to get his foot in the door as a producer after yeas of working alongside the likes of Bill Laswell, Nile Rodgers, and Steve Lillywhite on albums by Mick Jagger (She's The Boss) and the Stones (Dirty Work).

In that sense, as a producer. he was the sort of unproven commodity in '85-87.

In '88, of course, he got the opportunity he'd been looking for when he was offered the chance to produce Jane's Addiction's major label debut, Nothing's Shocking, followed by the Chili Peppers' Mother's Milk - both of which he knocked out of the park, proving he could get great results despite being trapped in the studio with a bunch of drug-fueled maniacs.

Chris Thomas

We've all seen the name on some great albums, yet what few recognize about this legendary producer best known for his work on Never Mind The Bollocks is that he's an ace song guy.

Keep in mind that, while he was being driven to madness by Malcolm McLaren during the Pistols sessions, he was also working with Paul McCartney (on Wings Over America) and Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music.

Some of his best work, though, was on those first two Pretenders albums.

By the mid '80s, though, he was Elton John's go-to guy, yet still modest enough to take on projects by the likes of Thrashing Doves and INXS, the latter of which enjoyed their greatest success with Thomas producing both Listen Like Thieves and Kick.

Considering his varied resume and ability to work with difficult clients (if you thought McLaren was a handful, by all accounts, Elton was no pussycat either), one would have loved to see what he could have done with the Mats.