| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Suicaine Gratifaction is the third solo album from former The Replacements leader Paul Westerberg.
Co-producer Don Was had admired Westerberg for years. He used Westerberg's solo debut, 14 Songs, as daily inspiration while producing the Rolling Stones' Voodoo Lounge.[2] Westerberg once claimed that he had originally been interested in working with Quincy Jones.[3]
Regarding the album's strange title, Westerberg said, "I don't want to think about it too deeply other than the fact that it seems wrong, and therefore it's attractive to me."[4]
The piano solo in the middle of "Born for Me" is the subject of a chapter within Nick Hornby's Songbook, where its simply played, undemonstrative character, of a piece with the song as a whole, is contrasted with virtuosic solos that use the underlying song as a jumping-off point to some unrelated destination. Hornby describes Westerberg as a "born musician" and suggests that he's "a man who thinks and feels and loves and speaks in music."[5] "Born for Me" was rerecorded with The I Don't Cares on the Wild Stab album.
Track listing
- "It's a Wonderful Lie" – 2:47
- "Self-Defense" – 3:15
- "Best Thing That Never Happened" – 4:31
- "Lookin' Out Forever" – 3:41
- "Born for Me" – 4:00
- "Final Hurrah" – 3:27
- "Tears Rolling Up Our Sleeves" – 3:26
- "Fugitive Kind" – 5:54
- "Sunrise Always Listens" – 4:17
- "Whatever Makes You Happy" – 3:15
- "Actor in the Street" – 3:24
- "Bookmark" – 3:11
Personnel
- Paul Westerberg – guitar, vocals
- Shawn Colvin – vocals
- Don Was – bass
- Steve Ferrone – drums
- Josh Freese – drums
- Suzie Katayama – accordion, cello
- Jim Keltner – drums, percussion
- Abe Laboriel Jr. – drums
- Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar
- Benmont Tench – keyboards
- Richard Todd – French horn
- Dave Pirner – backing vocals
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ VH1: Paul Westerberg Goes It Alone With Suicaine Gratifaction. Accessed June 30, 2008
- ^ Mountain Xpress interview. Accessed June 30, 2008.
- ^ MTV: Paul Westerberg Lines Up Suicaine Gratifaction for 1999 Accessed June 30, 2008.
- ^ Nick Hornby (2003). "Chapter 12". Songbook. Penguin. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-57322-356-0. Retrieved 21 January 2012.