Paul Westerberg, American vocalist with The Replacements, turns 47.
Song Review by Kristi Coulter
[Bio & Info © allmusic.com]
The next-to-last Replacements album, 1989's Don't Tell a Soul, divided fans and critics alike: most felt that the once gloriously ragged band had succumbed to AOR gloss, while a few thought main songwriter Paul Westerberg might finally live up to his hitmaking potential. Whichever side you took, there was no denying that Don't Tell a Soul contained some well-crafted songs, and "Achin' to Be" was one of the best. A country-tinged ballad, it's an ode to a woman the singer seems to be watching across the proverbial crowded room. She's described as being "kind of like" an artist, a poet, and a movie, but in every instance a stunted one, ripe with feelings but unable to express them, or misunderstood by her audience. At times it's hard to tell if the singer is romanticizing the woman as a thwarted artist or dismissing her as a dilettante. That tension characterizes much of Paul Westerberg's best songwriting, of course, and indeed it's tempting to view "Achin' to Be" as emblematic of the peculiar position the Replacements held for much of their career, pulled between vulnerability and sneering isolation. "Achin' to Be" is such a solid, pleasing yet generic song that it would seem to be perfect cover material for both pop and country artists, but so far it has not found a life outside its initial recording.
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