Sadly deceased yet underrated ex-Replacements guitarist gets the full, beautifully packaged re-issue treatment with remastered solo albums and outtakes, demos and live recordings.
Back in the late 1980s Paul Westerberg’s popular indie-rock band The Replacements had just about had enough of the drinking and drug taking of founder member of the group, guitarist Bob Stinson after ten years. The guitar player they chose to replace him was Bob Dunlap, a journeyman guitarist who played nights in Minnesota in his spare time from his day job as a janitor. His style apparently was influenced by the likes of Keith Richard and Hank Williams and his laconic blues and rock stylings were well received at First Avenue nightclub. Westerberg was taken with his guitar playing which was more roots rock-based than the punk stylings of Bob Stinson. Dunlap agreed to join The Replacements as he recognised Westerberg’s quality songwriting and agreed to be called by his childhood nickname ‘Slim’, because Westerberg did not want to have another guitarist named Bob.
But three years or so later, The Replacements imploded and each member went his own way. Dunlap spent a short while playing with Dan Baird’s band (ex-Georgia Satellites) but at the same time went into a recording studio to make his solo debut album The Old New Me. His album was made pretty much on the cheap ($5000) and Dunlap invited only a few session players to join him, including his erstwhile pre-Replacements band colleague Curtiss A (Curt Alstedt) from Thumbs Up and Spooks, and Paul Westerberg guested as well.
His album was laid back in comparison with the alt-rock anger of The Replacements’ sound, but still had enough dynamism to make an impact, particularly in concert as reviewers praised his live shows – he opened for the likes of Dan Baird and Son Volt. He went back into the studio to work on finalising his second album Times Like This that had been started at home. Westerberg and Alstedt appeared again on the album and it was released to excellent reviews yet again. A special admirer was Bruce Springsteen who noted “he was really a unique guitarist, singer and songwriter, really deeply soulful and beautiful. He has two fabulous solo albums”.” A third album was mooted but never appeared, so Dunlap continued as he did before, playing to sold-out venues, particularly in his home state, Minnesota.
Dunlap had a massive stroke in 2012 and was thereafter unable to play, and he died at the end of 2024 from complications arising.
A tribute album was made in 2013 by a large number of artists, the proceeds going into a fund to help with the cost of his medical expenses. Dunlap had fans and admirers but never made a large amount of money.
Before he died, Dunlap gave permission to use a good number of songs that he had ‘recorded’ in some form or other, the plan being to submit these for film and TV licensing opportunities. He died before a contract was signed but during the year that followed his death, Dunlap’s widow and daughter worked with his erstwhile longtime friend and occasional producer, Peter Jesperson, put together a collection of early recordings, live recordings, outtakes, alternate recordings and demos, added them in with freshly remastered versions to create a beautifully produced double CD package with upwards of two and a half hours of Dunlap’s music.
To all but his aficionados Dunlap was something of an obscure and largely unknown performer; and that, according to his own words seems to be how he liked it. A fan favourite Ballad of the Opening Band described a musician and his band, regular players who never made the limelight. He said in interview that “he hated it” (being a bandleader) – I’d rather just play guitar and let the other guy lose all the money”.
So what you get in this double CD is a large slice of retro rock and blues, some country and americana stylings, an occasional folk and/or bluegrass number (even a yodel on one of the live tracks!) and a lovely instrumental cover of hero James Burton’s tune, Love Lost. It carries traces of the influence of a number of artists but your main point of reference is early Stones, even specifically the solo output of Keith Richard.
The Old New Me (1993) kicks off proceedings with a statement of intent; Rockin’ Here Tonight, a live audience favourite, pays homage to Keith Richard with its earthy Stones’ vibe. Just For The Hell of It ups the tempo on a fast shuffle with a melodic guitar riff. And these tracks set the tone for a fine roots rock album where influences comes thick and fast. Isn’t It slows the pace right down with an organ-driven Chess Records-style blues. And then you have the Tom Petty-inspired Partners in Crime and the Springsteen-like Taken on the Chin. Dunlap is the star, playing a range of styles and licks, while Chan Poling and an uncredited Paul Westerberg add piano (and organ) to create atmosphere – the barroom piano on From the Git Go is infectious. Dunlap plays without artifice, and sings in a slightly reedy Richard kind of way. Apart from the Burton cover, Dunlap wrote every song, the standout of which is the afore-mentioned Ballad of the Opening Band, a fan favourite and a wistful song reflecting on the journeyman status of a perennial opening act (something that Dunlap seemed resigned to after a brief flirtation with success with the Replacements: “Now the dream world of every little opening band / It soon gets shattered when the headliner takes command / You feel the fleet of fame in a night / As the latest local hero, he shoots you a wink / You sit there thinking, “Oh my God did we stink or what.” / There’s only one shot to a night / When you’re the opener, that’s right”.
The second studio album Times like This (1996) is altogether more eclectic, but does not suffer in quality of writing, nor in Dunlap’s range of playing. Girlfriend is a very short but very sweet song much beloved by Springsteen,, who recorded it for his radio show: “Well, it’s Saturday night it’s nearly midnight and you’re still solo / We gotta see if we can (aww) find you a girl / You’ve been solo so long some people round here think you’re in slow-mo / Hey! We gotta see if we can (aww) find you a girl”.
Little Shiva’s Boy has a great guitar riff (as do many of the CD’s tracks), Chrome Lipstick has a distant bluesy harmonica , but to this writer’s ears the album is marginally less successful due to the greater experimentation in the arrangements – persistent loping bass drum accompaniment to Jungle Out There, slightly psychedelic sounds on Radio Hook Word Hit. There is nevertheless the americana feel to the Stones-like Cozy, and the very cool laidback vibe of Cooler Then. The album ends with the excellent title tune, which has a nice barroom feel and a sweet fadeout line: “It’s times like this, it’s time like this, it’s times like this that we learn what we’d really miss”.
In many ways, the outtakes, demos and live tracks which fill up each CD and which have been curated (originally against Dunlap’s wishes) are equally interesting. These include, amongst others, alternate versions of Ballad of the Opening Band, Girlfriend, and Times Like This which are clearly a match for the album versions. Dunlap takes a languid pop (live) at Dylan’s I’ll be Your Baby Tonight, and even the old country chestnut Hobo Bill’s Last Ride (where he yodels quite impressively). But, most impressive are three (different) versions of an unheard ballad Before She’s Gone, as good as anything on his albums, and another outtake unknown, Every Little Word, from which this collection’s title seems to have been taken.
Kudos to everybody involved in this project. Yes, it contains some oddities, but it stands as a great testament to an artist who operated well below the radar and, who sadly was unable to realise the extent of his undoubted talent, both as a guitarist of some finesse and a potentially very good songwriter.
