Stereo is the fourth solo album by former Replacements leader Paul Westerberg, released April 23, 2002. Stereo was packaged with Mono, which he credited to his Grandpaboy alter ego. The hidden track that closes Stereo, "Postcards from Paradise", is a cover of a Flesh for Lulu song.
Capitol Records dropped Westerberg following the poor performance of Suicaine Gratifaction. Rather than trying to latch on with another major label, Westerberg recorded Stereo/Mono in his basement with very little outside help, and released it on the independent Vagrant Records label.
Vagrant Records also had a limited release of Mono as a separate album. On November 29, 2019, Stereo/Mono was released as a double LP as part of Record Store Day's Black Friday.
Contents
Critical reception
As detailed in the liner notes, Westerberg made no effort to fix imperfections, and even included a song for which the tape ran out before it was over. Westerberg's young son makes an unscheduled appearance on "We May Be the Ones".
All this worked to Westerberg's advantage. Mark Deming of AllMusic states, "If you loved the side of Paul Westerberg that came up with stuff like "Within Your Reach," "If Only You Were Lonely," or "Here Comes a Regular," the good news is he's found a way to tap back into that mindset and he's captured it on tape." A Knight Ridder review asserts that "The former voice of an uncertain generation sounds surer of himself than at any other juncture in his solo career.
Track listing
Note: Track listing on Stereo is numbered differently as it omits "Strike Down the Band" and the hidden track, "Postcards from Paradise". It lists only 12 songs. "Postcards from Paradise" is located on the same track as "Call That Gone?", following a short period of silence.
Personnel
Grandpaboy – guitar & vocals
Elrod Puce – backing vocals, maracas, handclaps
Zeke Pine – bass
Henry Twiddle – drums
with:
Luther Covington – superfluous lead guitar