Come Feel Me Tremble

Paul Westerberg must be stopped. We love the guy, not only for his poignant rock’n’roll buffoonery with the Replacements, but also for his three vastly underrated solo albums during the ’90s. But with his two latest releases, he’s now put out four albums of material in the span of about 18 months, which is about three albums too many. Of his two most recent offerings, Come Feel Me Tremble is more consistent (the other is Dead Man Shake recorded under his alias, Grandpaboy). In amongst quality barroom bang-ups (“Knockin’ Em Back”) and quiet piano ballads (“Never Felt Like This Before”) are two versions of “Crackle & Drag”—one a shambling rocker, the other a poignant acoustic lament—that show off the yin and yang of Westerberg’s songwriting gift.