TOMMY STINSON

One Man Mutiny

tommystinson.com

Long before his current stint in Guns N’ Roses, bassist Tommy Stinson served his apprenticeship with the Replacements—simultaneously the Beatles and Rolling Stones of the ’80s alt-rock underground. The Minneapolis group could be sharp and melodic, like a punky Fab Four, but also shambolic and self-destructive—particularly onstage, after a few drinks. Fortunately, Stinson seems to have soaked up more than just alcohol during his time in the band. On his excellent sophomore solo album, Stinson makes like former bandmate Paul Westerberg, singing poignant songs for the emotionally wounded. “Maybe you could use a GPS without all the stop signs,” he suggests on “Seize the Moment,” a pro-loser anthem that might have fit on the Replacements’ 1985 masterpiece Tim.

With the acoustic “Come to Hide,” Stinson steals back from the Goo Goo Dolls the type of heart-on-flannel-sleeve ballad his old band invented and perfected. If the similarly ’90s-style “Meant to Be” and “All This Way for Nothing” suggest the Goos or Cracker at their absolute best, Stinson proves his versatility with a series of killer change-ups. Among the finest is the country weeper “Zero to Stupid,” whose title refers to the mental regression brought about by “just one drink.” Sung like a true Replacement.