Admittedly, Eventually is as tentative a collection of songs as its title indicates. Yes, Westerberg is mostly satisfied keeping house and watching the rabbits in his backyard. Yes, he's pleased to report he's "given the w... more »orld the slip." And, yes, the least convincing songs here are the full-on rockers, while one of the most affecting is "Good Day," a winsome piano ballad that is Westerberg's "The Way We Were." Better still is "Hide N Seekin'," a song haunted by the Rock & Roll Ghost Westerberg sang of in 1989. In this incarnation, it's hard to tell if the apparition quivering in the shadows is the Replacements' late lead guitarist Bob Stinson, or Paul himself. --Steven Stolder« less
Admittedly, Eventually is as tentative a collection of songs as its title indicates. Yes, Westerberg is mostly satisfied keeping house and watching the rabbits in his backyard. Yes, he's pleased to report he's "given the world the slip." And, yes, the least convincing songs here are the full-on rockers, while one of the most affecting is "Good Day," a winsome piano ballad that is Westerberg's "The Way We Were." Better still is "Hide N Seekin'," a song haunted by the Rock & Roll Ghost Westerberg sang of in 1989. In this incarnation, it's hard to tell if the apparition quivering in the shadows is the Replacements' late lead guitarist Bob Stinson, or Paul himself. --Steven Stolder
mskarmar | ocean view, de United States | 06/30/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Having acquired a taste for the Replacements only in their later days (Don't Tell A Soul and All Shook Down)in which their songs were better written and better played and better produced, I like tremendously Eventually (and 14 Songs). Eventually follows the more mellow/musical leanings of the two previously mentioned Rep.'s cd's. Still guitar driven, but better sounding guitar driven. This is the music of a maturing songwriter/musician that puts together catchy,yet rough edged, songs. There are some rough songs here (like You've had it with you) but the trend is towards more mellow songcraft, and it works.....Eventually you will return to this cd time and again."
It's not your older sister's Paul Westerberg
grapabo | Missouri | 10/21/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's tempting to compare unfavorably this album (along with other Westerberg's less than raunchy solo work) to the Replacements at their prime. It's also a little bit unfair. Any artist should be allowed to grow up and move beyond their initial influences and early chemical dependencies.One of the marks of the better Replacements' albums was a commitment to a particular type of sound that ran througout the album and served as a skeleton for the work, like "Let it Be"'s distant guitar or "Pleased to Meet Me"'s crunchy, stilted guitar sound. Unlike "14 Songs", which I liked, but was somewhat schizophrenic in its sound, this album commits to a sound and sticks to it. Perhaps Westerberg learned to split up these musical urges later on when he put out his rockers on the "Grandpaboy" EP and then his balladry on "Suicane Gratification". While I haven't yet purchased the former, the latter is served well by the consistent theme.Most of the songs are well-crafted, and avoid the cheap and obvious hooks of a lot of what gets put on the radio. "Love Untold", the one single from this album, has a subtlety that's not on radio very often. But maybe the most rewarding aspect of this album is for long-time Replacements fans. The song "Good Day" might, without the context, just otherwise be an ordinary quarter-note ballad, with lyrics that on the surface might seem trite -- "A good day/doesn't have to be a Friday/doesn't need to be a birthday/the next one maybe you won't survive/sing along, "Hold my life".../A good day/is any day that you're alive" -- references both a line from a song from the Replacements album "Tim" and addresses the untimely death of Bob Stinson (whose last work with the band was done on that album).Maybe the introspection of the album is most meaningful to those who have followed Westerberg through the years, and appreciate that there is an older, wiser singer-songwriter around to perform, rather than a rock casualty in the grave. And in the end, I think the rock world will end up better off for it."
Not all that bad
Cory L. Jones | Illinois | 09/24/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I'm a big Paul fan and I have to say that this is probably his most underrated album. Sure, it's got some crap on it (Hide N' Seekin', Trumpet Clip) but it also has two of his best solo tunes, MamaDaddy Did and Angels Walk. These two songs are sad, beautiful, forgotten classics. The rest of the album isn't quite up to par with those two songs but it's solid at best and agreeable at worst. This one's relatively cheap and worth checking out if you're a Paul fan."
It's great
Cory L. Jones | 07/06/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this album for $5 because Paul was a character in a really good book that I read, and I wanted to see if he was any good as a singer. I listened to the CD once and absolutely loved it. In the few days I have owned it, it has become one of my favorites in my collection. I think he has a wonderful voice and great lyrics."
Westerberg still going strong
Cory L. Jones | 08/24/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Eventually is a mature piece of work which bears comparison with the Replacements' front man's best writing - the songs are tight, perhaps a bit mellow on the whole but no less affecting or enjoyable for that. Check out 'These Are The Days' and 'Once Around The Weekend', two impressive cuts from the album, and my two standouts. This really is an excellent albums that improves the more you play it; it's rarely far from my CD player. Westerberg has created something special to join his already impressive catalogue of quality."