49:00

I paid money for a CD online the other day, actually it wasn't an actually CD per say, but a download of Paul Westerberg's latest release, 49:00. The release date was July 49th (July 19) and the music is only available from Amazon.com (in the U.S.) and Tunecore.com (outside the US including Canada) as a mp3 download. The recording is hovering atop the #1 position on the Amazon mp3 charts thanks in part to suspiciously low price of .49 cents and what you receive is one long mp3 file (not 49:00, but 43:55) consisting of approx. 23 songs full or in part. This includes a short medley of covers such as, Hello Goodbye, Lost Highway, Born To Be Wild, Rocket Man etc.

Many of the tracks fade into each other and at times it seems songs overlap...be warning nothing is wrong with the tracks or CD player, it suppose to be like that. Paul states on the downloadable liner notes, "This product is not faulty-all sounds are intentional and valid as a work of art". This was recording in Paul's basement and he handles all instruments and vocals with the exception of the last track, Oh Yeah!, which features Paul's son Johnny on microphone. This release bypasses any label interference and the music was made available within a week after the recording was recorded and mixed. There are some great songs on here that has a similar sound to his last releases, but with a more raw sound and spontaneous feel to it, it reminds me the home recorded, Stereo/Mono discs from 2002. Even if you're not familiar with Westerberg (or the Replacements), I highly recommend you give this recording a listen, it's well worth the money!