The Replacements - Songs For Slim

On February 19th, 2012 former Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap suffered a massive right brain stroke, exacerbated by a fall which caused a hemorrhage in the left brain and was further complicated by extensive brain swelling. He was hospitalized for nine months and his recovery has been slow – hindered by pain, paralysis of the left side and the inability to swallow. He is currently at home being cared for by his family and a team of aides, nurses and therapists.
His sharp intellect, wit and photographic memory are all, thankfully, intact.
Insurance does not pay for long term care and the general prognosis for Slim is that he will likely need around-the-clock care for the rest of his life.  He needs our help.
Songs For Slim was devised to raise money for Slim and his family by having various artists cover his songs, pressing them as a limited edition series of split 7” vinyl 45s in beautiful, numbered picture sleeves and putting them up for auction.
Commencing with the special edition Songs For Slim 10" vinyl EP by The Replacements, the series will include other friends and fans of Slim including:

• Steve Earle
• Lucinda Williams
• Jakob Dylan
• John Doe
• Joe Henry
• The Jayhawks
• Frank Black + The Suicide Commandos
• Craig Finn from The Hold Steady
• Tim O'Reagan & Jim Boquist
• The Minus 5 (Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, Nate Query & John Moen) featuring Curtiss A
• The Young Fresh Fellows
• NRBQ
• You Am I
• Tommy Keene
• Deer Tick
• Ramblin' Jack Elliott
• Lucero
• and more to be announced!

All songs will be available for purchase digitally following their respective auctions.
The Songs For Slim series is administered by New West Records, with assistance from Motivation Music Management and Manifest Destiny Music.  
Jewlicious Festivals is serving as fiscal agent for the eBay auctions.
If you'd like to contribute to Slim outside of these auctions, his old friend Dan Baird has set up a FundRazr account that accepts donations on his behalf.

In September 2012, Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson reunited and entered Flowers Studio in Minneapolis (with Kevin Bowe on guitar and Peter Anderson on drums) to record Slim’s song “Busted Up.”  Knocked out by the result, they roared through a few more numbers including Leon Payne's (by way of Hank Williams) "Lost Highway," Gordon Lightfoot’s (by way of Nico) “I’m Not Sayin',” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from the Broadway show Gypsy.  Original Replacements drummer Chris Mars had already recorded a scorching one-man-band version of Slim’s “Radio Hook Word Hit,” and all 5 tracks were combined onto this EP to launch the series.
This is the first new Replacements release since 1990's All Shook Down.  Only 250 numbered 10” vinyl EPs are being made.
Additional features include:

• Cover autographed by Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson & Chris Mars
• 4 glossy prints of never-before-seen band photos
• Collectors’ poster of Slim
• Print of the full Chris Mars cover painting on the inner sleeve
• Digital download card of entire EP
• 180g vinyl

Tracklisting
Side A:
1. Busted Up (Slim Dunlap)
2. Radio Hook Word Hit (Slim Dunlap)
Side B:
1. I'm Not Sayin' (Gordon Lightfoot)
2. Lost Highway (Leon Payne)
3. Everything's Coming Up Roses (Stephen Sondheim/Jule Styne)

OTHER VERSIONS

All tracks will also be made available for digital purchase worldwide on March 5, with a commercial 12" vinyl version hitting stores in April 2013.  There may also be an album compilation of the tracks later in the year.