With a joyfully hollered “looky here,” a hard-strummed acoustic guitar, and a bellowing harmonica, Paul Westerberg kicks off this great soundtrack of bouncing, Small Faces-inspired rockers. Without question one of the greatest rock ’n’ roll records ever written about bears, it is another tribute to Westerberg’s staggering gift as a songwriter. Who else could come out of a meeting with Sony executives about scoring their new animated feature, crank out a rocker called “The Right to Arm Bears” in his home studio, and turn it in a day later to nab the gig? 
Westerberg has always had a knack for juxtaposition; this is the man who followed the doofus rave-up “Gary’s Got a Boner” with the heartbreaking “Sixteen Blue” on the Replacements’ 1984 masterpiece Let It Be. The same holds true here, more than 20 years later, with the beautiful and fragile “I Belong” and “Whisper Me Luck” shining amid upbeat sing-alongs like “Any Better Than This” and “The Right to Arm Bears.” And the true gem “Love You in the Fall” is one of Westerberg’s best, carrying on his tradition of topping himself with at least one song on every new album. With contributions from Replacements’ bassist Tommy Stinson, it also quietly continues last year’s friendly, casual reunion. With sonic nods to Gasoline Alley Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane’s ballads, and the mighty ’Mats themselves, Open Season marks another chapter in one of the most fascinating musical careers in recent memory. Only Paul Westerberg could put out a record that would sound as great blaring out of minivan as it does a barroom jukebox. We can't wait to see what he'll wear to the Oscars.