POP REVIEW : MAKING A MOVE TO GREATNESS

One of the most exhilarating experiences in rock is seeing a richly promising band make its move toward greatness--and that’s exactly what the Replacements are doing now.

The band, which is at the Roxy tonight and Tuesday after a frequently stunning appearance Friday at Fender’s in Long Beach, has piled up more rave reviews during the last two years than its home state of Minnesota has lakes.

But that response figured because rock critics generally love irreverence--and these four guys defined the word in the ‘80s, bringing together on stage the humor of the Ramones, the energy and harmless anarchy of the Sex Pistols and the wobbly, self-destructive persona of the New York Dolls.

Why, these upstarts even had the gall to grace one of their albums with the same title as one of the beloved Beatles’ LPs: “Let It Be.”

Though there were hints on record of a deeper dimension, the Replacements’ past local appearances tended to be chaotic. At the Palace in April, Paul Westerberg and mates staggered around the stage so much they looked like they were performing on a runaway raft, devoting more time to unexpected covers (Hank Williams Jr. to R.E.M.) than to their own compositions.

It was great, in its way--but also a dead end.

At some point, a band has to do more than send-up itself and its audience if it is to meet the challenge of the best rock. It has to show originality and heart--and that is the hurdle that the Replacements have cleared in the band’s new album, “Tim.”

It’s a sometimes poignant, sometimes defiant look at the fears, bravado and frustrations associated with rites of adolescence; as stirring a document about growing into, without giving into , adulthood since Townshend’s peak.

The Replacements brought this added dimension and purpose to the stage at Fender’s without disappointing those fans who were just party-minded.

Still finding time for speeded-up versions of such covers as “The Marines’ Hymn” and Vanity Fare’s “Hitchin’ a Ride,” Westerberg concentrated on his own songs, moving from the Pistols-like intensity of some early numbers to such varied tunes from the new album as “Kiss Me on the Bus,” one of his most carefree and melodic compositions, and the tongue-in-cheek, hard-rocker “Dose of Thunder.”

Whatever the song, the Minneapolis quartet throws itself into the music with the heightened emotions of football players taking the field for a bowl game. Westerberg all but calls the others--drummer Chris Mars and brothers Tommy and Bob Stinson, bass and guitar respectively--into a huddle after each number to discuss what to do next.

Just as a prized athlete often rises to the occasion with a big play, Westerberg has good instincts about knowing when it is time to shift the tone of a show. Mumbling that things were getting a bit too sedate about a third of the way through Friday’s set, he led the band through 20 of the most sizzling minutes of rock this side of the prime-period Black Flag and the Clash.

Strangely, however, the final stretch of the show seemed anti-climactic. It was hard to tell whether Westerberg had simply lost interest or if the audience had been worn out by the band’s furious pace. The solution in either case would have been one of the softer, deeply personal numbers from the new album, such as “Swingin’ Party” or “Here Comes a Regular.”

Westerberg explained in an interview before the show that the band probably won’t be doing those numbers on the tour. He feels self-conscious standing on stage alone with an acoustic guitar and singing something as introspective as “Here Comes a Regular.”

That’s a refreshingly candid comment from someone whose band’s mottoes are “So what?” and “Why not?” Yet, it’s a barrier that the Replacements need to address if they are not going to shortchange themselves--and their audience. You can’t record songs as evocative--and richly universal--as these and not share them on stage. For the Replacements, that added openness may be the final leap to greatness.