FEATURE:
A Buyer’s Guide
Part Eighty-One: R.E.M.
___________
ON this outing of A Buyer’s Guide…
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Natkin/Getty Images
I am featuring a band who I have not included yet. I have checked, but it does seem they have been an omission until now! Formed in Athens, Georgia, R.E.M. sadly split in 2011. I wanted to include them in A Buyer’s Guide, as they have released so many fantastic albums. I am going to drill it down to their four essential records, one that is underrated, in addition to their final studio album. I will also recommend a book about the band that is worth exploring. First, here is some biographical information from AllMusic:
“R.E.M. marked the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock. When their first single, "Radio Free Europe," was released in 1981, it sparked a back-to-the-garage movement in the American underground. While there were a number of hardcore and punk bands in the U.S. during the early '80s, R.E.M. brought guitar pop back into the underground lexicon. Combining ringing guitar hooks with mumbled, cryptic lyrics and a D.I.Y. aesthetic borrowed from post-punk, the band simultaneously sounded traditional and modern. Though there were no overt innovations in their music, R.E.M. had an identity and sense of purpose that transformed the American underground. Throughout the '80s, they worked relentlessly, releasing records every year and touring constantly, playing both theaters and backwoods dives. Along the way, they inspired countless bands, from the legions of jangle pop groups in the mid-'80s to scores of alternative pop groups in the '90s, who admired their slow climb to stardom.
It did take R.E.M. several years to break into the top of the charts, but they gained a cult following after the release of their debut EP, Chronic Town, in 1982. Chronic Town established the haunting folk and garage rock that became the band's signature sound, and over the next five years, they continued to expand their music with a series of critically acclaimed albums. By the late '80s, the group's fan base had grown large enough to guarantee strong sales, but the Top Ten success in 1987 of Document and "The One I Love" was unexpected, especially since R.E.M. had only altered their sound slightly. Following Document, R.E.M. slowly became one of the world's most popular bands. After an exhaustive international tour supporting 1988's Green, the band retired from touring for six years and retreated into the studio to produce their most popular records, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992). By the time they returned to performing with the Monster tour in 1995, the band had been acknowledged by critics and musicians as one of the forefathers of the thriving alternative rock movement, and they were rewarded with the most lucrative tour of their career. Toward the late '90s, R.E.M. were an institution, as their influence was felt in new generations of bands.
Though R.E.M. formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980, Mike Mills (born December 17, 1958) and Bill Berry (born July 31, 1958) were the only Southerners in the group. Both had attended high school together in Macon, playing in a number of bands during their teens. Michael Stipe (born January 4, 1960) was a military brat, moving throughout the country during his childhood. By his teens, he had discovered punk rock through Patti Smith, Television, and Wire, and began playing in cover bands in St. Louis. By 1978, he had begun studying art at the University of Georgia in Athens, where he began frequenting the Wuxtry record store. Peter Buck (born December 6, 1956), a native of California, was a clerk at Wuxtry. Buck had been a fanatical record collector, consuming everything from classic rock to punk and free jazz, and was just beginning to learn how to play guitar. Discovering they had similar tastes, Buck and Stipe began working together, eventually meeting Berry and Mills through a mutual friend. In April of 1980, the band formed to play a party for their friend, rehearsing a number of garage, psychedelic bubblegum, and punk covers in a converted Episcopalian church. At the time, the group played under the name the Twisted Kites. By the summer, the band had settled on the name R.E.M. after flipping randomly through the dictionary, and had met Jefferson Holt, who became their manager after witnessing the group's first out-of-state concert in North Carolina.
Over the next year-and-a-half, R.E.M. toured throughout the South, playing a variety of garage rock covers and folk-rock originals. At the time, the bandmembers were still learning how to play, as Buck began to develop his distinctive, arpeggiated jangle and Stipe ironed out his cryptic lyrics. During the summer of 1981, R.E.M. recorded their first single, "Radio Free Europe," at Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studios. Released on the local indie label Hib-Tone, "Radio Free Europe" was pressed in a run of only 1,000 copies, but most of those singles fell into the right hands. Due to strong word of mouth, the single became a hit on college radio and topped The Village Voice's year-end poll of Best Independent Singles. The single also earned the attention of larger independent labels, and by the beginning of 1982, the band had signed to I.R.S. Records, releasing the EP Chronic Town in the spring. Like the single, Chronic Town was well-received, paving the way for the group's full-length debut album, 1983's Murmur. With its subdued, haunting atmosphere and understated production, Murmur was noticeably different than Chronic Town and was welcomed with enthusiastic reviews upon its spring release; Rolling Stone named it the best album of 1983, beating out Michael Jackson's Thriller and the Police's Synchronicity. Murmur also expanded the group's cult significantly, breaking into the American Top 40.
The band returned to a rougher-edged sound on 1984's Reckoning, which featured the college hit "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)." By the time R.E.M. hit the road to support Reckoning, they had become well known in the American underground for their constant touring, aversion to videos, support of college radio, Stipe's mumbled vocals and detached stage presence, Buck's ringing guitar, and their purposely enigmatic artwork. Bands that imitated these very things ran rampant throughout the American underground, and R.E.M. threw their support toward these bands, having them open at shows and mentioning them in interviews. By 1985, the American underground was awash with R.E.M. soundalikes and bands like Game Theory and the Rain Parade, which shared similar aesthetics and sounds.
Just as the signature R.E.M. sound dominated the underground, the band entered darker territory with its third album, 1985's Fables of the Reconstruction. Recorded in London with producer Joe Boyd (Richard Thompson, Fairport Convention, Nick Drake), Fables of the Reconstruction was made at a difficult period in R.E.M.'s history, as the band was fraught with tension produced by endless touring. The album reflected the group's dark moods, as well as its obsession with the rural South, and both of these fascinations popped up on the supporting tour. Stipe, whose on-stage behavior was always slightly strange, entered his most bizarre phase, as he put on weight, dyed his hair bleached blonde, and wore countless layers of clothing. None of the new quirks in R.E.M.'s persona prevented Fables of the Reconstruction from becoming their most successful album to date, selling nearly 300,000 copies in the U.S. R.E.M. decided to record their next album with Don Gehman, who had previously worked with John Mellencamp. Gehman had the band clean up its sound and Stipe enunciate his vocals, making Lifes Rich Pageant their most accessible record to date. Upon its late summer release in 1986, Lifes Rich Pageant was greeted with the positive reviews that had become customary with each new R.E.M. album, and it outstripped the sales of its predecessor. Several months after Lifes Rich Pageant, the group released the B-sides and rarities collection Dead Letter Office in the spring of 1987.
R.E.M. had laid the groundwork for mainstream success, but they had never explicitly courted widespread fame. Nevertheless, their audience had grown quite large, and it wasn't that surprising that the group's fifth album, Document, became a hit shortly after its fall 1987 release. Produced by Scott Litt -- who would produce all of their records over the course of the next decade -- Document climbed into the U.S. Top Ten and went platinum on the strength of the single "The One I Love," which also went into the Top Ten; it also became their biggest U.K. hit to date, reaching the British Top 40. The following year, the band left I.R.S. Records, signing with Warner Bros. for a reported six million dollars. The first album under the new contract was Green, which was released on U.S. Election Day 1988. Green continued the success of Document, going double platinum and generating the Top Ten single "Stand." R.E.M. supported Green with an exhaustive international tour, in which they played their first stadium dates in the U.S. Though they had graduated to stadiums in America, they continued to play clubs throughout Europe.
The Green tour proved to be draining for the group, and they took an extended rest upon its completion in 1989. During the break, each member pursued side projects, and Hindu Love Gods, an album Buck, Berry, and Mills recorded with Warren Zevon in 1986, was released. R.E.M. reconvened during 1990 to record their seventh album, Out of Time, which was released in the spring of 1991. Entering the U.S. and U.K. charts at number one, Out of Time was a lush pop and folk album, boasting a wider array of sounds than the group's previous efforts; its lead single, "Losing My Religion," became the group's biggest single, reaching number four in the U.S. Since the bandmembers were exhausted from the Green tour, they chose to stay off the road. Nevertheless, Out of Time became the group's biggest album, selling over four million copies in the U.S. and spending two weeks at the top of the charts. R.E.M. released the dark, meditative Automatic for the People in the fall of 1992. Though the band had promised a rock album after the softer textures of Out of Time, Automatic for the People was slow, quiet, and reflective, with many songs being graced by string arrangements by Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. Like its predecessor, Automatic for the People was a quadruple platinum success, generating the Top 40 hit singles "Drive," "Man on the Moon," and "Everybody Hurts."
After piecing together two albums in the studio, R.E.M. decided to return to being a rock band with 1994's Monster. Though the record was conceived as a back-to-basics album, the recording of Monster was difficult and plagued with tension. Nevertheless, the album was a huge hit upon its fall release, entering the U.S. and U.K. charts at number one; furthermore, the album received accolades from a number of old-school critics who had been reluctant to praise the band, since they didn't "rock" in conventional terms. Experiencing some of the strongest sales and reviews of their career, R.E.M. began their first tour since Green early in 1995. Two months into the tour, Bill Berry suffered a brain aneurysm while performing; he had surgery immediately and had fully recovered within a month. R.E.M. resumed their tour two months after Berry's aneurysm, but his illness was only the beginning of a series of problems that plagued the Monster tour. Mills had to undergo abdominal surgery to remove an intestinal tumor in July; a month later, Stipe had to have an emergency surgery for a hernia. Despite all the problems, the tour was an enormous financial success, and the group recorded the bulk of a new album. Before the record was released in the fall of 1996, R.E.M. parted ways with their longtime manager Jefferson Holt, allegedly due to sexual harassment charges levied against him; the group's lawyer, Bertis Downs, assumed managerial duties.
New Adventures in Hi-Fi was released in September 1996, just before it was announced that the band had re-signed with Warner Bros., reportedly for a record-breaking sum of 80 million dollars. In light of such a huge figure, the commercial failure of New Adventures in Hi-Fi was ironic. Though it received strong reviews and debuted at number two in the U.S. and number one in the U.K., the album failed to generate a hit single, and it only went platinum where its three predecessors went quadruple platinum. By early 1997, the album had already begun its descent down the charts. However, the members of R.E.M. were already pursuing new projects, as Stipe worked with his film company, Single Cell Pictures, and Buck co-wrote songs with Mark Eitzel and worked with a free jazz group, Tuatara.
In October of 1997, R.E.M. shocked fans and the media with the announcement that Berry was amicably exiting the group to retire to life on his farm; the remaining members continued on as a three-piece, soon convening in Hawaii to begin preliminary work on their next LP. Replacing Berry with a drum machine, the sessions resulted in 1998's Up, widely touted as the band's most experimental recording in years. It was only a brief change of direction, since R.E.M.'s next album, 2001's Reveal, marked a return to their classic sound. Around the Sun followed in 2004. A worldwide tour convened in 2005, which included an appearance at the London branch of Live 8. In 2007, R.E.M. were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and began work on their next album, Accelerate, which was released in 2008. The album sported a faster, more guitar-driven sound than Around the Sun, which had received lukewarm reviews and sold poorly, particularly in America. It earned rave reviews and topped charts around the world (although it halted at number two in America).
For 2011's Collapse Into Now, the band favored a more expansive sound, one that combined Accelerate's rock songs with slower ballads and moody atmospherics. Reviews were mostly positive, and it debuted in the Top Five in America. Unexpectedly, in September 2011, R.E.M. announced their amicable breakup after 31 years together. Immediately after the split, the band issued a double-disc compilation entitled Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage: 1982-2011, covering their years at both I.R.S. and Warner. In 2015 the band signed a deal with Concord Bicycle to distribute their Warner recordings, and the first fruits of this partnership surfaced in 2016, when a 25th Anniversary Edition of Out of Time appeared in November of that year. The next installment in this reissue campaign was a 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Automatic for the People in November 2017. A year later, the group released R.E.M. at the BBC, a box set containing eight CDs and a DVD chronicling all their live work for the British Broadcasting Company. A 25th Anniversary edition of Monster appeared in 2019”.
Ten years after R.E.M. split, their music is still being discovered and shared. It reflects the band’s strength, consistency and legacy. R.E.M. are a group who will be poured over and celebrated for generations more. If you need a guide as to which albums from the band are worth buying, then I hope that the below…
HELPS out.
______________
The Four Essential Albums
Murmur
Release Date: 12th April, 1983
Label: I.R.S.
Producers: Don Dixon/Mitch Easter
Standout Tracks: Pilgrimage/Talk About the Passion/Perfect Circle
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/1368817
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/24O8MuUe4K4qtH9BXJ3Ijf?si=E2bNIetoQpqfpKPk845-AA
Review:
“Leaving behind the garagey jangle pop of their first recordings, R.E.M. developed a strangely subdued variation of their trademark sound for their full-length debut album, Murmur. Heightening the enigmatic tendencies of Chronic Town by de-emphasizing the backbeat and accentuating the ambience of the ringing guitar, R.E.M. created a distinctive sound for the album -- one that sounds eerily timeless. Even though it is firmly in the tradition of American folk-rock, post-punk, and garage rock, Murmur sounds as if it appeared out of nowhere, without any ties to the past, present, or future. Part of the distinctiveness lies in the atmospheric production, which exudes a detached sense of mystery, but it also comes from the remarkably accomplished songwriting. The songs on Murmur sound as if they've existed forever, yet they subvert folk and pop conventions by taking unpredictable twists and turns into melodic, evocative territory, whether it's the measured riffs of "Pilgrimage," the melancholic "Talk About the Passion," or the winding guitars and pianos of "Perfect Circle." R.E.M. may have made albums as good as Murmur in the years following its release, but they never again made anything that sounded quite like it” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Radio Free Europe
Reckoning
Release Date: 9th April, 1984
Label: I.R.S.
Producers: Don Dixon/Mitch Easter
Standout Tracks: 7 Chinese Bros./Pretty Persuasion/So. Central Rain
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=14562&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/2tCxbYgt56pq18tpISvSoR?si=Z91VRbuNSu6o9XVViMidDA
Review:
“How confident in their abilities were REM as the mid-80s ticked over? An answer comes with the July 1984 live recording that accompanies this remastered edition of their second album: they open their set with a lovely, lambent reading of the Velvet Underground's Femme Fatale, as if to say: "We are already sure our work bears comparison with the best-loved alternative group in pop history, and we will not be overshadowed." That self-assurance is apparent on Reckoning, too. Although never quite the equal of its mysterious predecessor, Murmur, it is the sound of a band refusing to rest - "a waste of time, sitting still," as one of the songs has it. Opener Harborcoat demonstrates a growing mastery of the studio - Peter Buck's almost formal playing on the verses giving way to sheets of harmonies and guitars on the chorus; So. Central Rain demonstrates an ability to make an emotional connection, even as Michael Stipe happily obfuscates at the same time. Wonderful stuff, and even better was yet to come” – The Guardian
Choice Cut: (Don't Go Back To) Rockville
Green
Release Date: 7th November, 1988
Label: Warner Bros.
Producers: Scott Litt/R.E.M.
Standout Tracks: Get Up/Stand/Turn Your Inside-Out
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=57809&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/7rfKAiPs9ToZP9zEJDBqBH?si=mYziMLedTrKFWWVJwU3HMA
Review:
“Green is an album of experiments. Freed from their usual roles, the band members tinkered with sugary pop, martial arena punk, fluttering folk rock, country flourishes, and dramatic dirges. Especially on the second side (referred to by the band as the “metal” side, referring not to the genre but to the element), these experiments collide for a set of songs as strong and as diverse as any sequence on previous albums. Stipe’s vocals overlap eerily on “The Wrong Child” to create an unsettlingly spectral roundelay. Against the military stomp of “Orange Crush” he sings through a megaphone that lends his vocals a corroded quality appropriate to the subject matter (namely, the degenerative effects of Agent Orange on U.S. soldiers). Foretelling the glam-rock attack of Monster, “Turn You Inside-Out” is a scabrous examination of the entertainer/audience relationship, while “I Remember California” grows so darkly ominous that it threatens to sink the Golden State in the Pacific.
Whereas Document, their final release for I.R.S. Records, sounded grimly solemn, Green is often positively giddy as the band try out new tricks and as Stipe grows more confident and charismatic as a frontman. The album contains some of the jauntiest and most upbeat tunes they had ever recorded, revealing a self-deflating sense of humor as well as a sophisticated self-awareness. “Pop Song ‘89” is a pop song about pop songs, with Stipe introducing himself (“Hi! Hi! Hi!”) before wondering, “Should we talk about the weather?/... Should we talk about the government?” Both subjects had figured prominently into his lyrics on previous albums, and R.E.M. were trying to figure out what to sing about next” – Pitchfork (Deluxe Edition)
Choice Cut: Orange Crush
Automatic for the People
Release Date: 5th October, 1992
Label: Warner Bros.
Producers: Scott Litt/R.E.M.
Standout Tracks: The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite/Man on the Moon/Nightswimming
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=57830&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/0BiNb8HYR4JvuxUa31Z58Q?si=s7hiQMeXS1uk9sAO-ooLhA
Review:
“By the time they released this album in 1992, REM had already made the transition from cult college rock band to a rather unlikely stadium act. After the ‘shiny happy’ pop of their breakthrough Out Of Time, the ruminative Automatic For the People turned them into one of the biggest bands on the planet for a while, selling a whopping 15 million copies. Singer Michael Stipe’s words had long since emerged from the deliberately foggy lo-fi production of their early years but the appeal of REM had always hinged on the hummability of their tunes, and there were more anthemic songs here than on any of their discs before or since. Perhaps surprisingly, though, it’s a more understated record than Out Of Time, leaning strongly towards an acoustic sound, with a third of the tracks even featuring orchestral arrangements by former Led Zeppelin bassist, John Paul Jones.
As usual, the lyrics are rather cryptic, and the way that “Sweetness Follows” rhymes ‘wonder’ with ‘thunder’ seems to suggest they’re sung for sonic effect as much as content. Perhaps the fact that “Man On The Moon” name checks glam rockers Mott The Hoople is a clue in that respect. Nonetheless, the sense of vulnerability and compassion evident in “Everybody Hurts” (and also “Sweetness Follows”) struck a chord with many.
The halting “Drive” is an unusual but effective opener and the title of “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite” acknowledges its melodic debt to the much-covered “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. If there’s one downside to the wealth of familiar hits, it’s the way the album sags in its third quarter, from the plodding and incomprehensible “Monty Got A Raw Deal” and the rowdy “Ignoreland” to the rather slight “Star Me Kitten”. “Man On The Moon” comes to the rescue just in time with a sure-fire chorus, and Stipe’s Elvis impersonation provides a rare flash of humour, after which the closing hush of “Nightswimming” and “Find The River” make for an impressively cathartic dénouement. As long as you like that voice.” – BBC
Choice Cut: Everybody Hurts
The Underrated Gem
Reveal
Release Date: 14th May, 2001
Label: Warner Bros.
Producers: Patrick McCarthy and R.E.M.
Standout Tracks: All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)/Disappear/I’ll Take the Rain
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=57878&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/43goi7G5yXOoI7bLaowtpy?si=icZMWd9JTtGJo2lSvjS_Tg
Review:
“Give 'em credit for realizing that Up was a dead end, an avenue paved with forced experimentalism that signified nothing. Dock them points for harboring the desire to wander down that path, choosing to indulge in fuzzy details that add texture but not character. These two impulses balance each other as R.E.M. delivered Reveal, an album that feels like their stab at All That You Can't Leave Behind -- a conscious return to their classic sound. Since they're fiercely protective of their anointed position of underground pioneers, they're not content to sit still and spin their wheels, turning out a record that apes Automatic for the People. So, they return to the lushness of Out of Time, melding it with the song-oriented Automatic -- and undercutting it all with the sober sonic trickery of Up and New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Because Reveal is song-oriented, it initially plays more accessibly than Up, but these songs are cloaked in the same kind of deliberate studiocraft that made Up feel stilted. It's not as overt, of course -- the drum machines and loops have taken a backseat -- but it's still possible to hear the clipped Pro Tools effects on "Summer Turns to High," for instance, and most tracks are a little fussy in their aural coloring. This prevents Reveal from being an album to wholeheartedly embrace, even if it attempts to be as rich as Automatic and even if it succeeds on occasion. There are some very good pop songs here -- windswept and sun-bleached beauties like "Imitation of Life," the dusty "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)," and "Beachball," the one time their Beach Boys obsessions click. Still, none of these moments shine as brilliantly as the best moments of New Adventures and ultimately they're weighed down by the album's aesthetic, which emphasizes sonic construction over the songs. This is mood music, not music that creates a mood, which becomes evident as the record stagnates during its second half. Reveal winds up sharing the same strangely distant feel of Up, even if it's a tighter, better record. When R.E.M. weren't trying as hard, when they weren't meticulously crafting their sound, they made records that were as moody, evocative, and bracing as Reveal intends to be. Here, it's just all a bit too studied to ring true” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Imitation of Life
The Final Album
Collapse into Now
Release Date: 7th March, 2011
Label: Warner Bros.
Producers: Jacknife Lee and R.E.M.
Standout Tracks: Discoverer/Überlin/Oh My Heart
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=316096&ev=mb
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/2QfGdHHkWY0zBlwnMtoj9H?si=czez75mjTziZjZ6VxQt3LA
Review:
“Comeback records are all well and good, but what comes after the comeback? With 2008’s Accelerate, R.E.M. recalled its rock ’n’ roll roots and made its most honestly aggressive album ever—even moreso than 1994’s noisy Monster, a record guitarist Peter Buck once described as “rock in quotation marks.” The post-comeback Collapse Into Now isn’t as breathless as its predecessor; it has a more spacious sound, akin to the Monster follow-up New Adventures In Hi-Fi. But the album is still clearly the work of a band that’s become belatedly comfortable with what it does best. Heck, Buck even breaks out his mandolin.
Working again with producer Jacknife Lee—one of the architects of Snow Patrol’s biggest hits—R.E.M. opens Collapse Into Now with the jangly, echoing “Discoverer,” which features Michael Stipe in full “hey baby” mode, painting himself as a centered, self-aware swinger. From there, the album is split between jet-fueled guitar-pop anthems like “All The Best” and “That Someone Is You” and catchy acoustic numbers like “Überlin” and “Walk It Back.” Generally speaking, Collapse’s songs are more fully formed than Accelerate’s, trading some of the latter’s immediacy for durability.
A few of the new songs find R.E.M. treading old ground, right down to the Out Of Time-like goofiness of the terribly titled “Mine Smell Like Honey” and the Patti Smith guest vocal on the “E-Bow The Letter”-like “Blue.” But just as it was a kick to hear an energetic, engaged R.E.M. again on Accelerate, so it’s reassuring to hear Stipe get back to thoughtfully contemplating hero-worship and identity, as on the plaintive ballad “Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando And I.” Collapse Into Now isn’t the from-left-field treat that Accelerate was; it’s better. It’s another very good album from a band that’s getting back into the habit of making them” – The A.V. Club
Choice Cut: Mine Smells Like Honey
The R.E.M. Book
R.E.M.'s Murmur (33 1/3)
Author: J. Nimi
Publication Date: 5th January, 2012
Publisher: Continuum