More R.E.M. Reactions: Chronic Town EP: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zBL33Fd_usE.html Reckoning: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-A_iKqQ8wOrw.html Fables of the Reconstruction: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_g8gkEXZisA.html Lifes Rich Pageant: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qZK-R4ABDLA.html Document: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8M6HqOnXP6Y.html Green: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ImMkYek69Uc.html Out of Time: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Tm-ueNCuu0s.html Automatic for the People: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-h_JuHw4uwYQ.html New Adventures in Hi-Fi: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aO59tcomW2k.html Fall On Me: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-og9B1FECHuY.html Here I Am Again: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ImFmFdK9zro.html Nightswimming: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CUEXyTKjbFk.html Tongue: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-14_yetFQFXw.html
The great thing about Perfect Circle is that Bill Berry wrote it. When your drummer is chipping in with songs like that you know you're on a winner. And I think you'll like Reckoning as well.
Peter Buck stated they'd been awake for days without sleep and he stepped outside on a break and saw some kids playing on the street and it moved him to tears. He took that emotion to this song through his guitar.
9-9 is the real hidden gem on this album in my opinion. Just a great avant garde track in the spirit of Gang Of Four. That song was a staple of all their early tours and live it was a ferocious rocker that brought an entire different dimension to REM's live set. 9-9 was a great song that deserves alot more recognition than it gets today.
So glad you liked it that much. One of my all time favorite albums for 30+ years now. All of those early R.E.M. albums have a special place in my heart. Shaking Through is probably my favorite track but I love them all. That song can bring me to tears. Something about the music and the vocals. Does something to me.
I think Pilgrimage might be my favorite REM song of all time. I can only call it gorgeous and heartbreaking and I'm too choked up every time I hear it to analyze it further. I'm afraid to listen to it too often because I don't want it to ever feel prosaic to me.
Love Pilgrimage, too. Never could get why the band really didn't think much of it. They dropped it pretty early on from their set lists and have never included it on any of their greatest hits records.
Hell yeah REM taught me so much about rock. They covered Velvet Underground, Mission Of Burma, Lennon, Byrds, Wire, Roky Erickson. It may have been in an REM context that I first understood words such as eclectic, eccentric, rootsy, college rock... They are a great band to get people deeper into music
Really glad you enjoyed this. The thing that always got me on this album is the bridge on most of the songs. I think someone said every REM bridge is the same, but to me it’s like the big drop on an EDM track. Boom, there it is. Worth listening out for Mike Mills backing vocals as you go through the albums, they sound like they don’t quite belong, but somehow bring the song together.
I love the structure of their early songs... verse - pre-chorus - verse - pre-chorus chorus! verse - pre-chorus - chorus! bridge - verse - pre-chorus - chorus And dismount. Genius.
Definitely not downhill from there.... The chorus of Pilgrimage and the bridge of the last track still remain to be amongst my favorites with an elative effect similar to the climax of Pixies' Motorway to Roswell. The Byrds are often referenced but I find a little of America (the band, of course) mixed in, as well and the ghostly overtones emanating from Mike's Rickenbacker bass trigger a deja vu kind of feel on a level that no other band has been able to produce. Anyway, I really enjoyed the reaction and found your take on empathetic and Voyeuristic listening quite enlightening. Father of three at your age? Wow! Respect... I can see where REM would be a little more applicable to your life than the unsentimental and impersonally heartless (yes, voyeuristic) style of the near equally enjoyable Pixies.
Thanks for another on-point reaction. I adore this album. It was their first full length album, and in 1985, it was in the cassette deck of my car for an entire year. I listened only to this while driving to school and work. Is it possible for an entire album to be both whimsical and sombre at the same time? This was my introduction to their style, approach, and substance. It only gets better from here.
Perfect Circle is one of those songs that can regularly give me chills. Sitting Still is the album song I've probably listened to the most, though (trying to decipher the lyrics!)
A brilliant album that I listened to when it released in my sophomore year at college...the beginnings of the college radio influence in music...so different than anything I'd heard before...all the accolades from Rolling Stone were completely justified...brought in jangle guitars to real serious listening, plus epic bass and unique vocals...Perfect Circle kills me every time I hear it, such a simple piano line throughout, but it (and the other additions musically) creates an almost haunting and reminiscent/nostalgic feel...similar to what I felt later in their catalogue with Nightswimming...
Great video Alex and great to hear that you love it, possibly my favourite album of all time and for my money it's hands down the greatest debut. Everything is so realised and the record as a unique sound. Despite all the fantastic performances from the band I think Mills stand outs, his bass playing is so melodic, upfront and his harmonies and piano playing compliment so much.
Peter's guitar work on Talk About The Passion always impressed me from this album. Very heavy Byrds vibe to me here, but also impressive because Pete was so young and inexperienced here and was still able to put on a really good showcase of acoustic guitar picking.
Your review echoes my personal experience- when I first heard this as a college freshman in 1983 my mind was blown! I still consider it the finest debut by anyone, anywhere.
Omg...you went all the way back to my deep roots. R.E.M. and maybe Velvet Underground... that's me at 14/15 years old.., all the way back in 1988ish. Edit:. Also, I'm a Georgia boy, so this band gave me pride back in the 80s. I even lived in Athens for about a decade.
Great review and awesome seeing you appreciate it as much as the rest of us. Perfect Circle, Talk About The Passion and Shaking Through are my favorites. Easily in my top ten albums of all time.
Btw you are kind to not mention that '03 Stipe's lyrics were largely indecipherable. He was "painfully shy" but had obvious artistic authentic voice and compositions
As someone who followed your reactions to the likes of the Smiths and New Order, I recall you responding to comments where people thought you couldn't relate to the British experience. As a British person myself, I thought of REM who are my favourite American band. I drew a similar conclusion to you. I realised one of the reasons I liked listening to REM was for that American experience. Alternatively, I can internalize it if I find the lyrics relatable. it's funny hearing you iterating similar thoughts on the other foot in this video. For example, when Morrissey sings a line such as, "The rain falls hard on a humdrum town, this town has dragged you down," most people in the UK would immediately relate to this. Britain is an island with regular rainfall all year round. It's damp, grey, and dark for the greater proportion of the year. You may play this record for its Britishness or relate it to your own experience in America. And of course, I'm not Morrissey, so even though from the same country, I'm still introjecting the lyrics with a sort of empathy. With REM, you've got the advantage. It's all good.
Serious comment. Michael and Co. wanted this album to be perfect. Up until this point, all they had under their belts was a regional cult following, a seriously good ep, and some bootlegs. They all crafted, and re-crafted these tunes, and the order in the album forever. I have friends who are still friends with them, and they all can testify to the work ethic and vision they have/had.... especially Michael and Mike.
Honestly one of the best debuts I've heard. The focus and attention to detail on the forward thinking composition while maintain a strong pop sensibility right out of the gate is stunning.
What’s tough about Murmur nowadays is that it’s hard to comprehend that NOTHING sounded like it when it came out. Then college rock started to copy and change accordingly.
