Thanks...I grew up w/ R.E.M, having discovered them on a new music show here in Michigan when I was 13....I have many memories of listening to Murmur late at night, a record that's stuck w/ me for a long time.
It sounds like the magnetic tape masters were pretty degraded when this was transferred to digital. It's a pity it wasn't done sooner, but on the other hand, we're lucky it was done before the masters deteriorated any further.
My personal favorite R.E.M. album is a toss up between " Automatic for the People " & " New Adventures In Hi Fi " ... This band and their music are a permanent fixture in my life and have been since I was 16 and saw the video for " Losing My Religion " ... I thought Michael Stipe was the most gorgeous man I had ever layed my eyes on ... He's still gorgouse to this day ...
theres a killer version of romance on the carnival of sorts bootleg which btw is my fav rem bootleg its got the long version of stumble on it. it rocks!!
@newhat07 yeh dude i love all the early stuff. warner bros stuff is ok but IRS era is best 4 sure. yeh i agree seems quicker and more agressive. the instrumental segue into skank to stumble is genious!!
No...these were done by an in-house RCA producer, forgetting his name...I just put a clip of the recording you are talking about though...it finally surfaced.
Having not liked " Monster " when it was first released, except for a few songs ... I find, for a 22 year old album ( God, I'm old ... ), that it's aged very well ... " Let Me In " is hauntingly beautiful ...
They were forcing them to play to click tracks and drum machines and I'd heard years ago the band were horrified and totally pissed off. It just wasn't working, so they recruited Don and Mitch and what a good idea that was. Typical 80s record company boneheadedness, let's turn R.E.M. into Depeche Mode! Yeah baby!