The Ultimate Guide to R.E.M.
Submitted by lbangs on Tue, 02/20/2001 - 10:29
Tags:
- Chronic Town: ***
- Murmur: *****
- Reckoning: *****
- Fables of the Reconstruction: *** 1/2
- Life's Rich Pageant: ****
- Document: *****
- Dead Letter Office: * 1/2
- Eponymous: ****
- Green: ***
- Out of Time: ****
- Automatic for the People: *****
- Monster: ** 1/2
- New Adventures in Hi-Fi: ***
- Up: *** 1/2
Green, Lifes Rich Pageant and Document are my personal favorites. Maybe you should tell me why you didnt give Green a maximum rating. It would ease my suffering.
Well, the easy answer is that these ratings were compiled from the old Critical Underground. However, since I also give Green a three-star, I'll answer further.
The three albums you listed as favorites are the three R.E.M. albums with the most typical 80s' arena rock productions. With Green, R.E.M. produced some great songs, but the album is very inconsistent, and the production on Green seems oddly sterile at times, something I do not believe is true for most R.E.M. albums. In fact, Green, in many ways, seems the most calculated-for-airplay album the band ever cranked out, and I don't believe this attempt jives well with what the band is all about. While the singles may highlight the band's songwriting powers, the arrangements often shave off many of the elements that made the band so unique to begin with. I never listen to this album all the way through, while many R.E.M. albums I always listen to in their entirety.
Just a few thoughts...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs