Murmur (album)

Last updated
Murmur
R.E.M. - Murmur.jpg
Studio album by
R.E.M.
ReleasedApril 12, 1983 (1983-04-12)
RecordedJanuary 6 – February 23, 1983
StudioReflection, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Genre
Length44:11
Label I.R.S.
Producer
R.E.M. chronology
Chronic Town
(1982)		Murmur
(1983)		 Reckoning
(1984)
Singles from Murmur
  1. "Radio Free Europe"
    Released: June 8, 1983
  2. "Talk About the Passion"
    Released: November 1983

Murmur is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on April 12, 1983, by I.R.S. Records. Murmur drew critical acclaim upon its release for its unusual sound, defined by lead singer Michael Stipe's cryptic lyrics, guitarist Peter Buck's jangly guitar style, and bass guitarist Mike Mills's melodic basslines.

Contents

Recording

R.E.M. started preparing for their debut album in December 1982. I.R.S. paired R.E.M. with producer Stephen Hague, who had a higher profile than the band's previous producer Mitch Easter. [6] Hague's emphasis on technical perfection did not suit the band; the producer made the group perform multiple takes of the song "Catapult", which demoralized drummer Bill Berry. Also, Hague took the completed track to Synchro Sound studios in Boston and added keyboard parts to the track without the band's permission and to their dismay. [7] Unsatisfied, the band members asked the label to let them record with Easter. [8] I.R.S. agreed to a "tryout" session, allowing the band to travel to North Carolina and record the song "Pilgrimage" with Easter and producing partner Don Dixon. After hearing the track, I.R.S. permitted the group to record the album with Dixon and Easter. [9]

On January 6, 1983, R.E.M. entered Reflection Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina, to begin recording sessions with Easter and Dixon. Much of the band's material for the album had been tested on preceding tours. Because of its bad experience with Hague, the band recorded the album via a process of negation, refusing to incorporate rock music clichés such as guitar solos or then-popular synthesizers, to give its music a timeless feel. [9] Berry specifically was resistant to "odd" musical suggestions, insisting that his drums be recorded in a drummer's booth, a practice that was antiquated at the time. [10] Dixon and Easter took a hands-off approach to much of the recording process. The pair would only fix up a vocal track or ask lead singer Michael Stipe to re-record a vocal if it was very substandard. [11] "Being both musicians, our approach was to leave as little imprint as possible," Dixon said in 1994, referring to himself and Easter. "We felt like our job was to, as cheaply as possible, reproduce what appeared to be just them playing live." [12]

Due to Peter Buck's Fender Twin Reverb being "dead", every song except 'Pilgrimage' featured Easter's Ampeg Gemini II. Mike Mills's Dan Armstrong bass guitar was set aside in favor of a Rickenbacker 4001, owned by Easter's girlfriend. [13]

Recording was completed on February 23, 1983.

In a rare instance of R.E.M. co-writing, Stipe asked friend Neil Bogan to contribute lyrics to "West of the Fields". [14]

Packaging

The train trestle from the cover has become a tourist destination, even in its dilapidated state Athens Train Trestle 2.jpg
The train trestle from the cover has become a tourist destination, even in its dilapidated state

The front cover features an image of a large quantity of the noxious weed kudzu, which grows so rapidly that it overtakes the landscape and kills other plants by completely shading them. The trestle featured on the back cover of the original vinyl LP release, originally part of the Georgia Railroad line into downtown Athens, has become something of a local landmark. Plans to demolish the trestle, now commonly referred to as the "Murmur Trestle", met with public outcry. On October 2, 2000, the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission voted to save the trestle. [15] In 2012, the local government said it cannot afford to keep it and declared in 2016 that it would likely come down. [16] Later that year, the Athens-Clarke County Commission suggested that a trail tax could fund its existence. [17] The Murmur Trestle was approved for demolition in 2019, and work began in 2020 to destroy it. A replica of the original trestle is intended to be constructed, as well as preservation of some of the original trestle. [18]

Copies of the initial tape edition—catalogue number CS 70604—list The Velvet Underground cover "There She Goes Again" as the final track, but it is not present. This mistake was fixed with subsequent printings. The track was rumored to be intended for Murmur, but removed so that all the tracks would be original and the group would not have to take a royalty cut.[ citation needed ] The band later distanced itself from this rumor. [19] . It was, however, re-recorded and included as a b-side to the IRS issue of "Radio Free Europe" instead. [20]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [21]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [22]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [23]
Entertainment Weekly A [24]
Pitchfork 10/10 [25]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [26]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [27]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [28]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [29]
The Village Voice A− [30]

Murmur was released in April 1983. The record reached number 36 on the Billboard album chart. [31] A re-recorded version of "Radio Free Europe" was the album's lead single and reached number 78 on the Billboard singles chart that year. Despite the acclaim awarded the album, by the end of 1983 Murmur had only sold about 200,000 copies, which I.R.S.'s Jay Boberg felt was below expectations. [32] Murmur was eventually certified gold (500,000 units shipped) by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1991. [33]

The album drew substantial critical acclaim. Rolling Stone gave the album four out of five stars. Reviewer Steve Pond felt the album fulfilled the promise the band showed on Chronic Town. He wrote, "Murmur is the record on which [R.E.M.] trade that potential for results: an intelligent, enigmatic, deeply involving album, it reveals a depth and cohesiveness to R.E.M. that the EP could only suggest." He concluded, "R.E.M. is clearly the important Athens band." [27] Jonathan Gregg of Record described Murmur as "a splendid little film noir of an album, austere but rich in implication." He particularly praised the band's distinctive "twitchy, restless dance beat" and the incomprehensibility of the album's meaning, noting that Stipe's already enigmatic lyrics are often hard to make out due to being sung with a deliberate slur, lost in a muddy mix, and/or drowned out by the instrumental work, resulting in an impressive sense of meaning even as the meaning itself is not understood. [34] It was Rolling Stone's Best Album of 1983, beating Michael Jackson's Thriller , The Police's Synchronicity and U2's War . Buck noted in 2002 that I.R.S. was "mind-boggled" by the album's positive reviews, especially in the British press, since R.E.M. had not yet toured that country. [35]

A 2023 listing of the best debut albums by Paste included Murmur at sixth place, stating that "the way Buck’s guitar and Mike Mills’ bass busily bounced around otherwise simple choruses created something entirely new". [36]

Accolades

Since its release, Murmur has featured heavily in various "must have" lists compiled by the music media. In 1989, it was rated number eight on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. [37] In 2003, the TV network VH1 named Murmur the 92nd greatest album of all time.[ citation needed ] Some of the more prominent of these lists to feature Murmur are shown below. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [38]

Accolades for Murmur
PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRank
Rolling Stone USTop 100 Albums of the Last 20 Years [39] 1987#58
Spin US100 Alternative Albums [40] 1995#8
Pitchfork Media USTop 100 Albums of the 1980s [41] 2002#5
Rolling Stone USThe 500 Greatest Albums of All Time [42] [43] [44] 2012#197
2020#165
Blender US500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die [45] 2003
Q UKThe 40 Best Records of the 80s[ citation needed ]2006#6
Mojo UKThe 100 Records That Changed the World[ citation needed ]2007#75
Slant Magazine USBest Albums of the 1980s [46] 2012#13
Rolling Stone USThe 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time [47] 2013#18

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, except where noted.

Side one

  1. "Radio Free Europe" – 4:06
  2. "Pilgrimage" – 4:30
  3. "Laughing" – 3:57
  4. "Talk About the Passion" – 3:23
  5. "Moral Kiosk" – 3:31
  6. "Perfect Circle" – 3:29

Side two

  1. "Catapult" – 3:55
  2. "Sitting Still" – 3:17
  3. "9–9" – 3:03
  4. "Shaking Through" – 4:30
  5. "We Walk" – 3:02
  6. "West of the Fields" (Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe, Neil Bogan) – 3:17

Personnel

R.E.M.

Production and additional musicians

Chart performance

Murmur chart performance
YearChartPosition
1983 US Billboard 200 36 [31]
1994 UK Albums Chart 100 [31]
1996111 [31]
2009199 (Deluxe Edition) [49]

Singles

Murmur's singles chart performance
YearSingleChartPosition
1983"Radio Free Europe"Billboard Mainstream Rock25
1983"Radio Free Europe"Billboard Pop Singles78

Certifications

Sales certifications for Murmur
OrganizationLevelDate
RIAA – USGoldOctober 10, 1991

Release history

Murmur was bundled together with Chronic Town and Reckoning in the United Kingdom as The Originals in 1993.

On November 25, 2008, I.R.S. Records, A&M, and Universal Music released a 25th anniversary edition two-disc reissue of Murmur. Disc one features the standard 12-track album, digitally remastered, and disc two contains a previously unreleased live concert the band played at Larry's Hideaway, Toronto, Canada, on July 9, 1983. This set was recorded by Blair Packham, who'd later find fame as lead singer of The Jitters. [50]

In addition to Murmur songs, the set includes tunes from the Chronic Town EP, a Velvet Underground cover, and early versions of songs from Reckoning and Lifes Rich Pageant . [51] The release also includes a fold-out poster insert, featuring exclusive essays by producers Don Dixon and Mitch Easter, as well as former I.R.S. executives Jay Boberg, Sig Sigworth, and art designer Carl Grasso. [52]

Murmur release history
RegionDateLabelFormatCatalog
United StatesApril 12, 1983 I.R.S. vinyl LP SP 70604
44797-0014-1
Compact disc 44797-0014-2
cassette tape 44797-0014-4
CS 70604
United KingdomAugust 29, 1983I.R.S.LP70014
United States1983I.R.S./A&M Compact Disc70014
The Netherlands1983 Illegal LP25433
South Africa1983I.R.S./CBS LPASF-2886
Worldwide1990A&MCompact Disc70014
Worldwide1991A&MCompact Disc129
The NetherlandsJuly 31, 1992 EMI Compact Disc7 13158 2†
The Netherlands1992I.R.S.LP4653781
United States1995 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab LP231‡
Compact Disc642‡
Europe1999EMICompact Disc13158†
Europe2000I.R.S.Compact Disc7131582†
Asia2007 Toshiba/EMICompact Disc53571
United StatesNovember 25, 2008I.R.S./Universal Music Group Compact DiscB0012251-02•

†I.R.S. Vintage Years edition, with bonus tracks
‡Remastered edition on 180-gram vinyl and gold Compact Disc
•Remastered Deluxe Edition, with Live at Larry's Hide-Away bonus disc

The Originals release history
RegionDateLabelFormatCatalog
United Kingdom1995I.R.S./EMI CD box set 7243 8 35088 2 2

See also

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