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Murmur is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on April 12, 1983, by I.R.S. Records. The album was recorded at Reflection Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina, with musicians Don Dixon and Mitch Easter serving as producers. 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. In 2003, the album was ranked number 197 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". It retained the position in the 2012 list and was raised to number 165 in the 2020 revision.
William Thomas Berry is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guitar and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M. albums. In 1995, Berry suffered a cerebral aneurysm onstage and collapsed. After a successful recovery he left the music industry two years later to become a farmer, and has since maintained a low profile, making sporadic reunions with R.E.M. and appearing on other artists' recordings. His departure made him the only member of the band to not remain with them during their entire run. Berry eventually returned to the industry in 2022.
Reckoning is the second studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on April 9, 1984, by I.R.S. Records. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, the album was recorded at Reflection Sound Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, over 16 days in December 1983 and January 1984. Dixon and Easter intended to capture the sound of R.E.M.'s live performances, and used binaural recording on several tracks. Lead singer Michael Stipe dealt with darker subject matter in his lyrics, with water-related imagery being a recurring theme on the album.
Fables of the Reconstruction is the third studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released on June 10, 1985, through I.R.S. Records. It was the band's first album recorded outside of the U.S., with sessions taking place at Livingston Studios in London with producer Joe Boyd. The record displays a darker, murkier sound than its predecessors, with lyrics drawing from Southern Gothic themes and characters. The album also utilizes more varied instrumentation, including string and brass arrangements and banjo.
Peter Lawrence Buck is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his career with R.E.M. (1980–2011), as well as during his subsequent solo career, Buck has also been at various times an official member of numerous 'side project' groups. These groups included Arthur Buck, Hindu Love Gods, The Minus 5, Tuatara, The Baseball Project, Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3, Tired Pony, The No-Ones, and Filthy Friends, each of which have released at least one full-length studio album. Additionally, the experimental combo Slow Music have released an official live concert CD. Another side project group called Full Time Men released an EP while Buck was a member. As well, ad hoc "supergroups" Bingo Hand Job, Musical Kings and Nigel & The Crosses have each commercially released one track.
Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on July 28, 1986. R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album, which was recorded at John Mellencamp's Belmont Mall Studio in Belmont, Indiana. This was the only album the band recorded with Gehman, who moved them from the more obscure and dense sound of their earlier albums to an accessible, hard rock-influenced quality. The album was well-received critically.
New Adventures in Hi-Fi is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major-label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia, and the following day in the United States. New Adventures in Hi-Fi was the band's final album recorded with founding drummer Bill Berry, original manager Jefferson Holt, and long-time producer Scott Litt. The members of R.E.M. consider the recorded album representative of the band at their peak, and fans generally regard it as the band's last great record before a perceived artistic decline during the late 1990s and early 2000s. It has sold around seven million units, growing in cult status years after its release, with several retrospectives ranking it among the top of the band's recorded catalogue.
Up is the eleventh studio album by American rock band R.E.M. It was released on October 26, 1998, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was the band's first without drummer and founding member Bill Berry, who retired from the band in October 1997. In his place, R.E.M. used session drummers such as Joey Waronker and Barrett Martin while also utilizing drum machines. The album was produced by Pat McCarthy, making it R.E.M.'s first album since Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) not to be produced by Scott Litt.
Reveal is the twelfth studio album by American rock band R.E.M. It was released on May 14, 2001, through Warner Bros. Records and was the second of three albums by the band to be produced with Pat McCarthy. It was also R.E.M.'s second album as a three-piece following the departure of drummer Bill Berry, and includes contributions from the band's touring members Joey Waronker, Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow. The band recorded the album in various locations, including in Dublin, Miami, Vancouver, and their hometown of Athens, Georgia. The album saw R.E.M. continue to experiment with electronic music as they had on their previous album Up (1998), utilizing keyboards and drum machines, while also retaining elements of their earlier sound.
"Nightswimming" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in July 1993 by Warner Bros. as the fifth single from the band's eighth album, Automatic for the People (1992). The song is a ballad featuring singer Michael Stipe accompanied only by bassist Mike Mills on piano, a string arrangement by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, and oboe by Deborah Workman in the latter part of the piece. Mills wrote the music and Stipe the lyrics of the song, but it is credited to the entire band. Stipe sings about a group of friends who go skinny dipping at night, which draws from similar experiences in the band's early days. The music video for the song was directed by Jem Cohen.
"Electrolite" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., released as their third single and closing track from their tenth studio album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996). The song is a piano-based ballad to Los Angeles, Hollywood icons and the closing 20th century. Initially, Michael Stipe objected to including the song on the album, but was won over by Peter Buck and Mike Mills. It has since become one of his favorite R.E.M. songs as well as one of Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke's; Radiohead has covered the song.
"Radio Free Europe" is the debut single by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1981 on the short-lived independent record label Hib-Tone. The song features "what were to become the trademark unintelligible lyrics which [sic] have distinguished R.E.M.'s work ever since." The single received critical acclaim, and its success earned the band a record deal with I.R.S. Records. R.E.M. re-recorded the song for their 1983 debut album Murmur. The re-recording for I.R.S. became the group's first charting single, peaking at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is ranked number 389 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2009, it was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for setting "the pattern for later indie rock releases by breaking through on college radio in the face of mainstream radio's general indifference."
The Best of R.E.M. is a greatest hits album by R.E.M. released in 1991, shortly after the success of the band's seventh studio album, Out of Time, released by Warner Bros. The Best of R.E.M., however, was released by the band's previous record label, I.R.S. Records, and only includes tracks from their first five albums while the group was with that label. As such, it covers their output from 1982 to 1987.
"Gardening at Night" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. It was recorded for the band's 1982 debut EP Chronic Town.
"Sitting Still" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. that was issued on their first single in 1981 and on their 1983 debut album Murmur.
"Turn You Inside-Out" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. from their sixth studio album Green. Like all tracks on the album, it was written by group members Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry. The song's main guitar riff is an inversion of that used in "Finest Worksong". The recording also features percussion from former Sugar Hill Records house drummer Keith LeBlanc.
R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style; Stipe's distinctive vocal quality, unique stage presence, and obscure lyrics; Mills's melodic bass lines and backing vocals; and Berry's tight, economical drumming style. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana, Pixies and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre. After Berry left in 1997, the band continued with mixed critical and commercial success. The band broke up amicably in 2011, having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music acts.
"Pretty Persuasion" is a song by R.E.M. that was first released on the band's 1984 album Reckoning. It was released as a promotional single and reached number 44 on Billboard's Rock Tracks chart. According to R.E.M. biographer Tony Fletcher, it is often regarded as "the 'archetypal' R.E.M. anthem".
Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions is a 2014 live album from alternative rock band R.E.M., released initially on vinyl recordings through Rhino Records for Record Store Day, and later made available on compact disc and digitally. The album is composed of two performances that the band made on the U.S. television show MTV Unplugged. Among the album's 33 tracks are 11 performances which were not aired on either broadcast. To promote the album, Mike Mills signed copies at independent record store Bull Moose in Scarborough, Maine. Video of the concerts was released later that year on REMTV.
Green is the sixth studio album by American rock band R.E.M., released on November 7, 1988, by Warner Bros. Records. The second album to be produced by the band and Scott Litt, it continued to explore political issues both in its lyrics and packaging. The band experimented on the album, writing major-key rock songs and incorporating new instruments into their sound including the mandolin, as well as switching their original instruments on other songs.
References
- 1 2 Rooksby, Rikky (2001). Inside Classic Rock Tracks. Backbeat Books. pp. 108–109. ISBN 0-87930-654-8.
- ↑ Bowler, David (1995). R.E.M. from "Chronic Town to "Monster" . New York, NY: Carol Publishing Group. pp. 88. ISBN 0-8065-1724-7.
