Reckoning | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 9, 1984 | |||
Recorded | December 8, 1983 – January 16, 1984 | |||
Studio | Reflection Sound (Charlotte) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 38:55 | |||
Label | I.R.S. | |||
Producer | ||||
R.E.M. chronology | ||||
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Singles from Reckoning | ||||
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Reckoning (alternatively titled File Under Water) [4] 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.
Released to critical acclaim, Reckoning reached number 27 in the United States—where it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1991—and peaked at number 91 in the United Kingdom.
After their debut album Murmur (1983) received critical acclaim, R.E.M. quickly began working on their second album. They wrote new material prodigiously, mostly in Mike Mills' living room on Barber Street in Athens. [5] Guitarist Peter Buck recalled, "We were going through this streak where we were writing two good songs a week [...] We just wanted to do it; whenever we had a new batch of songs, it was time to record". [6] Because of the many new songs the band had, Buck unsuccessfully tried convincing everyone to make the next album a double album. [7] In November 1983, the band recorded 22 songs during a session with Neil Young producer Elliot Mazer in San Francisco. [8] While Mazer was briefly considered as a candidate to produce the band's next album, R.E.M. ultimately decided to team up again with Murmur producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon instead. [6]
R.E.M. started recording Reckoning at Reflection Sound in Charlotte, North Carolina, on December 8, 1983. [9] The group recorded over two eight-day stretches around Christmas that year, separated by two weeks of canceled studio time that allowed the band to perform in Greensboro, North Carolina, go see a movie, and shoot a video in the studio. [10] [11] While the studio diary listed 16 days for recording, the album sleeve later claimed the album was recorded in 14 days, while in interviews, Buck sometimes stated that the album was recorded in 11 days. The producers both disputed that the sessions were that short; Dixon insisted that they were at the studio for over 25 days – during which he worked 18-hour days – while Easter said, "When I read '11 days' I thought, what the fuck! It was 20 days, which was still short, but it's not 11." [12]
During recording, there was pressure from I.R.S. Records to try making the album more commercial. The label sent messages to Dixon and Easter, which the producers told the band that they would ignore. While the producers respected I.R.S. president Jay Boberg, they expressed dismay at the comments he made when he visited during the last day of sessions. Dixon called Boberg "record company clueless", while Easter said "I got along with Jay Boberg OK [...] but now and again he would express an opinion that would make me think, 'holy shit', because it would strike me as really teenage." Buck said he was grateful that Dixon and Easter acted as a buffer between the band and its label. He said that "it got to the point where as much as I respected the guys at I.R.S., we basically tried to record the records so they wouldn't know we were recording them!", and explained that part of the reason why R.E.M. recorded the album so quickly was that the group wanted to finish before representatives from I.R.S. showed up to listen to it. [13]
The recording sessions were difficult for lead singer Michael Stipe, who, among the band, was particularly worn out by the band's 1983 tour schedule. Getting usable vocal tracks from Stipe was difficult; Dixon recalled that he and Stipe would show up around noon each day before the rest of the band, but that "he was kind of shut down, and it was difficult to get him to open up". While recording the song "7 Chinese Bros.", Stipe sang so quietly that Dixon could not hear him on the tape. Frustrated, the producer climbed a ladder to a spot above the recording booth Stipe was in and found a gospel record titled The Joy of Knowing Jesus by the Revelaires, which he then handed to the singer in an attempt to inspire him. Stipe began reciting the liner notes from the album audibly, which enabled Dixon to move on to recording the vocal track to "7 Chinese Bros." properly [14] (the initial recitation take was later released as "Voice of Harold", first as a B-side to "So. Central Rain" and then in 1987 on the compilation Dead Letter Office ). [15]
With Reckoning, Dixon, Easter, and the band wanted to capture the energy of R.E.M.'s live sound. [16] Dixon had not seen the band perform live before working on Murmur; after he had done so, he had a greater sense of the band's strengths and weaknesses. Dixon wanted the guitars to sound more like they did in concert, but originally they met resistance from both the band and the label; however, by the time R.E.M. started recording, Dixon said the group "wanted to rock out a bit more". [17]
Dixon was enamored of the binaural recording technique, and used it extensively on the album. Easter recalled that Dixon "made this sort of fake binaural head out of a cardboard box and stuck two microphones in it" to record the group. In Easter's opinion the method made drummer Bill Berry's parts "fresher sounding". Binaural recording also allowed bassist Mike Mills' backing vocals to be loud without obscuring Stipe's lead vocals. Dixon explained, "Mike Mills was often singing 12 to 15 feet away from the microphones that were recording his part, but because it was in a studio binaural field, we would tend to hear him as behind [Stipe]." [18]
Biographer David Buckley wrote, "While the music moved away from Murmur's slightly airless feel, the subject matter was a little darker." [19] Buck noted in a 1988 interview that water imagery was abundant in the album. [20] Buckley interpreted that imagery as representing the change presented by the band's increasing success, as well as the changing music scene of the group's Athens, Georgia hometown. [19] The song "Camera" addressed the death of a friend from Athens who died in a car crash. [21] Easter said, "[Stipe's] vocal was so exposed on that track, and because of that, it could really show any technical imperfections with regard to pitch." The producer tried to get Stipe to sing a better take, but the singer was more intent on getting the feeling of the song across, and at one point refused to record further. [22] While many of the album's songs were new compositions, some had been in R.E.M.'s show setlists for years; in particular, the songs "Pretty Persuasion" and "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" had been played live as far back as October 1980. The band was reluctant to record "Pretty Persuasion," as the members considered it too old, but Dixon and Easter convinced the group to do so. [23] R.E.M. initially planned releasing "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" as a non-album single between Reckoning and its next release. [7] When the band recorded it for the album, the group rearranged the song from its live incarnation and gave it a country music-like influence as tribute to their advisor Bertis Downs, IV, who was a fan of country music. [24]
The following additional songs were recorded during the Reckoning sessions: [25]
Title | Source |
---|---|
"Walter's Theme" | "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" |
"King of the Road" | |
"Voice of Harold" | |
"Pale Blue Eyes" | |
"Burning Down" | "Wendell Gee" |
"Ages of You" | |
"Femme Fatale" | "Superman" |
For the cover of Reckoning, Stipe drew a picture of a two-headed snake, which he then gave to artist Howard Finster to fill in as a painting. Stipe stated that the imagery was an attempt to define the elements, explaining, "Part of it is rocks and part of it is the sun and part of it the sky." The end result was considered a disappointment, as Stipe had to work with Finster on a long-distance basis, and the reproduction of the artwork for the album sleeve was problematic. [26] The spine of the vinyl version of the album features the phrase "File Under Water". Stipe told NME in 1984 the phrase is the true title of the record. He added "In America, both titles are on the spine, with nothing on the cover. Here [in the United Kingdom] they insisted on Reckoning being on the cover." [4] Instead of labeling the sides of the record as "side one" and "side two", the sides were designated as "L" and "R", respectively. [27]
The back cover features individual photographs of the band members, including a photograph of Stipe taken by Michael Plen at the club Les Bains-Douches in Paris, France, on November 24, 1983. [28]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Chicago Tribune | [29] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B+ [30] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [31] |
The Guardian | [32] |
Pitchfork | 10/10 [33] |
Q | [34] |
Rolling Stone | [35] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [36] |
Uncut | [37] |
Reckoning was released on April 9, 1984, in the United Kingdom and on April 17 in the United States. [38] The album quickly reached number one on the college radio airplay charts, whose audience had highly anticipated the album; however, the band hadn't received much exposure on commercial radio and MTV by that point. Instead of the music industry standard of waiting for mainstream radio stations to pick up the band's music, I.R.S. hoped to "convince reluctant programmers to add the group by pointing to the press response, word-of-mouth reaction to local live performances and sales figures", according to a July 1984 Los Angeles Times article. [39] The album's first single, "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)", was released in May and reached number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. [40] Its second single, "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville", was released in August; unlike its predecessor, it did not chart. [41] Within a month of its release, Reckoning peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and it remained there for nearly a year. [42] While the album's domestic chart placing was unusually high for a college rock band at the time, scant airplay and poor distribution overseas allowed it to chart no higher than number 91 in the United Kingdom. [43] In 1991 the record was certified gold (500,000 copies shipped) by the Recording Industry Association of America. [44]
Rolling Stone gave Reckoning a four-out-of-five star rating. Reviewer Christopher Connelly wrote that in comparison to Murmur the "overall sound is crisper, the lyrics far more comprehensible. And while the album may not mark any major strides forward for the band, R.E.M.'s considerable strengths – Buck's ceaselessly inventive strumming, Mike Mills' exceptional bass playing and Stipe's evocatively gloomy baritone – remain unchanged". However, Connelly felt that Stipe's "erratic meanderings" were an impediment to the band that "will prevent R.E.M. from transcending cult status". Nonetheless, he concluded, "R.E.M.'s music is able to involve the listener on both an emotional and intellectual level." [35] Joe Sasfy of The Washington Post felt that the songs on the album "trump even Murmur's outstanding songwriting" and stated "there isn't an American band worth following more than R.E.M." [45] NME reviewer Mat Snow wrote that Reckoning "confirms R.E.M. as one of the most beautifully exciting groups on the planet" and called the album "another classic". [46] The album placed seventh in NME's Best Album of the Year critics' poll, [47] and ranked sixth in The Village Voice 's Pazz & Jop poll. [48] Slant Magazine listed the album at number 81 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s". [49]
The 1992 British CD reissue of the album included five bonus tracks. [50] A 25th anniversary deluxe edition of the album, which was remastered and packaged with a bonus disc featuring a concert recorded at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom on July 7, 1984, was released in 2009. [51]
Eager to explore the music video medium, Stipe secured funding for a short film that would accompany music from the first half of Reckoning. Stipe's concept was to film the project at folk artist R.A. Miller's Whirligig Farm, and he recruited Athens filmmaker James Herbert to direct it. [52] In March 1984 R.E.M. filmed Left of Reckoning at the Whirligig Farm in Rabbittown, Georgia. [38] The short film draws its title from the fact that it is soundtracked by five songs that appear on the "L" side of the vinyl version of Reckoning: "Harborcoat", "7 Chinese Bros.", "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)", "Pretty Persuasion", "Time After Time (AnnElise)", in addition to "Second Guessing" from the R side. [53] In contrast to standard music video imagery, the film consists primarily of footage of the band members wandering around the farm, while Herbert utilizes close-ups, silhouettes, and slow motion footage. [38] Herbert utilized rephotography during the editing process, which involved taking photographs of film frames at random, while also closing in or pulling back from the image with no regard to narrative. [26] According to Buck, "It was really inexpensive to make and kind of fun. We just asked [Herbert] to edit something to four minutes' length, but he's used to making 20-minute films, that's the length he works in. He just made this film that goes along with the first side of the record." While MTV did not air the complete film, the channel's program The Cutting Edge (funded by I.R.S.) aired the "Time After Time (AnnElise)" segment, and the snippet featuring "Pretty Persuasion" was aired by other music programs. [54] The full film was later included on the video releases Succumbs and When the Light Is Mine: The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987 .
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe.
Side one – "(L) The Left Side"
Side two – "(R) The Right Side"
R.E.M.
Production
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1984 | US Billboard 200 [41] | 27 |
UK Album Chart [41] | 91 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [55] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [56] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | April 9, 1984 | I.R.S. | vinyl LP | SP 70044 [57] |
Compact disc | CD 70044 | |||
cassette tape | CS 70044 [58] | |||
United States | August 12, 1996 | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | CD | UDCD 677 [59] |
LP | MFSL 1-261 [60] | |||
United States | June 23, 2009 | I.R.S./Universal Music Group | CD | 602527076225†† |
††Remastered Deluxe Edition, with Live at Aragon Ballroom bonus disc
John Michael Stipe is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M.
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.
Chronic Town is the debut EP by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on August 24, 1982, on I.R.S. Records. Containing five tracks, the EP was recorded at the Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in October 1981, eighteen months after the formation of the band. Its co-producer was Mitch Easter, who produced the band's "Radio Free Europe" single earlier in 1981.
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.
Dead Letter Office is a rarities and B-sides collection by R.E.M., released in April 1987. The album is essentially a collection of many additional recordings R.E.M. made from before Murmur to Lifes Rich Pageant that were outtakes or released as B-sides to their singles internationally. Many of the tracks are favorite cover versions indicating the band's disparate influences and musical tastes, including three Velvet Underground covers, and songs by Aerosmith, Roger Miller, and fellow Athenians Pylon ("Crazy").
Eponymous is the first greatest hits album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1988. It was their last authorized release on I.R.S. Records, to whom they had been contracted since 1982, having just signed with Warner Bros. Records.
"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.
"All the Right Friends" is one of the earliest songs written by R.E.M., written by Peter Buck and Michael Stipe in 1979 before meeting their future bandmates, according to Peter Buck's liner notes to the band's In Time compilation album. Like all R.E.M. songs, its composition is credited to all members.
"Talk About the Passion" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single released from its debut album Murmur in 1983. It was released in Europe only, on 12" vinyl. This song failed to follow up on the success of "Radio Free Europe" released earlier in the year, as it did not chart. A live performance at Larry's Hideaway, Toronto, Canada, from July 9, 1983, was released on the 2008 Deluxe Edition reissue of Murmur.
And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987 is a compilation album by American band R.E.M. It features songs from the band's years at I.R.S. Records. All tracks have been remastered, and the set was released 12 September 2006. A companion DVD, titled When the Light Is Mine, was released the same day.
"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.
Community Trolls was the group name of a short-lived musical duo between Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and Matthew Sweet. In 1983, they collaborated as part of the Athens, Georgia, music scene, writing and recording three songs together. One of the compositions, "Tainted Obligation", was nearly released on a compilation album in 1986, and later appeared on bootlegs; it was released officially in 2002. Another Community Trolls' song, "Six Stock Answers", appeared in an unreleased indie film featuring Stipe, Sweet and some of their friends.
"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.
"7 Chinese Bros." is a song by R.E.M. that was first released on their 1984 album Reckoning.
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".
Live at the Olympia is a live album by American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was recorded during the band's five-night residency at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, between June 30 and July 5, 2007, and released on October 27, 2009. In this series of "working rehearsals" the songs on Accelerate were debuted, with many still works in progress. Every song from "Accelerate" appear on the album with the exception of "Hollow Man" and "Sing for the Submarine". The album is a two-CD release, and contains a total of 39 songs. In addition, a DVD with a documentary titled This Is Not a Show directed by Vincent Moon is included. A special edition box set containing the album on four LPs as well as the two CDs and the DVD is also available.
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.