E-Bow the Letter

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Michael Stipe trounces through thickly textured patches of swelling organs, acoustic strumming, and razor-sharp, sparingly placed electric guitars with the sad, furrowed brow and eternally ponderous voice that has become his signature. Patti Smith wraps the song with deceptively soothing incantations that effectively sneak up from behind the music to a full-frontal caterwaul by the track's close. Artful, affecting, and undeniably accessible...three solid traits of any R.E.M. recording. [21]

"E-Bow the Letter" was ranked number 21 on NME magazine's list of the "Singles of the Year". [22] Pitchfork Media founder and owner Ryan Schreiber described it on the website as "possibly one of the greatest songs ever written." [23] Masterton called the song "so totally weird" and compared it to Mott the Hoople's 1972 single "All the Young Dudes", which features similar instrumentation. [17] Paul Lester from Melody Maker felt it "is R.E.M. at their most gorgeously maudlin". [24] Another Melody Maker editor, Mark Luffman, wrote, "Nevertheless, "E-Bow the Letter" does come out of nowhere R.E.M. have been before, right from its "All the Young Dudes" intro. Almost a Gene Clarke song. This is R.E.M.'s "Tusk", inasmuch as it's a song we didn't quite expect them to come up with." [25]

Thomas Ward of AllMusic described it as one of R.E.M.'s best compositions from the 1990s and as the centerpiece of one of their "most forgotten and underrated" albums. The critic stated:

"E-Bow the Letter" is one of R.E.M's finest songs of the 1990s, and the centrepiece of one of their most neglected and undervalued albums, New Adventures In Hi-Fi. Containing a terrific, guitar driven arrangement, and an unusual, but catchy melody, the song is essentially a showcase for Michael Stipe's quick-fire, somewhat oblique lyric, although containing some wonderful moments (such as 'Dreaming of Maria Callas/Whoever she is'). The song's success is driven from its unusualness – the lyric and chord structure are certainly unconventional, and the plain weirdness of Stipe's lyric. As such, it does not warrant literal explanation, but is nevertheless an enthralling listening experience." [26]

The A.V. Club ranked it at number 31 on their list of R.E.M.'s Top 40 Songs, stating: "The band, joined here by Stipe's avowed heroine, Patti Smith, plays with divine fire on this magnificent track from the 1996 album. New Adventures In Hi-Fi. Stipe genuflects before his idol, giving her the space to steal the show at the end of the song and concluded that this is an astonishingly powerful and appropriate collaboration. [27]

Chart performance

On the US Billboard Hot 100, "E-Bow the Letter" debuted at number 54 in the issue of September 7, 1996, reaching its peak of number 49 the following week and spending nine weeks on the chart altogether. [28] [29] The song reached the top five on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number two on September 14, 1996, and entered the top 10 on the Adult Alternative Songs ranking, reaching number seven on September 7 and spending seven weeks on the chart. [30] [31] The song also appeared on the Billboard Mainstream Rock and Maxi-Singles Sales charts, reaching numbers 15 and 39, respectively, on September 14. [32] [33] Along with "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", it is the only R.E.M. song to appear on the latter listing. [33] In Canada, the track reached the top 10, peaking at number six on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart and at number one on the RPM Alternative 30. [34] [35] The magazine later ranked the song as Canada's 53rd-best-performing single of 1996 as well as the 30th-best-performing rock song. [36] [37]

In the United Kingdom, "E-Bow the Letter" became the band's highest-charting single until "The Great Beyond" in 2000, debuting and peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart based on its "typically wry sense of humour". [14] [19] [38] Giving R.E.M. their 18th top-40 hit on the chart, the song spent six weeks in the UK top 100. [38] The song also reached the top 10 in Ireland, where it reached number eight. [39] In Iceland, "E-Bow" the letter rose to number two on the Íslenski listinn chart after seven weeks, eventually ending 1996 as the country's 41st-most-successful single. [40] [41] The track became R.E.M.'s fifth top-10 hit in Norway, debuting and peaking at number six, where it remained for two weeks. [42] In Finland, the song peaked within the top 20, reaching number 11 on the Finnish Singles Chart. Elsewhere in Europe, "E-Bow the Letter" appeared on the charts of Austria, Flanders, Germany, and the Netherlands, achieving a peak of number 28 on the Eurochart Hot 100. [43] [44] [45] In Australia, the song reached number 23 on the ARIA Singles Chart and spent four weeks in the top 50, while in New Zealand, it debuted at its peak of number 32 and left the RIANZ Singles Chart after three weeks. [46] [47]

Music video

The music video was directed by Afghan-born American filmmaker Jem Cohen and features clips and footage from Los Angeles, while other scenes show the band performing the song in a room filled with lights. [1] At one point in the video guitarist Peter Buck can be seen using the EBow, [4] and in other scenes there's Patti Smith in Prague, Czech Republic. [1] Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone praised the video by stating:

Jem Cohen’s dim, romantic clip for “E-Bow the Letter,” R.E.M.’s 1996 collaboration with Patti Smith, is ideally suited to the sound and sentiment of the song, which remains one of the band’s finest and most distinct compositions. Cohen’s lonely street scenes are gorgeous, but the images of Stipe performing with the band in a room lit by hundreds of tiny white lights are among the most elegant and breathtaking shots in the band’s filmography. [48]

Track listings

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

  1. "E-Bow the Letter" (Seattle studio) – 5:22 (5:24 on UK version)
  2. "Tricycle" (St. Louis soundcheck) – 1:58 (1:59 on UK version)
  1. "E-Bow the Letter" (Seattle studio) – 5:22 (5:24 on UK version)
  2. "Tricycle" (St. Louis soundcheck) – 1:58 (1:59 on UK version)
  3. "Departure" (Rome soundcheck) – 3:35
  4. "Wall of Death" (Athens studio) (Richard Thompson) – 3:07
  1. "E-Bow the Letter" – 5:24
  2. "Tricycle" – 1:59
  3. "Departure" (live) – 3:35
  4. "Wall of Death" (Thompson) – 3:07

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the US CD single liner notes and the New Adventures in Hi-Fi booklet. [49] [57]

Studio

"E-Bow the Letter"
R.E.M. - E-Bow the Letter.jpg
Single by R.E.M.
from the album New Adventures in Hi-Fi
B-side
  • "Tricycle"
  • "Departure"
  • "Wall of Death"
ReleasedAugust 19, 1996 (1996-08-19)
Studio Bad Animals (Seattle)
Genre
Length5:22
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
R.E.M. singles chronology
"Tongue"
(1995)
"E-Bow the Letter"
(1996)
"Bittersweet Me"
(1996)
Music video
"E-Bow the Letter" on YouTube

Charts

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)LabelRef.
United StatesAugust 14, 1996All rock radio formats Warner Bros. [1]
United KingdomAugust 19, 1996
  • CD
  • cassette
[64]
United StatesAugust 20, 1996
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
[1]
August 27, 1996 Maxi-CD [1]
September 24, 1996 Contemporary hit radio [65]
JapanOctober 25, 1996CD [66]

See also

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