7th November - R.E.M.'s Green

Artist – Album: R.E.M – Green

Released: 7^th November 1988

Sounds Like: Who sell out?

Music history is littered with bands that had amassed an avid underground following, only to supposedly alienate their faithful once they were picked up by a major label and had a chance at mainstream popularity. In fact, just the act of signing for a record company that has such luxuries as access to decent studios, useful contacts and/or paid staff is a heinous crime in some circles; all the more so if the unfortunate band inadvertently score a hit.

In truth, few “sell outs” actually did anything of the sort. With the honourable exception of Robert Johnson, who famously sold his soul to the devil back in the 1930’s, things tend not to be that different when a lucrative contract comes the way of the simple artist – after all, why sign a band if you need to change everything about them? X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent have proven that there’s already plenty of ready-made pop act play-doh out there, tremendously ready to go and make an absolute arse out of themselves on the whims of a record exec.

So, R.E.M.’s Green, their first album after signing with Warner Bros. Records, is not a sell out. It does contain a few pop songs – ‘Pop Song 89’ is a bit of a no-brainer – but so did their previous albums and, besides, the likes  of ‘Get Up’ and ‘Stand’ were recorded with tongue positioned squarely in cheek. Their first single, in fact, was ‘Orange Crush’, written about the entirely uncommercial subject of the use of chemical defoliants in the Vietnam War. Elsewhere, things sound R.E.M-esque, with the likes of ‘You Are the Everything’ and ‘World Leader Pretend’ being real highlights of a consistently strong set.

If R.E.M. ever did sell out, then it was surely on their next album ‘Out of Time’, which featured the unabashed bubblegum pop of ‘Shiny Happy People’ and a rap-rock crossover with KRS-One called ‘Radio Song’. Despite those dodgy bits, that album is still seen as a classic. Green is nearly as good, and without a sniff of selling out to be snuffed.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Pop Song 89 – 3:04

2.       Get Up – 2:39

3.       You Are the Everything – 3:41

4.       Stand – 3:10

5.       World Leader Pretend – 4:17

6.       The Wrong Child – 3:36

7.       Orange Crush – 3:51

8.       Turn You Inside-Out – 4:16

9.       Hairshirt – 3:55

10.   I Remember California – 4:59

11.   11 – 3:10

Listen to ‘You Are the Everything’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e-LF21yFWM

26th October - R.E.M's Up

Artist – Album: R.E.M - Up

Released: 26^th October 1998

Sounds Like: Rarefied electronic music

R.E.M. didn’t find things easy after the massive success of their career defining album Automatic for the People. In fact, after more than a decade of carving out a niche sound all of their own, they began to suffer from an identity crisis. Automatic was followed by the glam grunge of Monster; still a special album in my book, but one with enough flaws and a hard enough edge to alienate sections of their fans. Next up was New Adventures in Hi-Fi, a pretty lost record which couldn’t really make its mind up on what it wanted to be. And so we come to Up, an excursion into electronic music that baffled half of its audience upon release. Uh-oh.

On first listen, there’s only two shining lights that pierce the otherwise all consuming electronic fug: the Brian Wilson tribute ‘At My Most Beautiful’ and the typically beautiful, old-school R.E.M. ‘Daysleeper’. However, further listens reveal a stash of hidden gems: the ominous opener ‘Airportman’, the Casiotone for the Painfully Alone-esque ‘Hope’, the sarcastic ‘The Apologist’ and the folktronica of ‘You’re in the Air’. It is a hesitant, unsure album, but once it opens itself up to you, it is incredibly well-crafted and ahead of its time. Well done again boys. 

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Airportman – 4:12

2.       Lotus – 4:30

3.       Suspicion – 5:36

4.       Hope – 5:02

5.       At My Most Beautiful – 3:35

6.       The Apologist – 4:30

7.       Sad Professor – 4:01

8.       You’re in the Air – 5:22

9.       Walk Unafraid – 4:31

10.   Why Not Smile – 4:03

11.   Daysleeper – 3:40

12.   Diminished – 6:01

13.   Parakeet – 4:09

14.   Falls to Climb – 5:06

Listen to ‘Daysleeper’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUcKeKt8C1k 

28th July - R.E.M.'s Lifes Rich Pageant

Artist – Album: R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant

Released:  28^th July 1986

Sounds Like: Classic, political college rock

The contrast between R.E.M.’s early, cultish image and their all conquering status a decade later is startling. Despite each of their albums being granted critical acclaim, when their fourth album was released they were still seen as an underground act. Lifes Rich Pageant, however, stands as one of the first markers to their ascent to eventual global stardom.

Unlike previous releases, the band’s sound was much cleaner and clearer here, and songs like ‘Fall on Me’ and ‘I Believe’ have gorgeous poppy melodies that make them sound like perfect radio fodder. The cover of Cliques ‘Superman’ is as disposable as R.E.M. got at this juncture in their career, although it still remains great. Michael Stipe’s brilliant, unique voice wraps itself around some of his less cryptic set of lyrics (relatively speaking of course), and he, for the most part, is decipherable.

That’s not to say that the guys were selling out for greater commercial success. Stipe’s lyrics have a political bent for the first time, and songs like ‘Cuyahoga’ stand as some of the best environmentally-minded songs ever. ‘The Flowers of Guatemala’ seems to be an indictment of the US-backed military regime in Guatemala in the fifties, whilst ‘Swan Swan H’ is an obtuse examination of the American Civil War. Furthermore, as accessible and enjoyable as the indie folk of this album is, it still diverges unexpectedly at times, never more so than the odd flamenco turn of ‘Just a Touch’.

No, the band didn’t compromise their identity to curry more favour with the record buying public; people just finally started to realise their brilliance.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Begin the Begin – 3:28

2.       These Days – 3:24

3.       Fall on Me – 2:50

4.       Cuyahoga – 4:19

5.       Hyena – 2:50

6.       Underneath the Bunker – 1:25

7.       The Flowers of Guatemala – 3:55

8.       I Believe – 3:49

9.       What If We Give It Away? – 3:33

10.   Just a Touch – 3:00

11.   Swan Swan H – 2:42

12.   Superman – 2:52

Listen to ‘Superman’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxQS6lfn0yU

Also released on the 28^th July:

1992: Barenaked Ladies – Gordon

10th June - R.E.M.'s Fables of the Reconstruction

Artist – Album: R.E.M – Fables of the Reconstruction

Released: 10^th June 1985

Sounds Like: They R.E.xceptional

Back when Michael Stipe had hair (and a lot of it), R.E.M were the world’s premier underground band. Despite the fact that their debut album was critically acclaimed and hailed by Rolling Stone as the album of 1983 (ahead of Thriller amongst other pivotal recordings), the band retained only a cult following far removed from their current stadium rock elite status. For all that the murky enigma that was Murmur captivated, and the poppier Reckoning impressed, Fables of the Reconstruction is perhaps the most representative of the band during those halcyon days.

The band have always embraced their Americana roots, from songs such as ‘So. Central Rain’ to ‘Cuyahoga’, and here they make something of a concept album about the US. For the most part the music is a brooding and hypnotic as they got during their early period, but piercing the swampy gloom are a few jangly gems. ‘Green Grow the Rushes’ floats along a summer breeze with its airy melodies and joyous guitars, whilst ‘Can’t Get There From Here’ is a loopy indie rocker, like an earlier, lower production ’Orange Crush’. Elsewhere, from the fantastic if melancholic ‘Driver 8’ to the spiky ‘Auctioneer (Another Engine)’ things are introspective.

Unfortunately, the album’s prominent feature is its unevenness. Half a dozen songs here - those mentioned and ‘Good Advices’, ‘Wendell Gee’ and ‘Maps and Legends’ – are of the highest order. But the other half is forgettable, and together they lead to an ultimately unsatisfying listen. I wouldn’t normally say this, but I would recommend you pick up 1991’s Best of R.E.M, which concentrates on just the first five albums and captures the band at their offbeat peak.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Feeling Gravitys Pull – 4:51

2.       Maps and Legends – 3:10

3.       Driver 8 – 3:23

4.       Life and How to Live It – 4:06

5.       Old Man Kensey – 4:08

6.       Can’t Get There from Here – 3:39

7.       Green Grow the Rushes – 3:46

8.       Kohoutek – 3:18

9.       Auctioneer (Another Engine) – 2:44

10.   Good Advices – 3:30

11.   Wendell Gee – 3:01

Listen to ‘Good Advices’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI1e1YoHXO0