Throwback Thursday: R.E.M. – Murmur
Posted May 29th, 2008 · Artists: R.E.M.
R.E.M. – Murmur – IRS Records – 1983
One of my all time favorites, and I would guess that even despite the huge popularity of the band maybe some people are unfamiliar with this particular album. This was of course R.E.M.’s debut album back in 1983 containing the song that really springboarded them into popularity which still remains large today, “Radio Free Europe” (it was ranked like #6 of all time alternative hits or something in Rolling Stone or some other such publication recently). While that song overshadows the others in terms of popularity, the album just drips with quality tracks from top to bottom, and pretty much everything on here is great.
While the more modern R.E.M. sound has been personified by distorted guitars and outlandish Stipe stage antics, this album really shows what their original sound was, and honestly when you compare it against today’s modern cutting edge indie rock it stands up amazingly well. They really had a unique sound that combined clean guitar riffs and hooks and combined it with more upbeat and uptempo rhythms showing that in order to have songs rock out you didn’t necessarily have to turn up the gain on your Marshall to 10. While I do think that their new album “Accelerate” is quite good, this is really what I think of when I think of R.E.M., and it is an album that certainly captures that time period, but one that also stands up to the test of time really well also. I remember in high school my friend and I basically had every single R.E.M. album (pre-Automatic) on vinyl and their early sound is one of those things I will never get tired of.
R.E.M. – Talk About The Passion – From Murmur
I figure everyone in the world is familiar with “Radio Free Europe” so I will try to focus on lesser known gems, starting with this one. This is a slower jam, but is really a classic R.E.M. sound and has just a great sound. This is also where you see the jangly Peter Buck riffs in full force, with a truly awesome breakdown halfway through the song. The sweet Mike Mills backing harmonies also make a brief appearance here. Just a great, great song.
R.E.M. – Sitting Still – From Murmur
A more uptempo jam this time, with more shimmering guitar licks from Buck. Like the song above, one of those songs that you almost can’t help singing along with when it comes on. Just a great melody and a great rhythm, this song just works perfectly. The vocals on this track are just fantastic as well, where you hear Stipe almost even yelling during the chorus. I think this song is a real gateway to their late 80s sound that you heard most popularized on “Document”. Most songs on the album straddle the line between this kind of upbeat rock sound and a more introspective chilled out sound (as heard above).
This is really one of the great albums in my opinion, and still R.E.M.’s finest overall album by far in my book. “Automatic For The People” is a great album as well, and more adventurous musically I guess, but for the time this was really out there, and stands the test of time really well to remain a timeless classic album. I really could have picked any 2 songs off the album and they would be great because every track here is quality. I would say if you haven’t listened to this album in its entirety, go do it right now, because you’ve been missing out.
