REM in general

Warning - unashamedly personal opinion - so don't anyone kill me! I'm afraid that I am one of those people who just can't get enough of R.E.M. In fact my very first CD was given to me for Christmas when I was about 13 - and yes you guessed it, it was an R.E.M. album. It was 'Out of Time', which makes me one of the late starters. (I was about 1 when they got together, so I'll hope you'll forgive me for that one!) But, since then I really haven't been able to stop listening to them - in fact, most of my friends thing I'm nuts. I have all 12 albums (no compilations I'm afraid - I just can't justify buying ...

REM are a band who've always had a recognisable sound, even when they've gone off on a tangent, and yet have managed to progress steadily through the years. Many people would argue that the early 90s was their peak, but what of the decade before and the decade after? Well let's find out! Here, and in technicolour, is the breakdown of all REM's studio albums. 1. Murmur (1983). 6/10. I very much doubt if many people hearing Murmur in 1983 had the slightest inkling that these jingly jangly songs were the work of a band that would later achieve greatness. The production's a bit muffled to my taste, and there's a bit of filler here and there, but still, there ...

A few days ago I finally completed my REM collection with the aquisition of 1985 album, 'Fables Of The Reconstruction'. As many do, I decided that a compilation tape would be appropriate. However, I had a problem - how do you fit the best of 150+ songs, spanning 18 years, on to a 90 minute tape. Well, the answer is, you don't - you cheat and make a 3 tape compilation featuring 64 songs. Anyway this isn't an opinion on my ability, or non-ability, to compile a 'best of' tape. It does, however, demonstrate the wealth of quality songs that have come from this band. In my opinion, with I think justifiable reason, REM have had the best career of any ...