Murmur - R.E.M.

Neil Young once memorably said, “When I find myself in the middle of the road, I start heading for the ditch.” Or something along those lines. The same could be said about REM, one band who despite major success have managed to retain their creative integrity. Although they can fill stadiums these days, major-league success didn’t come particularly quickly to REM and one always gets the feeling that they are slightly baffled by it. Long before they started troubling the charts, however, REM were releasing excellent albums which are well worthy of investigation by anyone whose knowledge of REM doesn’t extend any further back than “Losing My Religion” and “Shiny ...  Read the complete review

“Did he just say something about a two headed-cow?” This was typical of many conversations I had at the age of 16, whilst listening to REM’s Murmur. Having recently built on my back catalogue, I sat trying to work out what on earth Michael Stipe was on about. It really didn’t matter in the end though, as it was more the sound than the lyrics that I liked so much. Murmur was REM’s first full length recording, released on I.R.S in 1983 (it was recorded in January and February and then released in the April). Although not a massive seller at all at the time, it is now seen as one of the best albums from REM’s back ...  Read the complete review

REM's debut album often seems to get tonnes of plaudits but I find it to be extremely over-rated, I'm shocked that it's considered to be lively and even more so that Amazon describe it as "setting the precedent for the next 10 years of indie rock" - what a load of bunkum! The album starts off with Radio Free Europe which is a bit grungy with an awesome bass line. It sounds ahead of its time and it is a good glimpse of how the rest of the album will look like although it's a bit less aggressive than the majority of grunge. The overall sound is dreamy and hippyish with a bit of a bland sound. The piano and bass playing throughout the album is a strong ...  Read the complete review

Opening with the storming single, ‘Radio Free Europe’, REM’s MURMUR most rank as one of the greatest debut albums of all time. Of the twelve tracks, only maybe two or three are anything approaching ordinary. Most are stone-cold classics. ‘Pilgrimage’ is a multi-layered epic, highlighted by brilliant ensemble musicianship, perfect harmonies, and semi-spiritual lyrics. The plaintive beauty of ‘Laughing’ is followed by the warm sway of ‘Talk About The Passion’. After the more knowingly cryptic ‘Moral Kiosk’ comes the quite wonderful piano-led ballad ‘Perfect Circle’. That half of the ...  Read the complete review

REM's first full length album, I bought "Murmur" when it came it out in 1983, was completely bowled over, and have been a fan ever since. I couldn't make out half the words - and still can't. Books of lyrics have been printed by fans, but for some of the songs Stipe admitted that he was just singing anything that came into his head, also that he mumbled the lyrics on purpose to make them inaudible as well as incomprehensible. But it doesn't matter - this is a magnificent album. I think it's their best. I also think it sounds better on vinyl, but that's another matter. Don't let it put you off getting the CD. On some ...  Read the complete review