What R.E.M album should I get next?

[The OOTS]

Life's Rich Pageant. Coherant lyrics are overrated.

Also, New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Their very best.

STAY AWAY from the 3 most recent.

^

agreed!

 

[corianderstem]

It's funny ... when Life's Rich Pageant first came out in 1985, didn't a lot of people say, "Wow, we can finally understand what Stipe is singing!"

 

[Salome]

Life's Rich Pagaent always reminds me of U2's October in that the first half has some of the band's finest work on it while the second half offers (/suffers from) some of the bands most mediocre efforts

 

[u2popmofo]

STAY AWAY from the 3 most recent.

.

 

[LMP]

Life's Rich Pagaent always reminds me of U2's October in that the first half has some of the band's finest work on it while the second half offers (/suffers from) some of the bands most mediocre efforts

Begin the Begin bitches

 

[Zoots]

These Days

 

[u2popmofo]

Life's Rich Pagaent always reminds me of U2's October in that the first half has some of the band's finest work on it while the second half offers (/suffers from) some of the bands most mediocre efforts

Hmm, I don't really feel that way about either album. I can understand why some would though.

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

I'm not sure why the total lack of love for the last 3 albums. Sure they were slower, more ballad based - but they have generated some awesome tracks - Lotus, At My Most Beautiful, All The Way To Reno, Imitation Of Life, Leaving New York, The Outsiders, Suspision, Sad Professor, Beat A Drum, I'll Take The Rain, Final Straw... plus The Great Beyond, Bad Day.... the last 5 or so years haven't been a total write off!

 

[corianderstem]

I think Up is really very good. Reveal does nothing for me other than 3 songs (The Lifting, ... Reno, Imitation of Life). I HATED Around the Sun at first, but it really grew on me, especially after seeing them on tour supporting that record.

No mention of Fables of the Reconstruction or Document in this thread. Interesting.

Fables was a real grower for me. Document is ... okay. It's got a few really great songs, a few overplayed ones, and a few meh ones.

 

[Zoots]

It's got a few really great songs, a few overplayed ones, and a few meh ones.

Welcome To The Occupation, Disturbance At The Heron House and King Of Birds are probably my favorites. The One I Love and It's The End Of The World are great but ridiculously overplayed on the radio. Don't care much for Fireplace or Lightnin' Hopkins.

 

[If you shout...]

Murmur is the only essential R.E.M. album ever to have been released. Plenty of good songs and moments, through the years, but they never even came remotely close to topping it as a start-to-finish, straight-up, in-yo'-face masterpiece of a record. It starts and ends right there, though few of their (now older) albums suck.

 

[corianderstem]

Welcome To The Occupation, Disturbance At The Heron House

Ooh, those two are the best on the album! I also like Exhuming McCarthy, if only for Mike Mills background line at the end (which is now my new sig).

You know, Mike Mills is insanely awesome. Don't you think?

 

[LMP]

Document is a classic

Exhuming McCarthy
Finest Worksong
It's the End of the World As We Know It...
The One I Love
Disturbance at Heron House

 

[corianderstem]

Oddfellows Local 151 and Lightnin' Hopkins are two of my least favorite REM songs, but oh well.

Ooh, and Strange is on there, and that song's a whole mess o' fun. ... Refrain! Refrain!

 

[LMP]

lol yesss, forgot about Strange.

Fables of the Reconstruction is probably my least favorite R.E.M. album, I just haven't gotten into it.

I guess I'm just a Monster guy.

Circus Envy

 

[lazarus]

Life's Rich Pagaent always reminds me of U2's October in that the first half has some of the band's finest work on it while the second half offers (/suffers from) some of the bands most mediocre efforts

Umm....no. The Flowers of Guatemala is one of the most beautiful things the band has ever put to record. I Believe--as good as anything on side one.

What If We Gave It Away, while not a gem, is a hell of a lot better than side 2 filler from other R.E.M. albums, like The Wrong Child, Ignoreland, Monty Got a Raw Deal, Lightnin' Hopkins, etc.

Swan Swan H? Brilliant and one of the band's finest closers.

Plus, you get the "bonus" track Superman, which is a hell of a lot of fun.

Document always get propped up as the culmination of the I.R.S. years, but the two big singles in the middle of the album are so overplayed they're hard to sit through. As for side two, it's a lot more top-heavy than Lifes Rich Pageant.

 

[Salome]

I love "I believe"
I almost went insane when I heard them play it live

when you look at "the second half" of the album as being:
7. The Flowers Of Guatemala
8. I Believe
9. What If We Give It Away?
10. Just A Touch
11. Swan Swan H
12. Superman

then personally:
- I like Flowers but don't love it (personal thing definitely, I do see why people would love this track)
- think I believe is brilliant
- but to me What if and Touch sound a bit like b-side material
- Swan is very good again
- and Superman is fun, but nothing more than that

doesn't mean at all that the second part sucks, far from it even
but to me it is a bit of a letdown after the excellent first half (much like I feel about October)

I don't think such a thing as a mediocre R.E.M. album exists
to me they're all on a scale from good to excellent
if I have any complains besides how I feel about "Life's Rich Pageant" it would be that "Murmur" could have a bit more variety on it for my taste, "New Adventures" just goes on a bit too long and could lose 2 tracks as far as I'm concerned and "Reveal" also has a couple of somewhat weaker songs on it
but that's about it

 

[Harry Vest]

Lifes Rich Pagent is ESSENTIAL R.E.M.
PERIOD!!!

 

[LemonMelon]

I listened to Up and New Adventures In Hi-Fi yesterday:

Up was pure awesomeness from front to back. There were a few weak tracks, but generally, it was one of the best REM albums I've ever heard. 8.5/10

NAIHF was pretty good. A lot of clunkers, but some really great tracks too, and Stipe's vocals were great! 7.5/10

So far...

Automatic - 9.5 (Amazing)
Document - 8.5 (Great)
Up - 8.5 (Great)
NAIHF - 7.5 (Good)
Monster - 6.5 (Above average)

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[corianderstem]

Which songs on NAIHF did you consider clunkers?

I think the only ones I dislike on it are ... well ... gosh, I guess I like them all. My least favorites are New Test Leper and Be Mine, but I can't honestly say I hate them.

(And Zither, but I've never been a fan of REM's instrumentals. U2's either, for that matter.)

 

[LemonMelon]

Which songs on NAIHF did you consider clunkers?

I think the only ones I dislike on it are ... well ... gosh, I guess I like them all. My least favorites are New Test Leper and Be Mine, but I can't honestly say I hate them.

(And Zither, but I've never been a fan of REM's instrumentals. U2's either, for that matter.)

The Wake Up Bomb is just too cheesy for my tastes...Electrolite is a total Nightswimming ripoff...Binky The Doormat is too close to being a Monster B-side for my tastes...other than that, there's not too many other songs I dislike. It's a good record.

 

[Zoots]

Electrolite is a total Nightswimming ripoff

I've never thought of it like that. Electrolite is beautiful.

Your eyes are burning holes thru me
I'm not scared
I'm outta here.

Perfect ending.

 

[LemonMelon]

I've never thought of it like that. Electrolite is beautiful.

Your eyes are burning holes thru me
I'm not scared
I'm outta here.

Perfect ending.

The piano just misses that one note that it needed to successfully steal the melody of Nightswimming. I could play them over the top of each other up until the chorus.

But Nightswimming is absolutely breathtaking, so I guess it could be ripping off worse.

 

[corianderstem]

Oh, Electrolite is gorgeous! I love it.

REM has ripped itself off before. Listen to Finest Worksong (from Document) then listen to Turn You Inside Out (from Green). They're so similar that Stipe even dances the same weird Stipey dance to both songs during the concert film Tourfilm!

I've always LOVED LOVED LOVED The Wake-Up Bomb. They performed that on the MTV Video Awards and it just kicked loads of ass.

I think ... someone correct me if I'm wrong ... that some of the songs (Undertow, Binky the Doormat, The Wake-Up Bomb, Departure) were actually recorded live, and the sound was cleaned up (audience noise removed) in the studio. I love the energy of all those songs.

They performed each of those songs during the Monster tour, along with Revolution, which didn't make the cut for NAIHF.

Geez, the more I talk about it, the more I feel the urge to listen to it right now!

 

[angelordevil]

Geez, the more I talk about it, the more I feel the urge to listen to it right now!

I dare anyone to listen to it fives times, and not fall in love with it.

 

[U2Man]

Reminds me of high school

 

[LemonMelon]

I think ... someone correct me if I'm wrong ... that some of the songs (Undertow, Binky the Doormat, The Wake-Up Bomb, Departure) were actually recorded live, and the sound was cleaned up (audience noise removed) in the studio. I love the energy of all those songs.

They were recorded during a soundcheck, I believe.

 

[lazarus]

Which songs on NAIHF did you consider clunkers?

I think the only ones I dislike on it are ... well ... gosh, I guess I like them all. My least favorites are New Test Leper and Be Mine, but I can't honestly say I hate them.

(And Zither, but I've never been a fan of REM's instrumentals. U2's either, for that matter.)

I LOVE Be Mine!! It takes a long time to get going but I just love the guitar part Buck's playing on that.

And I think New Test Leper is pretty standout too.

The clunkers on the album are Departure (generic rock song) and Bittersweet Me, which, like Bang and Blame on the album before it, mystifies me as a choice for a single.

Binky the Doormat at least sounds fairly original.

I also don't see how one could accuse NAIHF of having filler and not feel the same way about Up, which is great but could also have benefitted from being a couple songs shorter.

 

[corianderstem]

I'll concede your point about Bittersweet Me. Okay, and Departure. Kind of.

 

[namkcuR]

I listened to Up and New Adventures In Hi-Fi yesterday:

Up was pure awesomeness from front to back. There were a few weak tracks, but generally, it was one of the best REM albums I've ever heard. 8.5/10

NAIHF was pretty good. A lot of clunkers, but some really great tracks too, and Stipe's vocals were great! 7.5/10

So far...

Automatic - 9.5 (Amazing)
Document - 8.5 (Great)
Up - 8.5 (Great)
NAIHF - 7.5 (Good)
Monster - 6.5 (Above average)

Thanks for your help everyone!

You still haven't gotten Out Of Time? Dude, get it!

Shiny Happy People, Country Feedback, Low, Endgame, Near Wild Heaven, Half A World A Way, Texakana, Belong, not to mention REM's stairway, Losing My Religion!

Shiny Happy People is catchy as hell. Radio Song is almost as catchy. Endgame, Low, and Country Feedback are haunting. Near Wild Heaven is beautiful(especially the harmonies in the chorus). Belong is beautiful and uplifting. Losing My Religion is the quintessential REM song.

This is one REM's very best - in fact THE best imo. Get it!