In The Studio with Redbeard

Tag: “Maps and Legends”

  • R.E.M.- Fables of the Reconstruction 40th- Michael Stipe, Peter Buck

    R.E.M.- Fables of the Reconstruction 40th- Michael Stipe, Peter Buck

    After defining a neo-folk rock sound on their first full-length album Murmur in 1983, and refining that jangly style further with Reckoning a year later, indie band R.E.M. spun Fables of the Reconstruction in 1985, which put us on notice that all styles and lyrical subjects were fair game in R.E.M.’s rapidly-evolving future. “It’s a significant time-stamp within the band’s 14-album catalog,” writes Charles Moss in Spin, “a record about the American South, and what it means to be Southern at that time…” forty years ago.

    You will hear “Driver 8”, “Can’t Get There from Here”, and a rare live performance of “Maps and Legends” recorded in 1987 at McCabe’s Guitar Shop. With R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe and lead guitarist Peter Buck in my classic rock interview recalling playing for the door admission in clubs during their rice and beans days. Matthew Perpetua writing in Pitchfork described Fables of the Reconstruction (#28 on the Billboard sales chart)  aesthetic as “evoking images of railroads, small towns, eccentric locals, oppressive humidity, and a vague sense of time slowing to a crawl.” In other words, rural Georgia and the Carolinas.

    My interview with Peter Buck and Michael Stipe of R.E.M. includes the earliest days of the Athens GA band, with songs from their first four full albums Murmur, Reckoning, the transitional Fables of the Reconstruction, & Life’s Rich Pageant. -Redbeard

  • R.E.M.- Maps and Legends- Santa Monica 1987

    R.E.M.- Maps and Legends- Santa Monica 1987

    Us R.E.M. completists had to mow lawns, recycle cans, run for Congress, and other side hustles in order to save up for the “kitchen sink” collections of rare goodies from the prolific but now defunct foursome, Complete Rarities 1982-1987  (25 songs) and Complete Rarities 1988-2011  (a whopping 131 tracks). The band, along with several others, gave a benefit performance in May 1987 at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica CA that included “Maps and Legends”, a song which singer/co-writer Michael Stipe claimed to be one of his favorite R.E.M. compositions. – Redbeard

  • R.E.M.- Murmur/Reckoning- Michael Stipe, Peter Buck

    R.E.M.- Murmur/Reckoning- Michael Stipe, Peter Buck

    My conversations with R.E.M. lead singer/songwriter Michael Stipe and lead guitarist/co-writer Peter Buck about their first two full length albums, Murmur  and Reckoning, reveal a band remarkably cohesive and certain about its vision from the start. My interviews include the earliest days of the Athens, GA R.E.M. with songs from their first three full albums, Murmur (a perennial “desert island disc” for me, released April 1983); Reckoning a year later and peaking at #27 on Billboard; and then Fables of the Reconstruction.

    “We played for $40 a night for years,” R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck says matter-of-factly. “There were many $8 nights. Yet we never lost money on a tour. We’d always start in Athens GA, and make $800. And then we’d go to North Carolina and make $300. Then when we got out of that area, we’d open for somebody and they’d give us $50 or $100 to open for Bow Wow Wow in Detroit.” R.E.M. Murmur quietly emerged April 12, 1983 and has never left my essential music list, along with its follow-up Reckoning over forty years ago. Songs here include “Radio Free Europe”,”Pilgrimmage”, “Talk About the Passion”, “South Central Rain”, “Pretty Persuasion”, “Can’t Get There from Here”,”Driver 8″, and an ultra-rare live acoustic performance of “Maps and Legends” from McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. Murmur peaked on Billboard sales chart at #36 initially, but has only grown in esteem ever since. Rolling Stone magazine declared it their pick for Best Album in 1983; then #8 on their 100 Greatest Albums of the Eighties; #18 on the 100 Best Debut Albums; and on Rolling Stone‘s most recent 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Murmur by R.E.M. sits at an impressive #165. This edition of In the Studio lovingly dedicated to the memory of Barney Kilpatrick, who tirelessly promoted all of these early albums for R.E.M.- Redbeard