In The Studio with Redbeard

Tag: “Murmur”

  • 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

  • Live- Selling the Drama- New York City 3/97

    Live- Selling the Drama- New York City 3/97

    When the string of passionate, dynamic songs on the 1994 Throwing Copper   album by Pennsylvania band Live opened up like the petals on a rose bud, I was really impressed. Not since the R.E.M. days  of Murmur  and Reckoning a decade earlier   had I sat up to pay attention to such smart, purposeful songs played with such passion and conviction. The involvement of ex-Talking Head Jerry Harrison as producer should have been a giveaway that these guys were the nazz, but I always hold my breath when a great band seemingly falls out of the sky like “lightning crashes” until I have actually heard them live. Live Live, so to speak. Well, we can all exhale. Here’s “Selling the Drama” from a March 1997 performance in New York City. I’m sold. – 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

  • R.E.M.- Document- Michael Stipe, Peter Buck

    R.E.M.- Document- Michael Stipe, Peter Buck

    Document was the mainstream breakthrough for R.E.M. in a five album stubbornly eclectic alternate route to the top of the US album sales chart  in September 1987. My conversations with R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe and particularly with lead guitarist Peter Buck about those early IRS Records reveal a band remarkably cohesive and certain about its vision. This interview includes the earliest days of the Athens GA R.E.M. with songs from their first five full albums Murmur ( a perennial “desert island disc” for me, released April 1983), Reckoning a year later peaking at #27 on Billboard,  Fables of the Reconstruction,  Life’s Rich Pageant, &  their biggest seller to that point, Document in September 1987. “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.”( From left Mike Mills, Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Michael Stipe. Photo by Sandra Lee Phipps)

    R.E.M. Murmur  quietly emerged April 12, 1983 and has never left my essential music list, along with its follow-up Reckoning. Songs include “Radio Free Europe”,”South Central Rain”,”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. This edition of In the Studio lovingly dedicated to the memory of Barney Kilpatrick, who tirelessly promoted all of these albums for R.E.M.- Redbeard

  • R.E.M.- These Days- Utrecht Holland 9-14-87

    R.E.M.- These Days- Utrecht Holland 9-14-87

    One of the most bootlegged bands in the world, R.E.M.  packaged the September 1987 Utrecht Holland full concert as a bonus disc on the  Document   anniversary deluxe edition, the predecessor for Green  a year later. Listen loudly to  R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry, the first three of whom are here In the Studio for  that breakthrough album Document . –Redbeard