geez, maybe I'll have time to listen to this before I vote; probly haven't played it in 15 years. In '85 I thought it was a disappointment.
Alfred so wrong about "Can't Get There From Here."
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 13:50 (fifteen years ago) link
This one still sounds good all the way through. All that survives for me of the next one is Fall on Me
― Dr X O'Skeleton, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 13:52 (fifteen years ago) link
But you don't dance!
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 14:44 (fifteen years ago) link
dancing to rock only makes sense if it's, like, the Monks.
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 14:50 (fifteen years ago) link
I don't know how 'Wendell Gee' goes so I don't understand the praise for it here.
I do like 'Good Advices' quite a bit - it has sweetness and at least a veneer of wisdom.
'Maps & Legends' I am very fond of. I like the intuitive, reflex jangling of all this.
But there is no contest: with that shimmering riff, that shuddering tipsy feeling of love, loss and time as the track stops on a cliff's edge, that title even - LIFE AND HOW TO LIVE IT
― the pinefox, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 14:51 (fifteen years ago) link
I never quite understood all the love for that one - I saw them play it around 1999 and the guy standing in front of me went absolutely mental in this total "now I can die happy!" way. Sounds a bit of a mess to me.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 14:53 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm a big fan of this album - way underrated!
I'm going with the obvious choice of "Driver 8" because that riff is one of their very best.
― Moodles, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 15:29 (fifteen years ago) link
I want to vote for "Driver 8," but it's like the mid-80s suburban "Layla" -- EVERY fucking high-school-age ban
So OTM
― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 15:32 (fifteen years ago) link
live and how to live it
Driver 8 and how to drive it.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 15:34 (fifteen years ago) link
admittedly, i haven't heard the fucking thing in its entirety for some 23(?) years. but it just seemed like such a huge letdown coming after their first two albums that i could never really go back to it.
meanwhile, Matt's back!!!
― Ioannis, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 15:34 (fifteen years ago) link
haven't listened to this in a lonnnnnnng time, but it's probably not as bad as Green.
― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 15:35 (fifteen years ago) link
Green may not be as consistent an album overall, but it sure as hell had greater highs than this one did.
― Ioannis, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 15:39 (fifteen years ago) link
This is a great album and was FURIOUS live.
OTM. I was shocked at how loud they were (spring '85 "Preconstruction" tour). They're neck-and-neck with AC/DC. Or at least they were then.
― Sara Sara Sara, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 15:42 (fifteen years ago) link
Green
I don't see any highs here, really.
"Pop Song 89" – ehhh, whatever. "Get Up" – 2:39 not too bad"You Are the Everything" – 3:41 pretty good"Stand" – 3:10 I KILL YOU NOW"World Leader Pretend" – 4:17 overwrought bologna "The Wrong Child" – 3:36 --- ibid"Orange Crush" – 3:51 --not too bad"Turn You Inside-Out" – 4:16 -- ok"Hairshirt" – 3:55 -- i don't even remember this"I Remember California" – 4:59--crap. like side 2 of document but somehow worse. 11th untitled song – 3:10 --kinda cute
― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 15:43 (fifteen years ago) link
I like all the Green singles ("Stand" was the first REM song I ever heard), but this is the wrong thread. The second side's awful.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 15:44 (fifteen years ago) link
i dunno. a couple of those tracks are real standouts.
― Ioannis, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 15:46 (fifteen years ago) link
document is a bit better than green, but none of them really compare with the first 3 albums
― Dr X O'Skeleton, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 15:49 (fifteen years ago) link
Re: "Life and How To Live It": it's all about Mike Mills's bass part rolling up to the chorus. Incredible sense of excitement and arrival, and Stipe's lyrics are so animated! "My pockets are out and running about" somehow summarizes this entire area of their catalog.
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 16:16 (fifteen years ago) link
You guys are doing a damn good job of making me listen to this after work.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 16:40 (fifteen years ago) link
Not the first REM album I usually think of to pull out by any means, but pretty unassailable nonetheless. And Kohoutek absolutely SHREDS ME. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
― Bimble, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 17:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, I hope all the people saying they haven't listened to this in ages give it another spin!
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 17:36 (fifteen years ago) link
I love this album and even I haven't listened to it in ages. Am doing so right now. BELLS ARE RINGING THROUGH THE TOWN AGAIN.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 28 October 2008 19:40 (fifteen years ago) link
"Stand" – 3:10 I KILL YOU NOW
"Get a Life" hata
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 20:17 (fifteen years ago) link
not true. i liked Get A Life
― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 20:25 (fifteen years ago) link
"Good Advices" gets my voice.
The last four songs on Fables are the heart of the album to me, an EP within the album. "Kohoutek" augurs something awful with its drone. "Auctioneer (Another Engine)" is an attempt to escape the awful thing ("get me to the train on time"), with high-pitched screeching/feedback accenting the terror. "Good Advices" is an acceptance of the something awful ("at the end of the day, when there are no friends, when there are no lovers"), but there is no more fight left in the band. It's maybe their most country moment in that respect. Then "Wendell Gee" is a look back by someone else, detached, surveying the damage but narrating it from above or beyond.
― Euler, Tuesday, 28 October 2008 22:36 (fifteen years ago) link
The only album of theirs that I can stand (aside from maybe Monster). Loved it when I was in high school (back when it came out). If I remember correctly, lp would indicate that it's called "Fables of the Reconstruction of the Fables of the Reconstruction..." ad infinitum.
Probably "Can't Get There From Here."
― dlp9001, Wednesday, 29 October 2008 02:07 (fifteen years ago) link
WTF? I would love to live near a radio station that played "Driver 8."
― Mr. Snrub, Wednesday, 29 October 2008 02:42 (fifteen years ago) link
OK. Having just heard the album for the first time in years, I forgot how "Old Man Kensey" and "Kohoutek" go minutes after listening to them.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 29 October 2008 02:51 (fifteen years ago) link
Suggest Ban Permalink
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, October 28, 2008 11:36 AM (8 hours ago) BookmarkYup, did tonight. A hell of a record. Not their most audience-friendly moment, but less of a "closet" album than Murmur and all the better for it. Every song is better than the one before, almost -- at least, I found myself saying "I'm picking this song" until the next started, and that one was even better. Stipe's lyrics, when you can hear them, sometimes kick songs out of the running. (as in "Good Advices", which is funny and cool anyhow) (It occurs to me as I listen now that he's not a great lyricist, or a great melodicist (?!), or a great singer, but the band would have been so much less without him ... Stipe is the Ringo Starr of REM.) "Wendell Gee" nearly made a last-track nab for the prize, but "Green Grow the Rushes" takes it.
(Noticed for the first time that "Auctioneer"'s verses are a total U2 ripoff/pisstake/tribute [pick one].)
(After Fables was over, I put on Lifes Rich Pageant to see if it held up. Another record I haven't heard in years. It surprised me how good it was, still. Not as good as the first three, but still pretty awesome.)
― staggerlee, Wednesday, 29 October 2008 03:30 (fifteen years ago) link
I would love to live near a radio station that played "Driver 8."
that was the first r.e.m. track that i remember hearing on commercial rock-radio. it wasn't in heavy rotation, but it was there. (i remember hearing "pretty persuasion" on the same station, but i think that was sort of added retroactively a few years later.) but "fall on me" was the real breakthrough, that got a lot of play.
― tipsy mothra, Wednesday, 29 October 2008 03:32 (fifteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Thursday, 13 November 2008 00:01 (fifteen years ago) link
"Wendell Gee" for me. One of their greatest songs and anticipates the grandiose simplicity of their later great ballads - "Nightswimming", "Find The River" etc.
― Freedom, Thursday, 13 November 2008 00:18 (fifteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Friday, 14 November 2008 00:01 (fifteen years ago) link
Thanks for joining in, everyone!
This is one of those albums that feels like it has several "last songs" to me - like, all four of Wendell Gee, Good Advices, Old Man Kensey and Auctioneer would kind of work.
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 14 November 2008 00:08 (fifteen years ago) link
"Driver 8" is one of my least favourite songs on the album.
― Freedom, Friday, 14 November 2008 00:09 (fifteen years ago) link
25th Anniversary edition box set on the way
Originally released in 1985, R.E.M.'s 3rd album, Fables of The Reconstruction peaked at #28 on the Billboard charts and spawned two hit singles, Can t Get There From here and Driver 8. Breaking with their tradition of recording in Athens GA, the band recorded in England with producer Joe Boyd. This 25th Anniversary Edition features the classic album digitally remastered. The bonus disc is a complete run thorugh of the album done in studio in Athens, before the band left for London for the actual recording sessions. These demos have never before been released and feature three additional tracks, not on the final album, including "Throw Those Trolls Away, " a song the band has never released.The albums are packaged in a lift top box and include a poster and 4 postcards, as well as the CD booklet.
This 25th Anniversary Edition features the classic album digitally remastered. The bonus disc is a complete run thorugh of the album done in studio in Athens, before the band left for London for the actual recording sessions. These demos have never before been released and feature three additional tracks, not on the final album, including "Throw Those Trolls Away, " a song the band has never released.
The albums are packaged in a lift top box and include a poster and 4 postcards, as well as the CD booklet.
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 30 June 2010 18:47 (thirteen years ago) link
I would love to live near a radio station that played "Driver 8."funny, i was just talking to someone (older than myself) who was complaining about how overplayed Driver 8 was when it came out. it may have been the first time he'd heard REM, I'm not sure ... but it does seem weird. Certainly not an REM song that gets played on the radio these days, at least that I've heard. anyhoo, the re-ish sounds swell. love this record.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 30 June 2010 18:53 (thirteen years ago) link
"Life and How to Live It" so so good.
― grandavis, Wednesday, 30 June 2010 19:36 (thirteen years ago) link
It's a good time of year for this record, the swelter creating mirages everywhere until it ends in a thunderstorm & a rainbow.
― So Messi! (Euler), Wednesday, 30 June 2010 20:40 (thirteen years ago) link
Still my favourite REM album by a long chalk
― I saw Mommy kissing Santa Cruz (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 30 June 2010 21:55 (thirteen years ago) link
"Life and How to Live It" is my favorite. Looking forward to hearing the demos.
― timellison, Wednesday, 30 June 2010 22:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Does the reissue sound better than the thin, shitty-sounding original version? Or are the differences negligible, as is often the case with these sorts of thing?
If it's better, totally buying this soon.
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Friday, 31 December 2010 05:56 (thirteen years ago) link
This is exactly how Stipe's vocals should be mixed, but Bill Berry's drums sound pretty terrible.
― Mark, Friday, 31 December 2010 06:33 (thirteen years ago) link
Still way in the back, huh?
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Friday, 31 December 2010 06:38 (thirteen years ago) link
I've only listened to the clips on iTunes, but have to say that I think they sound AWESOME. I always thought that I didn't like the production on this album so much, but I know a lot was often lost in record mastering. Totally recommend checking it out.
― timellison, Friday, 31 December 2010 06:53 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah, the reissues sound terrific, with Mills and Berry being the real beneficiaries here, both in terms of mixing/mastering their instruments and the backing vocals. Also, the rawness of the demos on the extra CD is fantastic.
― Tub Girl Time Machine (Phil D.), Friday, 31 December 2010 16:05 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah, I wasn't talking about the reissues above, just the album in general. It is a weird mix, which give it a very specific vibe.
― Mark, Friday, 31 December 2010 16:49 (thirteen years ago) link
haven't heard the remasters, but it's been years since i last listened to fables of the reconstruction. REM were my favorite band circa 1985, and i bought the album on cassette, within a few days of its release, en route to my 1st semester of college. i bought it again on vinyl once i'd settled in. i dug it, though never with the intensity i'd reserved for reckoning and especially murmur. the songwriting is wonderful, and the album's best songs are at least as strong as anything they'd recorded previously, but i struggled with the fact that they were outgrowing the sound i'd initially fallen in love with, experimenting with writing, arrangement and production. "can't get there from here" is the most obvious example of this, but you also get strings on "feeling gravity's pull", choirlike backing vocals on "maps & legends", explicit byrds pastiche on "green grow the rushes", and so on.
i'm surprised but somewhat gratified to hear so many complaints about the album's sound, because, for better or worse, it was at the time REM's biggest, cleanest and punchiest production. sharp vocals way out in front so you could easily tell what stipe was singing about, with plenty of room reserved for guitars, bass and drums on each track. these qualities helped the record reach a broader audience, but something about it always kept me at a slight distance. it lacks easter & dixon's fanatical attention to sonic detail, and the production seems to favor "the tune" (its melodic and harmonic elements, especially buck's guitars) over rhythm and texture, reducing the importance of bass & drums in relation to the overall sound. it's big-sounding but a bit generic, and maybe that helps explain why i had trouble warming to it.
― contenderizer, Friday, 31 December 2010 18:20 (thirteen years ago) link
Wow, I hear this a lot differently. I think Reckoning sounds way "bigger" than this esp. re drums, and Stipe's vocals are pretty low here as well. To me it sounds like you are describing Life's Rich Pageant.
I mean, check these:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjDt9oOTPLo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW6d0uv1pW0
― Mark, Friday, 31 December 2010 18:26 (thirteen years ago) link
Surprising poll results; these are some of the best songs on there:
"Maps and Legends" – 3:10 3"Good Advices" – 3:30 2"Old Man Kensey" – 4:08 0
― jeanie bueller energy (morrisp), Tuesday, 5 November 2019 21:37 (four years ago) link
look at his shoes
ew
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 5 November 2019 21:39 (four years ago) link
at the end of the daywhen there are no friends when there are no lovers
― L'assie (Euler), Tuesday, 5 November 2019 22:16 (four years ago) link
what do you have to saaaaaaayyyy
― jeanie bueller energy (morrisp), Tuesday, 5 November 2019 22:24 (four years ago) link
Locomotive 8, Southern Crescent, hear the bells ring again
― Mule, Thursday, 7 November 2019 13:47 (four years ago) link
"Life and How to Live It" – 4:06 5
my actual favorite rem song
― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, 7 November 2019 13:52 (four years ago) link
No album sounds like this album
― Mule, Thursday, 7 November 2019 14:00 (four years ago) link
So there's a dude named Pablo Hidalgo who is a longtime employee of Lucasfilm in their Story Group and (until recently) interacted a lot with fans on Twitter. His wife Kristen is also on there and her handle is @ManRaySky, which is awesome.
― I don't get wet because I am tall and thin and I am afraid of people (Eliza D.), Thursday, 7 November 2019 15:14 (four years ago) link
way up there for me, too
― at home in the alternate future, (Karl Malone), Thursday, 7 November 2019 15:16 (four years ago) link
I've given this album more chances than most and it'll always be meh, but I do appreciate how the arrangements strive (and achieve) for a half-awake stumbling feel.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 7 November 2019 15:22 (four years ago) link
This may be their most criminally underrated album.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Thursday, 7 November 2019 15:23 (four years ago) link
Embrace the murk, Soto!
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Thursday, 7 November 2019 15:24 (four years ago) link
At this point every R.E.M. gets called their most criminally underrated album.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 7 November 2019 15:24 (four years ago) link
Except in this case it's true
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Thursday, 7 November 2019 15:30 (four years ago) link
r.e.m. didn't put out a "meh" record until reveal
― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, 7 November 2019 15:44 (four years ago) link
I feel like Maps and Legends should be higher than Green Grow the Rushes.
For me it probably would be Driver / Maps / Can't Get.
It is a pretty good record
― tempted by the fruit of your mother (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 7 November 2019 15:47 (four years ago) link
I usually skip "Maps and Legends", too much of a drone. It's the song where I understand why someone wouldn't like this album, or even this band.
But those last three songs, or even the last four: building up to a final relief. maybe today I would rate "Auctioneer" the highest. they're songs of a band exhausted by the road that already an album earlier was at best viewed ambiguously ("another Greenville, another Magic Mart"). but rather than write about I dunno, Bob Segar style, they characteristically code their images. But they build and build, from frenzy to anxiety to a final passing.
― L'assie (Euler), Thursday, 7 November 2019 15:57 (four years ago) link
counterpoint: not a drone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-2QlXO1SYY
― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, 7 November 2019 16:08 (four years ago) link
And then there's "Life And How To Live It," maybe the last of their great skittery jittery rockers where it feels like the wheels are going to come off at any moment - the descendent of Chronic Town and "9-9." After this record they still did plenty of great rock tunes but they were more locked down somehow - don't quite know how to articulate this but there's a nervous energy that gradually gets concentrated into something more focused, not necessarily better or worse but different.― Doctor Casino, Monday, October 27, 2008 11:23 PM (eleven years ago)
― Doctor Casino, Monday, October 27, 2008 11:23 PM (eleven years ago)
OTM on "Life and How to Live It". When Bill "Blue"Berry plays that disco-esque beat at such frenetic tempo (a la "Hyena", "Harborcoat", et al) it feels like a dangerously-fast downhill ride on an unfamiliar road. I also love the backup vox in the chorus, and those walk-up bass notes that precede it. "my CARPENTERS OUT AND RUNNING ABOUT!!!!..."
What's the deal with the liner notes and its listing of trakcs that aren't actually on the album ("When We Were Young")? Or did I hallucinate that like a "Wendell Gee" fever dream?
― Bill Bruford's drumbeat for "South Side of the Sky": proto-dubstep? (Prefecture), Thursday, 7 November 2019 17:55 (four years ago) link