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From:R.E.M. , A&M ,
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#6313 |
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1 of 1 customers found the following review helpful:
Murmur and meaning, 2005-08-10
This classic album joins a list of auspicious debuts such as Bruce Springsteen (Greetings...), Elvis Costello (My Aim...).
Lead off by the college favorite anthem "Radio Free Europe" the band stretches out its fledgling talents guided by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon.
No low points and many high ones including "Catapult" which grooves and "Laughing" which sparkles and shines.
The Test Of Time, 2005-07-14
I know for sure that this CD stands the test of time because I just bought it and heard it for the first time in June 2005 and I love it. This is not a fond reminescence of the old days back in college.
I first got into REM with "Fables Of The Reconstruction" and bought every album until "Monster" (which singlehandedly eliminated my loyalty to the band). Somewhere along the way I also picked up "Reckoning", but as I grew disenchanted with the band after "Automatic..." I never acquired "Murmur". Until now. It actually didn't grab me on first listen (often the case with some of my favorite CDs). But after 10 listens, I know this will rank, along with "Fables..." and "Automatic...", with my favorite REM CDs.
Clearly the time spent honing their skills in Athens, GA paid off hugely in their first full length release. There are few artists in rock history that have produced such assured first releases. (Led Zeppelin springs to mind as one of the others). What really drew me in after multiple listens was the incredible musical textures of the songs. This may end up ranking among my favorite guitar albums ever, but not because of flashy pyrotechnics. It's the way Mike Mills, in almost every song, uses his guitar as counterpoint to the primary melody and, by doing so, creates an even more beautiful musical texture. Just listen to the fills he provides between Michael Stipe's lines in "Sitting Still". It's not about showmanship, it's about creating beautiful melodic music.
For that matter, Peter Buck also demonstrates inventive bass playing, much better than you should expect on such an early effort. Just check out "Radio Free Europe" or "West Of The Fields". REM was not a case of having a singer with some anonymous sidemen, this was a real working band that had something that was both "alternative" to the current mainstream, but that was also highly accessible.
Interestingly, after 10 listens I still have no idea what any of these songs are about. And I'm not sure I ever will. More interstingly, this music is so darned good that I don't care.
3 of 32 customers found the following review helpful:
 Imagine a lo-fi Kansas album without "Dust in the Wind", and that's what you have here, 2005-07-04
The best music to come out of Athens, Georgia is that of the almighty B-52's. With songs like "Planet Claire" and "Rock Lobster, they are infact the epitome of Alternative. Yeah, I'll get to REM in a second...
This early era of REM is embarrassingly bland and dull-- it reminds me of a subpar Kansas or Chicago release. I'm aware the sheer mediocrity of Murmur is blinding, but how could all you reviewers who gave this five stars say this mush is even halfway decent? It doesn't have anything special to it. I think fans of this REM record like to brag about the indie label because it doesn't have any real musical or lyrical value. I listened, and I listened closely several times, and there's nothing on here (not even "Radio Free Europe") that makes get up and say "Wow, that's unique". This was a chore to get through. I don't care what year this was from, or how different you say it was from the synth-ladden norm at the time; it's safe, boring, and utterly forgettable crap. Only someone on pot could enjoy something so boring. And based on the other reviews here that compare Stipe to Christ, I'm sure many of you are using other kinds of "medicinal enhancement" as well.
1 of 1 customers found the following review helpful:
bury me in the mulch, mom, 2005-05-19
Remember when R.E.M. was really great? Play this cd again sometime and you will. Largely acoustic, it defines "warm" and spawned a revolution of sorts in popular music. But the heck with that, it's just a super nice record made before Stipe lost his hair, stopped eating and went goofy.
2 of 2 customers found the following review helpful:
Brilliant album!, 2005-05-13
I remember playing this CD for a friend of mine last year and his response? - "That's not that original. It's just average, highly melodic pop-rock". This is true, but when I told him it was made in 1983, his jaw dropped. It almost blows my mind that music like this was being made in 1983, when crappy synth-pop and crappy hair-metal and crappy syrup-ballads ruled the radio. I imagine being a teen or young twenty-something in 1983 (though I was born a year later) and listening to this album as a breath of fresh air. R.E.M. defined college-rock in the 80's, and really the only other American band I can think of that this this type of music as well are The Replacements. Anyway, since this album, R.E.M. has made some brilliant masterpieces and a few duds, but they are still to this day one of the best bands around and as evidence, ALL their 80's stuff still works today.
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