The Album Review Club - Christmas Break Until 8th January

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

I'm sure REM will make an appearance here at some stage, if they haven't already (cba to look back). But I agree with you - everything from Green backwards is the real REM.

I'll instead argue the obvious that everything including all 4 original band members is the real R.E.M.

Three stages for me, the first 2 separated by the record label (IRS vs. Warner Brothers [WB]), and the last 2 separated by the presence vs. lack of Bill Berry:

1. The IRS Years (1983-1987): Murmur - Document (origins of the band and rise in following)
2. The WB Years with all 4 members (1988-1996): Green - New Adventures in Hi-Fi (band at its peak popularity)
3. The WB Years without Bill Berry (1998-2011): Up - Collapse Into Now (band riding it out more or less)

One of my 2 favourite albums of theirs came after Green, so I'll argue that the band wasn't real after that. And yes, they will get nominated. Maybe even soon?

 

[mancity111]

Ephemerality is best when it comes to David Byrne after all he said it as such and meant it on Letterman.

9/10.

One of the best concert film / documentary albums I have found to date.

 

[GornikDaze]

I'll instead argue the obvious that everything including all 4 original band members is the real R.E.M.

Three stages for me, the first 2 separated by the record label (IRS vs. Warner Brothers [WB]), and the last 2 separated by the presence vs. lack of Bill Berry:

1. The IRS Years (1983-1987): Murmur - Document (origins of the band and rise in following)
2. The WB Years with all 4 members (1988-1996): Green - New Adventures in Hi-Fi (band at its peak popularity)
3. The WB Years without Bill Berry (1998-2011): Up - Collapse Into Now (band riding it out more or less)

One of my 2 favourite albums of theirs came after Green, so I'll argue that the band wasn't real after that. And yes, they will get nominated. Maybe even soon?

Three stages for me as well, but the dates aren’t as fixed -

1) Bad
2) Terrible
3) Shite

;)

 

[Onholiday(somemightsay)]

I also have a review from the top 1100 thread from back in October 2021.

Interestingly, this is the album where after reading some of the reviews, Foggy came to the conclusion that some of us like to dance to music and some of us like the listen.

I’d also forgotten the controversy it stirred up when it was mentioned that there were lots of post-production overdubs.

Stop Making Sense (Live) - Talking Heads

Right, listened to it straight away to get it out of the way. I said after Remain in Light that I wouldn't be bothered if I never heard another Talking Heads album and listening to this has only backed up that hunch.

I'll start with some positives - even though this is a live album, the sound is light years ahead of Remain in Light. You can actually feel the spaces in between the instruments, you can hear the guitar strummed and the individual thump of the drums. "Pyscho Killer" is a great start, a good live version of a studio track that I enjoy. In fact the first few songs looked set to prove me wrong, but I didn't have to wait long to be disappointed all over again.

To borrow a line from Foggy's review of Joe Jackson (because it was so damn funny) and adapt it slightly, even though this is a live album, about 3 or 4 tracks in, somebody decided to push the fader marked "quirky keyboards" up to 85. As if that wasn't enough, a giggling schoolboy managed to sneak through the door during the post-production and added a load of weird random beeps and noises (oh, this is so funny, I feel like my sides are about to split). It makes you want to scream FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, JUST PLAY THE DAMN MUSIC!!!!

And did I mention that David Byrne is another "singer" (and I use that in the loosest possible sense) who you can add to the list of annoying vocalists? No? Well he's not the worst but he ain't great either.

6/10 (and only because I made the mistake of giving Remain in Light the same score when it probably should have been 4).

I remember that very review.............. :-)

 

[Saddleworth2]

I'll instead argue the obvious that everything including all 4 original band members is the real R.E.M.

Three stages for me, the first 2 separated by the record label (IRS vs. Warner Brothers [WB]), and the last 2 separated by the presence vs. lack of Bill Berry:

1. The IRS Years (1983-1987): Murmur - Document (origins of the band and rise in following)
2. The WB Years with all 4 members (1988-1996): Green - New Adventures in Hi-Fi (band at its peak popularity)
3. The WB Years without Bill Berry (1998-2011): Up - Collapse Into Now (band riding it out more or less)

One of my 2 favourite albums of theirs came after Green, so I'll argue that the band wasn't real after that. And yes, they will get nominated. Maybe even soon?

Just goes to show how loyal I am. They only really lost me after Adventures in Hifi. I saw them in 2 stages. Everything before Aftp. Everything after. Have to say I don’t listen to them that much nowadays. Saw them twice live. Once really good. Once really bad.

 

[RobMCFC]

Ok Rob, I’d like to have a go, and will join in with the weekly discussions.

No problem. I've added you to the list. The provisional date is 16th October, but things often change around due to people missing dates, so if you can have your write-up ready to go two weeks earlier, that would be much appreciated.

 

[mancity111]

I don’t disagree that in general I like many of these live versions better than the original album versions — “Found A Job” is the most obvious to me — but I prefer the studio version of “Naive Melody” for example, and it’s still true that this is a retrospective so the art was originally created prior to this. They also did a live album before “Speaking In Tongues” which isn’t as good as this.

I can get someone arguing that Little Creatures is great even though I didn’t care for it, but True Stories and Naked (except for “Nothing But Flowers”) are a sad decline with far less sonic innovation, less humo(u)r and a lot fewer hooks. It’s almost as if they forgot how to write after they finally hit the big time.

But I’m used to Johnny-come-lately Brits trying to argue late REM is better than early REM — which elicits howls of laughter from those of us who were with them from the get-go — so it’s all good. Just kidding :)

LOL

Chronic Town is a masterpiece simple as , if I could only listen to 4 songs from a single piece of vinyl for the rest of my days this would go close.

Anybody who thinks REM late and I mean Green onwards is more enjoyable to listen to and appreciate than their first 5 albums should listen to 83-87 again and again and again.

The odd good track like Texarkana and others I still play but album wise give me pre 88 anytime.

 

[RobMCFC]

I remember that very review.............. :-)

Whilst a lot of my favourite music is from the 80s, it's fair to say that it's a world away from this. A lot of posters I respect on here are giving it crazily high marks, so I'm clearly missing something, but I just don't see or hear it. To be fair, I did give it a 6, so it's average as opposed to not liking it.

But comparing 80s music to that made in the decade either side, it's clear that a lot of bands went crazy with the available technology and in most cases, to the detriment of the craft. I feel like this is one of them.

 

[Saddleworth2]

Whilst a lot of my favourite music is from the 80s, it's fair to say that it's a world away from this. A lot of posters I respect on here are giving it crazily high marks, so I'm clearly missing something, but I just don't see or hear it. To be fair, I did give it a 6, so it's average as opposed to not liking it.

But comparing 80s music to that made in the decade either side, it's clear that a lot of bands went crazy with the available technology and in most cases, to the detriment of the craft. I feel like this is one of them.

5 is average. 6 is slightly positive. ;-)

 

[Big Joe Corrigan]

No problem. I've added you to the list. The provisional date is 16th October, but things often change around due to people missing dates, so if you can have your write-up ready to go two weeks earlier, that would be much appreciated.

Do I PM you the artist / album etc?