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this is also a 'rate all the REM albums' thread

Oh ok then I'd rank the 80s stuff:

Reckoning
Lifes Rich Pageant
Murmur
Document
Green
Fables of the Reconstruction

I like all their albums except Around the Sun (yes, even Reveal) though - Automatic and New Adventures are the best of the 90s records, Up is underrated.

Which i do love dearly.

So what others have i missed??

It's got some great tunes, especially So Central Rain and Do't Go Back to Rockville.

After that I'd say it goes:
Murmur
Green
Fables of the Reconstruction
Lifes Rich Pageant

Then quite a big gap and then Document. I never really got into that one, with the exception of It's the End of the World.

...but Green is well worth your time too. Tends to get a rough ride from some quarters but there's some good stuff within.

Document is my favourite by a wide margin. then Fables and Lifes Rich Pageant, then Murmur and Green.

Document, though. Wow.

You could always get yourself a copy of Eponymous or the Best of the IRS Years and then get the albums that the songs you like best on there come from.

21 tracks, and not a duff one on there in my opinion. Rating the early albums I'd go as follows :

Reckoning
Fables Of The Reconstruction
Murmur
Document
Life's Rich Pageant
Green

It's very close though, they are all good.

Life's Rich Pageant
Reckoning
Document
Fables
Murmur

Murmur's great, obviously, but I can't remember the last time I put it on.

1: New Adventures - an absolute stormer; an amazing collection of songs all in the perfect order.
2: Life's Rich Pageant - Rocking Country-tinged at its best. I believe is one of my fave REM tunes.
3: Automatic - ...
4: Out of Time - ...
5: Document - Rocking; Finest Worksong is an inspired opening track
6: Reckoning - Simply for So. Central Rain, Harborcoat, Pretty Persuasion and Rockville
7: Up
8: Fables
9: Murmur
10: Green

Or another order on any given day (except New Adventures, which will ALWAYS be #1).

1. Murmur
2. Lifes Rich Pageant
3. Document
4. Automatic For the People
5. New Adventures in Hi-Fi
6. Reckoning
7. Fables of the Reconstruction Era
8. Accelerate
9. Out of Time
10. Monster
11. Green
12. Up
13. Reveal
14. Around the Sun

The last three are pretty much shit, but Up and Reveal have got a couple tunes on them.
11. Green

Lifes Rich Pageant
Fables Of The Reconstruction
Document
Murmur
Reckoning

Document and Murmur are pretty close.

...deserves a mention too. Only an EP (their debut) but it still sounds terrific, like a countrified Mission Of Burma in places!

None of REM's albums are totally worthless, & even the last couple scrape by on the back of a couple of v.good songs. At least 10 (TEN!) of 'em are essential listening, I reckon... everything up to (& including) Up is non-cringeworthy.

Top 5 (for me): Murmur / Fables Of The Reconstruction / Document / Lifes Rich Pageant / Reckoning.

the best 80s American rock there ever was right there.

also get REMarks; the book. you can usually pick it up off ebay / amazon for peanuts.

oh and get TOURFILM the dvd from the '89 tour. it's freaking amazing. here's a clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWUW1KCOm_8

1. Life's Rich Pageant
2. Document
3. Automatic for the People
4. Reckoning
5. New Adventures in Hifi

tough one, New Adventures is very flawed but also has some astonishingly brilliant songs. Green very nearly made the list instead though...

So Central Rain is probably the best song they've ever done though

best of the early years. time was it was blasphemy to even suggest otherwise. nice to see Pageant/Reckoning getting just as much love. heartening!

& New Adventures In Hi-Fi would both be TOTAL masterpieces if they were a couple of songs shorter?

1. Murmur
2. Automatic for the People
3. Reckoning
4. Lifes Rich Pageant
5. Document

I can't rank the albums from Murmur to New Adventures inclusive, they are all essential. People will all have different personal preference orders, but if anyone is an REM fan, the one thing we will all agree on is that every album is essential.

You can easily pick up all five of the 80s albums for under £20 on the internet, and to the best of my knowledge you can listen to all of them on spotify too.

Favourite is Life's Rich Pagaent, then Reckoning, then Document, Murmur and Fables. Although I've recently listened to Fables a few times over and like it a lot more than I remember.
They're my favourite band of all time, by way of a disclaimer. Completely agree on New Adventures above. By far my most listened to album of theirs no danger

and given there are only six to choose from, I dunno if you're going to get a very clear answer here!

Murmur and Fables... are my two favourite, but they're going to be the biggest shock to the system after their 90s stuff - I'd just start with Green and work backwards, tbh, I sincerely doubt you'll regret it (and Green and Document are definitely the most reminiscent of yr fave albums as listed).

seems to be the consensus above, and I'd go with that. The first two, Murmur and Reckoning, are considerably better than the rest of the 80s stuff - the others are still great, just not ten-out-of-ten-all-time-classic great. Fables Of The Reconstruction is hard to get into, if you get that then make sure you get the reissue from last year as the remastering helps lift the oppressive murk a little (I'd also heavily recommend the 2CD reissue of Murmur, it sounds wonderful).

Lifes Rich Pageant is a little bit variable, when it's good it's utterly outstanding but I think they were struggling to pull together an entire album's worth of stuff for that one. There's an obvious joke song, a cover, a song that had been rejected for the previous two records - you get the picture. Having said that, it has a few of their best songs on it. Document is brilliant, the second half is definitely a grower but it has a sound distinct from the others. Green is unique in their catalogue, there are a few bits which sound a little like Out Of Time but overall it's pretty different (much poppier) to the rest of their albums.

Honestly, the best thing might be to listen to a compilation on Spotify and see which songs you like best and then just follow that up. There are several good compilations of their early stuff - under the 'compilations' section for them on Spotify there's one called 'And I Feel Fine' which came out fairly recently and is pretty well chosen (there's a 2CD version of that too, ignore the second disc for now as it's odds and sods really), there's one called The Best Of REM, which covers the first five albums, there's one called Eponymous...take your pick really.

Finally, as mentioned above there also their first EP, Chronic Town. It's fantastic, and you definitely shouldn't miss it out if you like Murmur or Reckoning. It's not widely available on its own, but you can get the five songs from it on their 80s b-sides album, Dead Letter Office. That's on Spotify under compilations, and the five songs you're after are the 5-song stretch that goes from 'Wolves, Lower' to 'Stumble'. The rest of Dead Letter Office is as patchy as you'd expect for b-sides, but really don't miss out on Chronic Town.

Summary: all of them.

...well, for today at least. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwzxvxKBhbc

1.Up
2.Automatic for the People
3.Monster
4.Reveal (the flak this gets is bizarre)
5.Murmur
6.New Adventures in Hi-Fi
7.Green
8.Out of Time
9.Lifes Rich Pageant
10.Accelerate
11.Document
12.Fables
13.Around the Sun
14.Reckoning

Up is one of my favourite albums ever made by anything or anyone, and Reckoning is the only one I'd say is weak.

As for the 80's material, if you want studio albums go for Murmur first. If you dig a compilation, that recent 21-track is fantastic (even if it bizarrely lacks Maps and Legends).

Fantastic band nonetheless. Stuff I've heard from the new album sounds great, very excited.

Closely followed by Murmur.

Reckoning, Fables.., Document and Green are all essential. I saw them in 89 on the Green tour and they were brilliant.

Of the 80s stuff, I'd say Murmur, Document and Green are essentials, and Dead Letter Office too (b-sides collection which includes the Chronic Town EP).

But Fables, barring a couple of tracks, I really don't like. Not sure why either.

1. reckoning
2. automatic
3. murmur
4. green
5. out of time
6. fables
7. life's rich
8. monster
9. green
10. new adventures
11. up
12. accelerate
13. document
14. reveal
15. around the sun

MURMUR and RECKONING. Great, great records!

Here's an interview with producer Mitch Easter that offers some nice insight into the early, early days. Didn't know that IRS had tapped Stephen Haugue to produce Murmur...

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov09/articles/classictracks_1109.htm

Me, I'm a Murmur fan from the beginning. Always my favorite.

Reckoning (glad to get this acknowledged, awesome songs!)
Reveal (if just for the lifting, daysleeper and imitation)
Out Of Time (first album I got, sentimental reasons)
Automatic For The People (even if I don't listen to it these days)
Murmur (some ways its just as good as reckoning, but...)
Up (definitely needs to lose three/four songs)
Document (sod the hits, the second side is wonderfully odd)
Lifes Rich Pagaent (best opening songs?)
New Adventures in Hi-Fi (I know a lot of you love it but its a rehashed monster to me)
Dead Letter Office (always love a band's barrel scrapings)
Fables (never clicked apart from three or so tracks)
Monster (the grunge sound dated really quickly for me)
Green (too poppy then too patchy!)
Accelerate (not actually heard all the way through...)
Around The Sun (Not entirely awful but crumbles in comparison)

It's not that some albums are awful, it's just when they're good they're REALLY REALLY good! I've not been so into them since they became such a Corporation (94 onwards) and I'll never feel the need to see them live as they're too slick but they are in rotation of my top three favourite bands ever.

I've had the IRS Best Of for years, but one of my 2011 resolutions is to FINALLY get properly stuck into REM's pre-Green output.

Could be great if the free download track Discoverer over at www.remhq.com is any judge, though it's a continuation of Accelerate which I seem to be in a minority in loving.
For me:
1) Lifes Rich Pageant
2) Murmur
3) New Adventures In Hi-Fi
4) Automatic For The People
5) Document
6) Out Of Time
7) Accelerate
8) Reckoning
9) Green
10) Reveal
11) Fables Of The Reconstruction
12) Up
13) Monster
14) Around The Sun
And even Around The Sun has the gorgeous Leaving New York on it and Monster is half a great album, so "All of them" isn't so far from the truth.

but it is pretty decent, despite a couple of flimsy tracks. Living Well Is The Best Revenge is the best track I've heard from them in years.

I probably just like it cos it sounds a bit like Lifes Rich Pageant.

terms of live news:

are rumoured to be headlining hop farm and to be second stage headliners for V

is there?

I can't ever place it above Murmur. though if I were pushed I'd say New Adventures is their landmark. It represents every side of REM and the quality of the songs is consistently awesome throughout.

Incidentally I picked up my 3rd copy of Murmur recently (after the vinyl I got for £3 and the original CD I bought). On holiday in Seattle in October I stumbled into Peter Bucks local record store my chance, only to find all the REM stuff signed. I snapped up a copy of the deluxe Murmur. The second disc of a live gig in Toronto is amazing. The shopkeeper was cool, "He always comes in and signs whatever REM we've got. Murmurs my favourite, but I'd never tell him that....". Apparently he was in there the day before, dammit!!

picked it up in at the independent record store day last year. I actually love it. They really sounded like nothing else, straight away.

but I reckon that if we did a poll, then Automatic For The People and New Adventures in Hi-Fi would come out top.

So I would go and explore some of the 80s material, you're probably in for a bit of a surprise (and a real treat). Start with Murmur, or have a listen to the And I Feel Fine... Best Of which gives a great overview of the period.

1. New Adventures in Hi-Fi
2. Murmur
3. Fables of the Reconstruction
4. Automatic for the People
5. Monster
6. Reckoning
7. Up
8. Document
9. Life's Rich Pageant
10. Out Of Time
11. Green
12. Reveal
13. Accelerate
14. Around the Sun

But of those I own:

1) Reckoning
2) Murmur
3) Green
4) Out of time

I'd ignored them for years just out of distaste for their later input, but saw Reckoning and Murmur on vinyl really cheap (about four pounds each) and I'd read a bit on here about their 80s output being great so I picked them up. How wrong I was. Murmur and Reckoning are incredible (Out of time is shocking in places though), sounds like I need to try and find all the IRS albums.

Up
Automatic for the People
Murmur
New Adventures in HiFi
Out of Time
Document
Fables of the Reconstruction
Green
Lifes Rich Pageant
Reckoning
Monster
Around The Sun
Reveal
Accelerate

At the moment I'd go...

Reckoning
Lifes Rich Pageant
New Adventures...
Monster
Green
Automatic for the People
Murmur
Accelerate
Out of Time
Up
Fables... (fall in and out of love with this one all the time)
Reveal
.
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.
.
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Around The Sun

I forgot Document. That's between Murmur and Accelerate.

having been given a tape with Reckoning on Side 1 and Lifes Rich Pageant on Side 2, Begin The Begin was just the most exciting thing ever. them starting the Glastonbury 03 set with it just about brought on a cardiac arrest.