Murmur (1983) ( )

Artist: R.E.M.
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Product Summary
Label: Uni/irs
UPC: 00044797001420
Release Date: 5/11/1984
Buy.com Sku: 60095830
Item#: MJ3RX4
Format:  CD

Song Listing

Disc 1
Song TitleSample
1. Radio Free Europe ~ R.E.M.
2. Pilgrimage ~ R.E.M.
3. Laughing ~ R.E.M.
4. Talk About The Passion ~ R.E.M.
5. Moral Kiosk ~ R.E.M.
6. Perfect Circle ~ R.E.M.
7. Catapult ~ R.E.M.
8. Sitting Still ~ R.E.M.
9. 9-9 ~ R.E.M.
10. Shaking Through ~ R.E.M.
11. We Walk ~ R.E.M.
12. West Of The Fields ~ R.E.M.

(P) 1983 IRS Records Inc.
(C) 1983 IRS Records Inc.

 
Album Notes and Credits

Notes & Personnel Info
R.E.M.: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitar); Michael Mills (bass, background vocals); Bill Berry (drums).
Additional personnel: Jefferson Holt, Bertis Downs.
Recorded at Reflection, Charlotte, North Carolina in January 1983.
Leaving behind the garagey jangle pop of their first recordings, R.E.M. developed a strangely subdued variation of their trademark sound for their full-length debut album, Murmur. Heightening the enigmatic tendencies of Chronic Town by de-emphasizing the backbeat and accentuating the ambience of the ringing guitar, R.E.M. created a distinctive sound for the album -- one that sounds eerily timeless. Even though it is firmly in the tradition of American folk-rock, post-punk, and garage rock, Murmur sounds as if it appeared out of nowhere, without any ties to the past, present, or future. Part of the distinctiveness lies in the atmospheric production, which exudes a detached sense of mystery, but it also comes from the remarkably accomplished songwriting. The songs on Murmur sound as if they've existed forever, yet they subvert folk and pop conventions by taking unpredictable twists and turns into melodic, evocative territory, whether it's the measured riffs of "Pilgrimage," the melancholic "Talk About the Passion," or the winding guitars and pianos of "Perfect Circle." R.E.M. may have made albums as good as Murmur in the years following its release, but they never again made anything that sounded quite like it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
R.E.M.'s full-length debut is a landmark album that set the standard for the next 10 years of indie rock. The Athens quartet combined Byrdsy, folk-rock guitar jangle with obscurantist lyrics and a post-punk compositional sensibility to create a vibrant new sound that would soon be imitated by every high-school poet with a Rickenbacker guitar. R.E.M. was also one of the first bands to make the long, hard journey from college radio (when it was still college radio) to mainstream acceptance, and managed the difficult task of maintaining its integrity at every step along the way.
MURMUR, far from an embryonic debut, shows a fully-formed unit with a strong artistic vision. (It was preceded by two legendary underground releases: The "Radio Free Europe" single--which was re-recorded for MURMUR--and the CHRONIC TOWN EP.) Producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon's lofty reputations would have remained intact even if they had never worked on another record after this one. The gentle-but-insistent arrangements and glorious pop hooks of songs like "Catapult" and "Talk About The Passion" provide the perfect contrast to Michael Stipe's earnest, moody vocal style. Drummer Bill Berry's breathless effervescence provides the perfect backdrop for this album of jumpy, intellectual pop.

Producer: Mitch Easter; Don Dixon

Engineer: Mitch Easter; Don Dixon

 
Compilation Appearances
Dream A Little Dream
Where The Pyramid Meets The Ey
On The Charts: irsrecords
Diana: Princess Of Wales Tribute
Austin Powers-Spy Who Shagged Me
Vanilla Sky
KCRW: Sounds Eclectic Too (Live)
Bachelor Party
Tunesmith The Songs Of Jimmy Webb
Joel Whitburn Presents: billboard #1'
Buzz
2003 Collection: Live From Austin Texas
Left Of The Dial: Dispatches From The '80s Underground
Mary Had A Little Amp
Bewitched
Whatever: The '90s Pop & Culture Box
Chicken Little
Mtv Unplugged Vol 2:very Best Of
Athfest 10
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign To Save Darfur
Kurt Cobain:about A Son
Coolest Songs In The World Vol 7
He's Just Not That Into You (Original Soundtrack)

 
Associated Artists and Works
The String Quartet Tribute To R.E.M. ~ Artists, Various
Artists, Various
Pickin' On R.E.M.: The Bluegrass Tribute ~ On, Pickin'
Original Soundtrack
Original Soundtrack
Original Soundtrack
Pickin' On R.E.M.: The Bluegrass Tribute ~ Pickin' On
The String Quartet Tribute To R.E.M. ~ Various Artists
Various Artists
The String Quartet Tribute to R.E.M., Vol. 2 ~ Various Artists
A Tribute to R.E.M. [Tribute Sounds] ~ Various Artists
Fragile: The Piano Tribute To R.E.M. ~ Various Artists
String Quartet Tribute to R.E.M. [Vitamin] ~ Vitamin String Quartet
Sentimental Hygiene [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster] ~ Zevon, Warren
Zevon, Warren
Zevon, Warren

 
Technical Info
Release Date : 01/01/1987
Original Release Date : 1983
Catalog ID : 70014
Label : A&M Records (USA)
Number of Discs : 1
Runtime : 44m : 1s
Studio/Live : Studio
Mono/Stereo : Stereo
SPAR Code : n/a
UPC : 00044797001420

 
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.96)
- 5 stars out of 5 -- "[A]nthemic on a bedroom scale, danceable but not robotic, experimental without being oblique."

Rolling Stone (11/89)
- Ranked #8 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums Of The Eighties" survey.

Spin - Included in Spin's list of the Top Ten College Cult Classics - "...an unmitigated delight....spawned the entire breed of what has become known as `college rock'."

Entertainment Weekly (3/26/91)
- Rating: A

Alternative Press (8/01, p.112)
- Included in AP's "10 Essential '80s Albums" - "...REM made jangling guitars and mumbled lyrics hip again for American youth..."

CMJ (1/5/04, p.12)
- Ranked #7 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1983".

Q (Magazine)
(p.120)
- 5 stars out of 5 -- "MURMUR promised not so much a new American underground, as an undergrowth, rustling with secrets."

Mojo (Publisher)
(p.118)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "MURMUR remains the cornerstone of the R.E.M. legend, the reason they are important....An incredible collection of songs..."

Blender (Magazine)
(p.106)
- 5 stars out of 5 -- "[D]isarmingly beautiful music that mixes '60s folk significance with '80s new-wave ambivalence."

Blender (Magazine)
(p.67)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "MURMUR was a friendly ghost -- brooding but elegant, new-wave moody but folk-rock sunny, hesitant but hopeful."

Paste (magazine)
(p.60)
- "[T]heir sound emerged so fully formed that even after 26 years and 15 proper albums, it's still arguably their best."

  
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