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| Artist: R.E.M. |
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Product Summary
Song Listing
Disc 1
Song Title
Sample
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.
Album Notes and Credits
Notes & Personnel Info |
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R.E.M.: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitar); Michael Mills (bass, background vocals); Bill Berry (drums). |
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Additional personnel: Jefferson Holt, Bertis Downs. |
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Recorded at Reflection, Charlotte, North Carolina in January 1983. |
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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. |
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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 |
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Engineer: Mitch Easter; Don Dixon |
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Entertainment Reviews
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R.E.M. - Murmur - CD Review
By: Liam Curran
Blogcritics.org Reviews
Published on: 11/22/2010 4:12 AM
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| Before sitting down to listen to Murmur, the debut full-length album by alternative rock band R.E.M., I read some other critic’s reviews. I was shocked that an album had gotten full marks from so many critics across the board and was interested to see how it would stand up almost 30 years after its release. The first thing that struck was its expertise instrumentally. Bill Berry’s considered drumming, Mike Mills’ melodic bass lines, and Peter Buck’s chiming guitar chords, while fitting together similarly in each song, each time provide a layered, indie pop classic with a different feel. Pilgrimage is dominated by Mills’ prominent bass line, while Buck moves from reverberating chords on "9-9" to upbeat guitar chops on "We Walk" and of course his famed wide open-string guitar jangles which are prevalent on most songs....read the full review | |
Compilation Appearances
Associated Artists and Works
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On, Pickin' |
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Original Soundtrack |
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Pickin' On |
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Vitamin String Quartet |
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Sentimental Hygiene [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster] ~ Zevon, Warren |
Technical Info
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Release Date : 01/01/1987 |
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Original Release Date : 1983 |
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Catalog ID : 70014 |
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Label : A&M (USA) |
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Number of Discs : 1 |
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Studio/Live : Studio |
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Mono/Stereo : Stereo |
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SPAR Code : n/a |
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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."
- 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.
- 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
- 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..."
- 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".
- 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."
(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..."
(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."
(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."
(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."
(p.60)
- "[T]heir sound emerged so fully formed that even after 26 years and 15 proper albums, it's still arguably their best."
Uncut (magazine)
- 5 stars out of 5 -- "It is no exaggeration to suggest that MURMUR amounts to a Rosetta Stone for what is now thought of as indie rock..."
- 5 stars out of 5 -- "It is no exaggeration to suggest that MURMUR amounts to a Rosetta Stone for what is now thought of as indie rock..."
