mail: daniel_fjall@hotmail.com
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murmur lifes rich pageant
Murmur Although the rockers doesn’t rock, the ballads doesn’t bring tears to the eyes and the pop oriented songs doesn’t makes you sing along, there is something about this album that is instantly likeable and easily receivable. Maybe it is the humble vocals of Michael Stipe, maybe it is the guitars of Peter Buck or the steady rhythm section of Mike Mills and Bill Berry. It’s probably a combination of all ingredients. A combination that manages to delete each and every separate taste and individual sound of the various instruments into a feeling of completeness and a unison whole. Without a blink I could point out a few highlights, even if the albums is pretty strong without any true fillers. However, the extremely beautiful “Perfect Circle” stands out immediately, probably because the piano is in the foreground and not just serving as a compliment somewhere way back as on other songs. And the gorgeous melody certainly has something to do with it as well. “We Walk” sounds like it is coming straight out of the 60’s, thanks to the simple melody and arpeggioed guitars. “Shaking Through” and “Pilgrimage” are two other highlights. The latter being the most ambitious track on the album with clever arrangement, and the first is pure pop. The problem with Murmur is just what I stated in the beginning. Whilst the slightly anonymity of the songs could be considered a strength, it also is a clear weakness. A set of lesser songs probably would have suffered a lot more from the sometimes dull performance. In the end, R.E.M. gets away with it thanks to the distinct vocals, the strong songwriting and the feeling the band delivers in the song. It’s quite hard to not like Murmur, even if it is just as hard to point out why, exactly, you like it.
Lifes Rich Pageant After a stumbling couple of albums following Murmur, R.E.M. returns with a new, refreshing sound. Their ‘radio’-sound that they’re still occupied with to some extent. Since I haven’t exactly watched every move the band made over the years, I wasn’t sure what to expect from their earlier albums. The first thought that hit about this album was ‘Hey! These guys sounds like R.E.M.!’. While I’m sure it made fans of the bands first three albums disappointed and accusations of selling out and failing the original artistic vision was prominent, I can’t fully agree. Basically because these songs sounds damn good. The production, the arrangements and the fact that there some of the older ideas remains intact, even if slightly disguised. Despite the much richer arrangements, the melodies are in the foreground and Stipe sings them convincingly. He has grown and taken control over the microphone instead of using it as a shelter, instead of hiding behind it he has realized that microphones were invented to be heard better. Lifes Rich Pageant has R.E.M. being undisputable good, rather than relying on charm that might not appeal to everyone as they did on the debut. I still like Murmur, but consider it a weak 8, whilst Lifes Rich Pageant is a very strong 8. What else could be expected when you get songs such as “Fall On Me”, “Cuyahoga” and “Hyena”?
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