R.E.M. Sigh.

ICBM

*Not* in preference order, because that's too hard…

Maybe:

Life's Rich Pageant
Document
New Adventures In Hi-Fi
Up
Around The Sun

But I'm not even sure about that - they've just been too consistently good. There are at least ten albums in my top five .

Sesh

At this exact moment:

New Adventures in Hi Fi

Murmur

Monster

Reckoning

Green

Liable to change before the end of this sentence. Reveal and Around the Sun are the least likely to get into my top five, but the rest all have a fair chance depending on my mood.

camf

Since I started this...

Document
Life's Rich Pagent
Monster
New Adventures in Hi Fi
Murmur

Roughly... I think... for now.

stickyfiddle

Everyone's saying NAIH-F. I'm going to have to give it another listen...

BigLicks67

Life's Rich Pageant
Document
Green
Fables of The Reconstruction
Reckoning

After "Green" I lost interest I'm afraid.

camf

I had to think about NAIH-F but I was listening to it yesterday, so it was in my mind. I coud easily have demoted it, bumped up Murmur and put Reckoner in there. So many good albums.

UnclePsychosis

camf said:

So top five favourite R.E.M. albums in order?

You're a bad man, that's an impossible question. I've deliberately not read anyone else's replies so as not to colour my own thoughts...

5. Up

4. Reckoning

3. Life's Rich Pageant

2. New Adventures In Hi-Fi

1. Monster

Automatic for the People and Murmur just missing out. On a different day it would probably be a different five and a different order.

Absolutely one of my all-time favourite bands. They went a bit downhill in the later years (Reveal and Around The Sun are mostly forgettable although there are a couple of tracks on Accelerate that I think are fantastic: Living Well Is The Best Revenge in particular). Big influence on me musically although I always wanted to be Mike Mills rather than Peter Buck. I try to play bass like Mike, although weirdly there's very few REM songs I've actually bothered to learn---stylistic aping rather than actually working out what he does.

dindude

stickyfiddle said:

Everyone's saying NAIH-F. I'm going to have to give it another listen...

Yes you really must. Leave, Undertow, So Fast So numb, E-bow the Letter - some of my fav REM songs right there.

UnclePsychosis

dindude said:

stickyfiddle said:

Everyone's saying NAIH-F. I'm going to have to give it another listen...

Yes you really must. Leave, Undertow, So Fast So numb, E-bow the Letter - some of my fav REM songs right there.

Hell yes. Bittersweet Me, New Test Leper, Electrolite---YES. YES. YES.

Gassage

Useless piece of info...automatic was called so because of the guy that worked behind the pizza counter in Athens, Georgia, who handed every pizza over by saying 'Automatic, for the people...'

stickyfiddle

I've also missed Reveal, which isn't their best but I love Imitation of Life, and it was the first REM record I really got into.

TonyR

I've never been a huge REM fan if I'm honest but I recently bought "Reckoning" as I like "Don't Go Back To Rockville" - I had the 12" single back in the day. 

I have to to say other than that track I found it rather dull, I was very disappointed.

Gassage

Perfection

camf

Haven't seen that before... very good.

DarnWeight

Man, this thread has had me trawling youtube for far longer than I should. Good quality live REM stuff from the 80s is really tough to find...either the video or audio quality is usually lacking. This audio-only version of Welcome To The Occupation from a date on the Green tour is, however, total spine-tingling greatness...



I love that song.

 I'd raise the stakes with a call for top five songs, but it's tough enough ranking the albums.

SimpleSimon

Great band with a great catalogue of music that is earthy, edgey and sometimes fragile beauty. Saw them in '99 headlining Glastonbury. They were fucking amazing. They did dwindle out a little but i think that was more reflective of where real music was going at that time, with people worshiping the whole X Factor generation and disposable artists. Age and family comittments of the band must have played a big part too. How many bands get almost 4 decades in?

Gassage

Stipe (IMO) is one of the greatest vocalists of all time. Unique voice, incredible timbre and depth and most of all, dripping with emotion.

Superb live.

Gassage

Stipe was party to one of the best things I've ever seen live.

Werchter festival 1999- they did The One I Love as a thunderstorm approached.

Stipe bellows out 'Fii-re....' and a bolt of lighting goes down behind the stage.

I was like 'OwwwKay...he's god.'

Teetonetal

Massive REM fan - another band that stayed close to the top of their game for a long time. Stipe just has a really interesting voice. Pretty pleased that they decided to retire though before declining too much. More bands should do that.

ICBM

I think there are great songs on every album - including Around The Sun, which I know I'm unusual in liking, but I really do (Leaving New York and The Outsiders are two of my favourites).

I could just just as easily have made my top five Fables Of The Reconstruction, Green, Automatic For The People, Monster and Accelerate.