R.E.M. - Reckoning

Great Chemistry, Great Album

This album was another great release in the same style as Murmur. R.E.M. at this point had established themselves in the music circuit with their jangly Rickenbacher guitars along with singer Michael Stipes' sweet, yet slightly muffled vocals. Not to forget the other members who make R.E.M.-Billy Berry with his hard hitting sturdy drumming amd the melodic bass of Mike Mills.

This release is a bit tighter and stronger than their first as heard on "Harbercoat" and "7 Chinese Bros.", because of it's overall meatier rhythm. Then it has "So. Central Rain", a mournful moody ballad about a love lost. which we all have experienced. The song "Pretty Persuasion" delivers in a big, hard hitting way as a perfect rock song. Overall the band still doesn't disappoint, with each song on this album proving their great chemistry and excellent songwriting abilities. April 22, 2008

A step down from Murmur, but no sophomore slump

Reckoning's first side is absolutely brilliant and arguably more impressive than Murmur's in terms of energy and variety of melodies and moods. The upbeat jangle of "Harborcoat," the inimitable pop enigmas "7 Chinese Brothers" and "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry), the jaw-dropping beauty of "Pretty Persuasion," and the elegiac ballad "Time After Time (Annelise)" all stand as some of the best songs R.E.M. has ever penned. Together they could have made a phenomenal EP and easily stood up to Murmur's impressionistic brilliance.

The second side, however, is decidedly lackluster except for "Second Guessing" (which still sounds like it could be a b-side to "Harborcoat") and of course the country-inflected "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville." "Letter Never Sent" is pleasant but ultimately forgettable; "Camera" plods lifelessly as the longest (and probably most disposable) song on the album; "Little America" merely retreads the album's other upbeat jangle-pop numbers with less memorable melodies and harmonies.

Still essential for its first side and "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville," but R.E.M. would really step it up with Fables of the Reconstruction, Murmur's true rival. April 3, 2008

Second album is still their second best

R.E.M.'s follow-up to Murmur is nearly as good, and although it lacks the distinctive edge that marked the debut, it's even catchier with pulsating riffs and the familiar Stipe mumble-to-plead vocal style. Also like Murmur, the two halves vary in quality (the first side is top-notch from start to finish, the second a bit of a grab bag with filler like "Letter Never Sent" and the somnolent, sometimes dull "Camera" mixed in).

They still hadn't directed themselves toward the beefier and harder sounds that would identify later work, nor had they perfected (or resorted to?) capturing delirious pop hooks. "Harborcoat" is still one of their all-time best songs and "Time After Time" is a delicate and iridescent dirge. Little known outside of the fan base and college rock listeners, it deserves as much, if not more, attention than their 90s mainstream hits like Out of Time and Automatic For the People.

Best cuts: "Harborcoat," "So. Central Rain," "Time After Time (Ann-Elise)," "7 Chinese Brothers," "Little America," "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville," "Pretty Persuasion," "Second Guessing" July 5, 2007

A Band To Be Reckoned With

Murmur wasn't a smash hit commercially, but rocks critics praised it to the high heavens. Rolling Stone even named it the Best Album of 1983, a year that also featured a little album from Michael Jackson called Thriller. So R.E.M. must have felt some pressure when they went back into the studio to record their second album, right?

The band again proved they were wise beyond their years when they didn't try to record another Murmur. As great as that album was, any attempt to recreate the same album probably would have been a disaster. So they recorded something completely different. Instead of pouring over every note and meticulously layering each track as they did on Murmur, the band recorded Reckoning quickly with as few takes and overdubs as possible. The entire record only took two weeks to record. The result was a studio album that sounds like a live album.

There are many people out there who prefer Reckoning to Murmur. I'm not one of them but it's easy to see why they think that way. Reckoning is far more accessible, chock full of blistering head-on rockers like "Harborcoat," "Pretty Persuasion," "Second Guessing," and "Little America." The album also features two certified R.E.M. classics in "So. Central Rain" and "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville." There isn't a stinker on the album, which is the case for pretty much every album before Bill Berry retired from the group.

The only complaint I have about Reckoning is that all of those head-on rockers sound similar to me. Don't get me wrong, they're all great songs (especially "Pretty Persuasion") but they also sound like songs R.E.M. can bang out in about five minutes, which may very well have been the case during the Reckoning sessions.

There are several surprises here, however. "Camera" is a tear-jerker about a friend of theirs who died in a car crash. "Time After Time" features some really cool tribal-sounding drums. And "Rockville" is an honest to goodness country song with a great, singalong chorus. Then there's "7 Chinese Bros." which is a great song in itself but perhaps more memorable for leading to the legendary "Voice of Harold," which is featured on the b-sides compilation Dead Letter Office. "Voice of Harold" is the "7 Chinese Bros" backing track with Michael improvising the lyrics by reading the back of a gospel album -- in one take. It's funny but it's also really amazing.

Speaking of Michael Stipe, I've always thought he was the "star" of Reckoning -- the same way I've thought Bill Berry and Mike Mills were the "stars" of Murmur. Peter Buck would get his chance on later albums, too. But Stipe really stepped to the forefront on Reckoning. The lyrics were just as great (if not better) than on Murmur, and his vocals were clearer and more audible on the second album. And some of his performances here are just spine-tingling. On "So. Central Rain" (my favorite song on the album), he desperately pleads "I'm sorry" and even though you have no idea WHY he's sorry, you really feel his emotion. The song ends with Stipe just yelling in agony. Great stuff. And it's hard to forget his country twang on "Rockville" or his powerfully understated vocals on "Camera" or whatever the heck it is he's doing on "Letter Never Sent." Michael Stipe is just fantastic on Reckoning.

Reckoning proved, once and for all, that R.E.M. was a band, well, to be reckoned with. Had they stopped after two albums, I think people would still be talking about them today. Luckily, though, they didn't stop there. June 11, 2007

More of the same, but it's good "same"

First the bad news: this sounds a lot like Murmur. Not an album I'd blame them for wanting to imitate, of course. But my only real problem with R.E.M. is that some of their stuff sounds exactly the same. Since I like the group's sound, I can overlook that at times for their other virtues. But after awhile they kind of painted themselves in a corner after a while. Plus Camera bores me silly, while Little America and Second Guessing seem like mere recasts of Reckoning's several triumphant moments.
So what are those triumphant moments? About five classics. I assume you've heard So. Central Rain (you know, the one that goes "I'm SOOOOORRRY! (doo doo doo doo doo) I'm SOOOOOOOORRRY!") - if you haven't, try to find a recording, fast. You probably also know (Don't Go Back to) Rockville. And if you haven't, that's another one to try and hunt up. You've also got your folk/worldbeat fusion (Time After Time, which has nothing to do with Cyndi Lauper if you were worried), you've god an eerie ballad with plenty of mandolin (Seven Chinese Brothers), your ethereal, complexely harmonized ballads (Harborcoat, Letter Never Sent, Pretty Persuasion) - enough to make this one of their best ever - maybe even better than Murmur, which would make it second to only Document. Good, good, good stuff. May 24, 2007

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