To review the `Murmur`, the debut album from R.E.M. from 1983 in 2010, you really have to put it into the perspective of the day.
'Murmur' was ahead of its time. 'Murmur' was released on April 13, 1983. Okay, so U2 released 'New Year's Day' that same week, but 'Murmur' was surrounded by other new releases from Duran Durn 'Is There Something I Should Know', Christopher Cross 'All Right', Wham 'Wham Rap' and Falco 'Der Kommissar'. (for the record, 'New Year's Day' peaked at 28 before it fell out of the chart 9 weeks later. U2 were still to happen).
'Murmur' did little in the day. It was well ahead of its time. It peaked at no. 36 on the American chart back then and sold around 200,000 copies that year. It took it 8 years to sell 500,00.
Despite all that, Rolling Stone called it Album of the Year for 1983 ahead of The Police 'Synchronicity', 'Michael Jackson 'Thriller' and U2 'War'.
What it did do however was introduce a sound that would last for the next three decades. The band from Athens, Georgia was distinctly American sounding, sharing more in common with The Byrds than The Beatles. It was jangely pop for the 80s.
R.E.M. were one of the original Indie bands. Songs like 'Radio-Free Europe' sent a message of independence with its anti-music industry message but at the time, that was an easy platform for R.E.M. to come from. 'Murmur' was released on I.R.S. records, the label owned by The Police manager Miles Copeland.
'Murmur' was raw. R.E.M. became quite the polished band in their current Warner status. Latter fans might find it difficult to appreciate this band as indie but this is how it all started.
R.E.M. continued down this platform until their major label debut 'Green' with Warner in 1988. For their five albums with I.R.S., they were in their purest form.
Disc two of the anniversary album features demo versions of most of the album, an interesting cover of Velvet Underground's 'There She Goes Again' and a glimpse into the future with '7 Chinese Brothers' and 'Harborcoat' from the second album 'Reckoning' and 'Just A Touch' which would not appear until the forth album 'Life's Rich Pageant'.
'Murmur' has been remastered and with the bonus disc becomes quite an historic replication of a time where history was being made.
Also released, the sound and third albums 'Reckoning' and 'Fables for the Reconstruction'. We'll get to them later in the week.
