R.E.M. was formed in Athens, Georgia by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassplayer Mick Mills and drummer Bill Berry. In 1981 they recorded and released the single "Radio Free Europe" for their own expenses. The single got a lot of airplay on college-radiostations, and the magazine "Village Voice" chose it as the indie single of the year. This earned the band a contract with the I.R.S. label and in 1982 the mini-album "Chronic Town" was released.
Their first regular album "Murmur" was released in 1982 and got fine reviwes and even reached the top 40 on the charts. At this time the band was surrounded by some mystery due to Stipe often weird lyrics that were often almost whispered. The band toured a lot were growing as live-performers
In 1984 "Reckoning" was released; again produced by Mitch Easter.
In 1985 the group went to England to tour and record a new album with legenday Joe Boyd as the producer. The album "Fables of the Reconstruction" was actually a big success, but their big commercial break-through still did not happen
With a new album "Life´s Rich Pageant" and the single "Fall on Me" their reputation was still growing and a compilation album of rarities "Dead Letter Office" was released in early 1987.
Finally with the album "Document" produced by Scott Litt came the big breakthough. Stipe´s vocals were put up in front now much easier to understand. The album contained the big hit single "The One I Love" and the anthem "It´s the End of the World as we Know it". The band was known for strong political views which were often expressed in the band´s lyrics.
The band signed with Warner Brothers in 1988 and their success continued with world-wide hit singles like "Losing My Religion", "Man on the Moon" and "What´s the Frequency, Kenneth"
In 1989 keyboard player Peter Holsapple was introduced as a more less permanent member and he was featured on the albums and live performanced until 1995.
In 1997 Bill Berry decided to leave the band, and the band continued as a trio using various drummers.
Band Members:
Michael Stipe: Born 1960, vocals.
Peter Buck: Born 1956, guitar, mandolin and keyboards
Mike Mills: Born 1958, bass, keyboards and backing-vocals .
Bill Berry: Born 1958, drums. Left the band in 1997
Peter Holsapple: Keyboards. In the band from 1989-95
Discography - IRS 1982-88
1. Chronic Town - IRS SP 70502 - 1982
Tracks: 1. Wolves, Lower / 2. Gardening At Night / 3. Carnival Of Sorts / 4. 1,000,000 / 5. Stumble
Rating : 5
Tracks: 1. Radio Free Europe / 2. Pilgrimage / 3. Laughing / 4. Talk About The Passion / 5. Moral Kiosk / 6. Perfect Circle / 7. Catapult / 8. Sitting Still / 9. 99 / 10. Shaking Through / 11. We Walk / 12. West Of The Fields / 13. There She Goes Again [*] / 14. 9-9 [Live][*] / 15. Gardening at Night [Live][*] / 16. Catapult [Live][*]
Rating : 7
Tracks: 1. Harborcoat / 2. 7 Chinese Brothers / 3. So. Central Rain / 4. Pretty Persuasion / 5. Time After Time / 6. Second Guessing / 7. Letter Never Sent / 8. Camera / 9. (Don't Go Back To) Rockville / 10. Little America / 11. Wind Out [*] / 12. Pretty Persuasion [Live][#] / 13. White Tornado [Live][#] / 14. Tighten Up [*] /15. Moon River [*]
Rating : 7
4. Fables Of The Reconstruction - IRS-5592 - 1985
Tracks: 1. Feeling Gravitys Pull / 2. Maps And Legends / 3. Driver 8 / 4. Life And How To Live It / 5. Old Man Kensey / 6. Cant Get There From Here / 7. Green Grow The Rushes / 8. Kohoutek / 9. Auctioneer / 10. Good Advices / 11. Wendell Gee / 12. Crazy* / 13. Burning Hell* / 14. Bandwagon* / 15. Driver 8* (Live) / 16. Maps And Legends* (Live)
Rating : 7
5. Lifes Rich Pageant - IRS-5783 - 1986
Tracks: 1. Begin the begin / 2. Hyena / 3. Just a touch / 4. I believe / 5. These days / 6. Flowers of Guatemala / 7. Cuyahoga / 8. What if we give it away / 9. Fall on me / 10. Swan swan H / 11. Tired of singing trouble / 12. Rotary ten / 13. Toys in the attic / 14. Just a touch (2) / 15. Dream (All I have to do) / 16. Swan swan H (2)
Rating : 8
6. Dead Letter Office - IRS SP 70054 - 1987
Tracks: 1. Crazy / 2. There She Goes Again / 3. Burning Down / 4. Voice of Harold / 5. Burning Hell / 6. White Tornado / 7. Toys in the Attic / 8. Windout / 9. Ages of You / 10. Pale Blue Eyes / 11. Rotary Ten / 12. Bandwagon / 13. Femme Fatale / 14. Wolves, Lower / 15. King of the Road / 16. Wolves, Lower [*] / 17. Gardening at Night [*] / 18. Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars) [*] / 19. 1,000,000 [*] / 20. Stumble [*] / 21. Gardening at Night [Acoustic] / 22. All the Right Friends [*]
Rating : 5
Tracks: 1. Finest worksong / 2. Welcome to the occupation / 3. Exhuming McCarthy / 4. Disturbance at the Heron House / 5. Strange / 6. It's the end of the world as we know it / 7. One I love / 8. Fireplace / 9. Lightnin'Hopkins / 10. King of birds / 11. Oddfellows local 151 / 12. Finest worksong (2) / 13. Last date / 14. One I love (2) / 15. Time after time / 16. Disturbance at the Heron House (2) / 17. Finest worksong (3)
Rating : 8
8. Eponymous ( compilation ) - IRS-6262 - 1988
Tracks: 1. Gardening At Night / 2. So Central Rain / 3. Driver 8 / 4. Fall On Me / 5. Finest Worksong / 6. Talk About The Passion / 7. Can't Get There From Here / 8. Romance / 9. One I Love / 10. It's The End Of The World As We Know It / 11. Radio Free Europe / 12. Don't Go Back To Rockville
Rating : 7
9. The Best Of R.E.M. ( compilation ) - IRS DMIRH 1 - 1991
Tracks: 1. Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars) / 2. Radio Free Europe / 3. Perfect Circle / 4. Talk About the Passion / 5. So. Central Rain / 6. (Don't Go Back To) Rockville / 7. Pretty Persuasion / 8. Green Grow the Rushes / 9. Can't Get There From Here / 10. Driver 8 / 11. Fall on Me / 12. I Believe / 13. Cuyahoga / 14. The One I Love / 15. Finest Worksong / 16. It's the End of the World as We Know
Rating : 8
Tracks: 1. Radio Free Europe / 2. There She Goes Again / 3. So Central Rain / 4. King Of The Road / 5. Don't Go Back To Rockville / 6. Catapult / 7. Can't Get There From Here / 8. Bandwagon / 9. Wendell Gee / 10. Crazy / 11. Fall On Me / 12. Rotary Ten / 13. Superman / 14. White Tornado / 15. One I Love / 16. Maps And Legends / 17. It's The End Of The World As We Know It / 18. Last Date / 19. Finest Worksong / 20. Time After Time / 21. So Central Rain
Rating : 8
11. R.E.M. In The Attic - Capitol / EMI 72438-21321-2-7 - 1997
Tracks: 1. Finest Worksong / 2. Driver 8 / 3. Gardening At Night / 4. Swan Swan H / 5. Disturbance At The Heron House / 6. Maps And Legends / 7. Tired of Singing Trouble / 8. Just A Touch / 9. Toys In The Attic / 10. Dream (All I Have To Do Is Dream) / 11. The One I Love / 12. Crazy / 13. Can't Get There From Here / 14. Last Date
Rating :
My Suggestion For a 80 minutes (app.) Best Of Compilation:
1. Wendell Gee ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Fables of the Reconstruction
2. Fall on Me ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Life´s Rich Pageant
3. Maps and Legends ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Fables of the Reconstruction
4. Cuyahoga ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Life´s Rich Pageant
5. The One I Love ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Document
6. It's The End of the World as we Know it ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Document
7. Harborcoat ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Reckoning
8. Seven Chinese Brothers ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Reckoning
9. The Flowers of Guatemala ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Life's Rich Pageant
10. What if we Give it Away ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Life's Rich Pageant
11.Sitting Still ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Murmur
12. Radio Free Europe ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Murmur
13. Shaking Through ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Murmur
14. Rockville ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Reckoning
15. Driver 8 ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Fables of the Reconstruction
16. Green Grow the Rushes( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Fables of the Reconstruction
17. I Believe ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Life's Rich Pageant
18. Superman ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Life's Rich Pageant
19. Bandwagon ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Dead Letter Office
20. Talk About the Passion ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Murmur
21. Laughing ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Murmur
22. Perfect Circle ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Murmur
23. Finest Worksong - alt. ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Document
24. Pretty Persuasion ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Reckoning
25. So. Central Rain ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Reckoning
26. Pilgrimage ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Murmur
27. We Walk ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Murmur
Tracks: 1. Pop Song 89 / 2. Get Up / 3. You Are The Everything / 4. Stand / 5. World Leader Pretend / 6. The Wrong Child / 7. Orange Crush / 8. Turn You Inside-Out / 9. Hairshirt / 10. I Remember California / 11. Bonus Track 1
Rating : 7
Tracks: 1. Radio Song / 2. Losing My Religion / 3. Low / 4. Near Wild Heaven / 5. Endgame / 6. Shiny Happy People / 7. Belong / 8. Half A World Away / 9. Texarkana / 10. Country Feedback / 11. Me In Honey
Rating : 8
Tracks: 1. Drive / 2. Try Not To Breathe / 3. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite / 4. Everybody Hurts / 5. New Orleans Instrumental No.1 / 6. Sweetness Follows / 7. Monty Got A Raw Deal / 8. Ignoreland / 9. Star Me Kitten / 10. Man On The Moon / 11. Nightswimming / 12. Find The River
Rating : 8
Tracks: 1. What's The Frequency, Kenneth? / 2. Crush With Eyeliner / 3. King Of Comedy / 4. I Don't Sleep, I Dream / 5. Star 69 / 6. Strange Currencies / 7. Tongue / 8. Bang And Blame / 9. I Took Your Name / 10. Let Me In / 11. Circus Envy / 12. You
Rating : 7
Tracks: 1. How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us / 2. The Wake-Up Bomb / 3. New Test Leper / 4. Undertow / 5. E-Bow The Letter / 6. Leave / 7. Departure / 8. Bittersweet Me / 9. Be Mine / 10. Binky The Doormat / 11. Zither / 12. So Fast, So Numb / 13. Low Desert / 14. Electrolite
Rating : 6
6. Up - WB 9 47112-1 - 1998
Tracks: 1. Airportman / 2. Lotus / 3. Suspicion / 4. Hope / 5. At My Most Beautiful / 6. The Apologist / 7. Sad Professor / 8. You're In The Air / 9. Walk Unafraid / 10. Why Not Smile / 11. Daysleeper / 12. Diminished / 13. Parakeet / 14. Falls To Climb
Rating : 7
Tracks: 1. The Lifting / 2. I've Been High / 3. All the Way to Reno / 4. She Just Wants To Be / 5. Disappear / 6. Saturn Return / 7. Beat a Drum / 8. Imitation Of Life / 9. Summer Turns To High / 10. Chorus & The Ring / 11. I'll Take The Rain / 12. Beachball
Rating : 8
8. In Time: The Best Of R.E.M. 1988-2003 ( compilation ) - WB 9362-48381-2 - 2003
Tracks: 1. Man on the Moon / 2. The Great Beyond / 3. Bad Day [*] / 4. What's The Frequency, Kenneth? / 5. All The Way To Reno / 6. Losing My Religion / 7. E-Bow The Letter / 8. Orange Crush / 9. Imitation of Life / 10. Daysleeper / 11. Animal [*] / 12. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite / 13. Stand / 14. Electrolite / 15. All The Right Friends / 16. Everybody Hurts / 17. At My Most Beautiful / 18. Nightswimming
Rating : 8
Tracks: 1. Leaving New York / 2. Electron Blue / 3. The Outsiders / 4. Make It All Ok / 5. Final Straw / 6. I Wanted to Be Wrong / 7. Wander Lust / 8. The Boy in the Well / 9. Aftermath / 10. High Speed Train / 11. Worst Joke Ever / 12. The Ascent of Man / 13. Around the Sun
Rating : 8
Tracks: 1. Living Well Is The Best Revenge/ 2. Man Sized Wreath / 3. Supernatural Superserious / 4. Hollow Man / 5. Houston / 6. Accelerate / 7. Until The Day Is Done / 8. Mr Richards / 9. Sing For The Submarine / 10. Horse To Water / 11. I'm Gonna DJ
Rating : 6
11. Collpase into Now - Wea - 2011
Tracks: 1. Discoverer / 2. All the Best / 3. Uberlin / 4. Oh My Heart / 5. It Happened Today / 6. Every Day Is Yours to Win / 7. Mine Smell Like Honey / 8. Walk It Back / 9. Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter / 10. That Someone Is You / 11. Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I / 12. Blue
Rating :
My Suggestion For a 2 CD 160 minutes (app.) Best Of Compilation:
1. Man on the Moon ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Automatic For the People
2. What's The Frequency, Kenneth? ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Monster
3. Losing my Religion ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Out of Time
4. E-Bow the Letter ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) New Adventures In Hi-Fi
5. Radio Song ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Out of Time
6. The Sidewinder Sleep ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Automatic For the People
7. Daysleeper ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Up
8. Orange Crush ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Green
9. Near Wild Heaven ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Out of Time
10. Shiny Happy People ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Out of Time
11. Half a World Away ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Out of Time
12. Monty Got a Raw Deal ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Automatic For the People
13. Imitation of Life ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Reveal
14. World Leader Pretend ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Green
15. Belong ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Out of Time
16. Me in Honey ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Out of Time
17. Find the River ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Automatic For the People
18. Try Not to Breathe ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Automatic For the People
19. Nightswimming ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Automatic For the People
20. Bad Day ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) In Time
21. Leaving New York ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Around The Sun
22. All the Way to Reno ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Reveal
23. She Just Wants to Be ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Reveal
24. Beat a Drum ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Reveal
25. Imitations of Life ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Reveal
26. The Outsiders ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Around The Sun
27. Electron Blue ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Around The Sun
28. I Wanted to be Wrong ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Around The Sun
29. Aftermath ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Around The Sun
30. How the West Was Won ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) New Adventures in Hi-Fi
31. Houston ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Accellerate
32. Supernatiural Superstitious ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Accellerate >
33. Electrolite ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) New Adventures in Hi-Fi
34. Mr Richards ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Accellerate
35. Daysleeper ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Up
36. Until the Day is Done ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Accellerate
37. Lotus ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Up
38. What's the Frequency Kennth ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Monster
39. Crush With Eyeliner ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Monster
40. Strange Currencies ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Monster
41. Bang and Blame ( Stipe/Buck/Mills/Berry ) Monster
42. Discoverer ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Collapse Into Now
43. Oh My Heart ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Collapse Into Now
44. Walk it Back ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Collapse Into Now
45. Uberlin ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Collapse Into Now
46. Every Day is Your to Win ( Stipe/Buck/Mills ) Collapse Into Now
Essential Albums!
Original albums as listed and rated on “Rate Your Music” - October - 2019
2 Murmur - 1983
5 Automatic for the People - 1992
15 Reckoning - 1984
17 Life's Rich Pageant - 1986
19 Document - 1987
33 Fables of the Reconstruction - 1985
68 New Adventures in Hi-Fi - 1996
81 Green - 1988
84 Out of Time - 1991
513 Monster - 1994
754 Collpase Into Now - 2011
769 Up - 1998
843 Collapse into Now - 2011
926 Reveal - 2001
944 Accellerate - 2008
953 Around the Sun - 2004 Check and Rate Here!
