R.E.M - ...And I Feel Fine: The Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987
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Free Music Notes for ...And I Feel Fine: The Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987
Free Music Review: Outstanding Collection
Hit: 5 Stars
Most "Best Of" compilations are comfy strolls down well-worn paths to revisit familiar, beloved friends.
Not so this one. Somehow this "listens" with all the freshness and vitality of the best new releases of the year. That's a testament to the strength of the material gathered here. Those unfamiliar with the band's early material could easily mistake it for the latest outing by a promising new indie band.
The effect is so pronounced that these I.R.S. tunes now seem far less dated than the band's more recent work! Pass this one around. Your friends will thank you.
A mild "thumbsdown" to the remastering team, though. Sure, they gave us clarity, and plenty of it. Unfortunately, though, there's no depth to the mix. Like nearly everything else that's been mixed this Millenium, they simply crowded everything into the front of the mix, where it all clashes and competes with no direction.
This crew didn't even bother to fix Buck's horribly out of tune guitar in "End of the World." Truly an inspiration to underachievers everywhere.
Free Music Review: Back when they were good.
Hit: 5 Stars
Never underestimate the power of a rhythm section. In the mid to late 80s REM evolved into one of the best of the alternative bands because they had a powerful sense of crafting uptempo rock and roll numbers that showcased a rhythm section built around the passionate low-key voice of Mr. Stipe. Life's Rich Pageant, top to bottom, is the classic REM album and had them at the peak of this definitive sound. Begin the Begin and Finest Worksong and who can forget the refrain, "This one goes out to..."
While they had their moments in the 90s and here now in the 21st Century they are still putting together well-crafted songs, the exuberance, the unabashed layers of guitars and drums, that made those late 80s years so striking, has left them too tame to rival their past.
If you want to hear a band at its peak of both musicianship and influence, this is the place to start.
Free Music Review: Try the I.R.S import "The Best of R.E.M."
Hit: 5 Stars
I noticed all the complaints on sound. So my 5-star rating is really for an import, "The Best of R.E.M." With 16 songs the songlist is representative of R.E.M.'s early years, though there are no rarities on it. It starts with "Chronic Town," then proceeds with 3 songs from each album chronologically from "Murmur" through "Document." The sound quality is fine, although a little lower than most newer CDs, so you have to turn it up a little. Here's the excellent song selection:
Carnival of Sorts
Radio Free Europe
Perfect Circle
Talk About the Passion
So. Central Rain
(Don't Go Back To) Rockville
Pretty Persuasion
Green Grow the Rushes
Can't Get There From Here
Driver 8
Fall on Me
I Believe
Cuyahoga
The One I Love
Finest Worksong
It's the End of the Worlds As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Free Music Review: Classic REM
Hit: 5 Stars
These guys through Document and U2 through Joshua Tree were the absolute transcendent gems of 80s-era rock bands. While I'm not particularly fond of either band's work since either of those (mega-breakthrough, and rightly landmark) albums, these bands were the two pillars that anchored the spectrum of what was then alternative rock. Throw in the Police and you've got all the bands that made me want to be in a band in the first place.
The band I played with in the 90s used to cover half of the songs on disc one, although the lead singer refused to do Gardening at Night (still one of my favorites) because the lyrics were too indiscernible and obscure. Remember when Stipe was interested more in the sonic possibilities of his voice than the words?
I wore out a lot of record needles listening to all of these bands.
Free Music Review: "Music that didn't pander to an audience" - it created one
Hit: 5 Stars
During 1982-87 REM was probably the best band - possibly ever - if you define best band by great ALBUMS and great concerts. Similar to U2, REM created an audience - a big one - by original ideas that invited the audience to interpret the music. They didn't let tell you what it meant - maybe it meant nothing - but millions (billions?) THOUGHT IT DID. As Michael Stipe stated "Not everyone can carry the weight of the world". They CREATED an audience that wanted something new (the original alternative music). Nowadays - as the last line in U2's "Kite" states ("the time when new media was the big idea") audiences demand technology but the meaning or value of music is not relevant. I'd recommend this album to anyone who wants to hear America's greatest band at its creative best from a time when music could be relevant.