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| MURMUR | 
 enlarge | Artist: R.e.m.
Label: Polydor Group
Category: Music
List Price: £8.99
Buy Used: £3.30
You Save: £5.69 (63%)
New (14) from £4.79
Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 1961
Media: Audio CD
Running Time: 44 minutes
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 4.9 x 0.4
UPC: 082839719520
EAN: 0082839719520
ASIN: B0000073AT
Release Date: March 14, 1991
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: CHECK OUT OUR FEEDBACK. PEOPLE LOVE US!
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| Tracks:
| • | Radio Free Europe | | • | Pilgrimage | | • | Laughing | | • | Talk About The Passion | | • | Moral Kiosk | | • | Perfect Circle | | • | Catapult | | • | Sitting Still | | • | 9-9 | | • | Shaking Through | | • | We Walk | | • | West Of The Fields |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
As huge as they are now, R.E.M. started out with a small cult that this first album inspired; Peter Buck's chinging guitar, Michael Stipe's impassioned but incomprehensible singing, and the band's unpretentious interaction with its audience were genuinely revolutionary at the time. Stipe's famous mumbling of words, obscuring them in the mix, was less about creating a mystery than about creating an aesthetic of pure sound--without focusing on what he was singing about, you had to listen to the way his supple, distinctive voice mingled with the instruments. Murmur ends with a remake of their first single, "Radio Free Europe", as joyful a song as they've ever recorded, and a song that in a very real way created "alternative rock". --Douglas Wolk
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
A new dawn for American rock music June 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In the early eighties American rock music had stagnated. Obese with hoary stadium embracing poodle rockers the genre needed something to reinvent and revitalise and usher in a new wave of bands ready to head off at exciting fresh tangents. Arguably the release of REM,s debut album Murmur in 1983 was the pivotal moment that precipitated a whole slew of bands that shot blasted the cliched excesses of American rock out of the limelight back towards the gaudy margins where it belonged.
Where a lot of the new US bands would empirically opt for the harder edged extremes of rock REM instinctively had a gentler , looser take on American rock that embraced the past while simultaneously taking it into a new direction. They eschewed rock cliches like extended solo,s or the integration of electronic instrumentation and the almost hesitant mumbling vocals of Michael Stipe while virtually incoherent, sometimes frustratingly so, were a refreshing change from the usual histrionic screeching associated with rock music.
REM originally started recording Murmur with producer Stephen Hague after the bands label IRS felt he had a higher profile than the bands usual producer Mitch Easter. However Hagues meticulous emphasis on achieving the perfect take drove the band , especially drummer Bill Berry to distraction ,so he band went back to IRS and the label agreed to a try out session with Easter. This resulted in the song "Pilgrimage" and the results were good enough to convince them to let Mitch Easter , along with his partner Don Dixon take on production duties for the entire album.
And what an album Murmur is. Among the truly great debut albums it is categorised by Peter Bucks chiming guitar, the sinuous bass of Mike Mills , which carries much of the music's melodic spine , and the aforementioned indistinct vocals of the enigmatic Stipe. Mill,s backing vocals also gives the music extra harmonious depth .
Some of the finest songs of REM.s superb repertoire are on Murmur. From the galloping undulating rock rhythms of the single "Radio free Europe" and "Catapult" to the slightly more jagged edged "Moral Kiosk" and the wired jauntiness of "West Of The Fields" this is an album of consistent sound and texture but with an erudite effortless variety. Even more impressive however are the gentler numbers. "Perfect Circle" is a truly lovely ballad with plangent piano and one of Stipes more comprehensible vocal performances but the real highlight is "Talk About The Passion" with it,s memorable guitar signature, mournful cello and a Stipe,s unusually passionate vocals-the way his voice quavers on the edge of fracturing for the chorus is something special.
Is Murmur REM,s best album? Maybe ...but then you,ve got "Reckoning", "Life's Rich Pageant", "Automatic For The People" so it varies depending on what ever REM album is on at the time .Though i feel it,s fair to opine that "Around The Sun" won,t get a look in. What is under no doubt is that this album was a major progenitor for a new wave of American bands with an exciting fresh perspective on the mythos of what US rock was capable of. Finally is it me or does Michael Stipe seem to be singing West Huddersfield on "West Of The Fields"?........thought so.
 Timeless May 25, 2008
With producers Don Dixon & Mitch Easter, R.E.M. captured their sound which sounded like a collision of then uncelebrated acts like The Byrds & The Velvet Underground. 'Murmur', which was a critical favourite at the time, remains a classic debut recording - the chemistry between Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills & Michael Stipe is fantastic. Standout tracks include 'Perfect Circle' (which predicts later songs like 'Nightswimming' & 'Find the River'), 'Pilgrimage', southern-gothic-closer'West of the Fields', the tight-acoustic shiver that is 'Sitting Still' & the Byrdsian-'Talk About the Passion'...
'Murmur' more than stands up these days, and forms part of a trilogy of R.E.M. albums with 'Reckoning' (1984) & 'Fables of the Reconstruction of the Fables' (1985)- afterwards the band would rock out more and Stipe's vocals were clearer. The voyage to empty commercial band as found on 'Monster', 'Reveal' & 'Around the Sun' would begin.
Discover them again May 22, 2008
As a 15 year old boy I discovered R.E.M. via their 1988 album "Green". Later at University I reacquainted myself with the band via their 1992 favourite "Automatic for the People". That was that... or so I thought. I've always appreciated R.E.M., but have never loved them. At least until now. I wanted to bulk up the 1980s in my CD collection and so opted for the R.E.M. debut. BLOWN AWAY!!! I can't believe that I've neglected early R.E.M. for so long.
This album is so good. There's not a weak track to be heard. If I had to name a favourite then I'd go for "Talk About The Passion", but they're all so good. Do yourself a favour and buy this album... NOW!!!
Probably the best R.E.M album.... March 27, 2008
Best tracks: "Radio Free Europe", "Perfect Circle", "West of the Fields", "Pilgrimage", "Moral Kiosk"
When I was younger, around 1992/93, you'd have thought R.E.M had started out with "The One I Love", "It's the End of the World as We Know It" and the Document album onwards, so ignored was their work prior to 1987 in the public eye; so it came as an astonishing surprise when I heard Murmur, the band's magnificent debut, which may very well be their all-time best album (along with Automatic for the People) and one that has beauty, vitality, richness and great tunes in abundance. First of all, the album sounds absolutely incredible; it's superbly produced, with a sound that's at once misty and punchy, enigmatic yet bright and clear....the guitars throughout are truly lovely, Michael Stipe's vocals are warm, weird (the lyrics are often deliberately difficult to make out) and distinctive and as an example of the kind of rootsy, slightly retro-leaning Americana, it's hard to beat. It's at once old-fashioned, hewn in past sounds, yet it also sounds utterly fresh, snappy and timeless. Play it now and it still sounds as vital as it must have done back in 1983.
The opening "Radio Free Europe" is clearly the most underrated, joyous single they've ever done; as great as the very best R.E.M singles, it has a killer melody, an exciting, gripping chorus and probably the most thrilling overall performance the band ever gave; the later likes of Document and Monster may be more obviously louder and more rock-infused, but this is the sound of a band making every second count, and that's what makes a great pop single, even if the song itself wasn't popular in the commercially successful sense. Elsewhere, "Pilgrimage" has a strong, stirring chorus, fantastic vocal effects and glorious guitars, "Laughing" is beautifully warm, "Talk About the Passion" is so very sweet and smile-inducing, with a wonderfully strolling melody (more brilliant guitars here), "Moral Kiosk" knocks me out every time with its choppy guitars and rhythms, plus there's a terrific chorus that I can't get enough of, especially when the vocals double up and the drums really kick in! Stipe almost yodels halfway through too, and does a rather splendid job of it too. An absolute beauty arrives in the form of the graceful, tender "Perfect Circle", which is evocative of quiet, glorious summer evenings tinged with romance; this song's a true gem, really, really lovely. "Catapult" and "Sitting Still" both have fantastic guitar playing, especially the latter, which has one of the best `jingly-jangly` melodies I`ve ever heard. Admittedly, much of the second half is stronger on gripping playing and delicious moments rather than killer tunes, be it the tight, exciting "9-9", "Shaking Through" is very sweet indeed and "We Walk" has a jaunty, skipping feel that acts as a nice prelude before the terrific closing song: "West of the Fields" is a thrill-ride and then some; the drums are brilliant. The singing's brilliant. The bass is brilliant. The guitars are brilliant. The chorus is a rush. The middle-eight is out of this world; you'll know it when you hear it...all of a sudden the tune flies off into a whole new sphere, and for a brief while the effect is spellbinding, one of my favourite R.E.M moments.
In its own understated way, Murmur's also one of the best guitar albums ever, precisely because there is no showboating or flashy solos; the guitars contribute immensely to the feel and atmosphere, and it's not until a few listens before one realises just how rich an element to the album's success they are. Seriously, check out Murmur and fall head over heels for it; it's R.E.M at their absolute best.
Talk About the Passion January 22, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Twenty-five years old this year and REM's `Murmur' still sounds as fresh as a daisy. Remarkably accomplished for a debut album, because the band had already honed its sound with considerable touring and recording, REM's blend of 1960s-style jangle pop beefed up with a post-punk sensibility and suffused with Deep South mysticism was a winning and influential formula.
Tracks like `Talk About the Passion', `Radio Free Europe' and `Perfect Circle' are so brilliant and well-loved as to be almost part of our musical DNA, but the album's less-celebrated cuts also delight. I love `Shaking Through' with its soulful, piano-driven melody; `Catapult's' simply joyful catchy singalong; `West of the Fields's murky mysticism and ` 9-9's' edgy, babbling backing vocal track which recalls the Velvet Underground's `Murder Mystery'.
As REM progressed through its stellar catalogue of music the band undoubtedly delivered more mature and confident records with superior compositional acumen but the freshness and sheer joy of music that suffuses `Murmur' makes it one of their very best, which means it must be one of the best albums of all time.
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