the Replacements - Let It Be (30th anniversary)

Today (October 2nd) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Let It Be, the third studio album from the Replacements.

Click here for my full review.

R.E.M. - Reckoning (30th anniversary)

Today (April 9th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Reckoning, the second studio album from R.E.M.

Click here for my full review of the album.

R.E.M. - Murmur (30th anniversary)

Today (April 13th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Murmur, the debut album from R.E.M.

This is a classic alternative album that first grew popular on the college radio music scene of 1983. Click here for my complete review of the album.

R.E.M. - Chronic Town

The Athens, Georgia, alternative band R.E.M. had some minor success in 1981 with their debut single “Radio Free Europe”. Their manager, however, did not feel they were quite ready for a full album release. Instead, he advised them to put out an EP. So, Michael Stipe, Bill Berry, Peter Buck and Mike Mills went to producer Mitch Easter’s Drive-In Studios in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to record.

R.E.M. - Reckoning

Happy fifty-second birthday today (January 4th) to Michael Stipe.

One year after the release of their debut album Murmur (click here for that review), the Georgia-based rock band R.E.M. was back in the studios in Charlotte, NC, to record their sophomore release. On April 9th of 1984, Reckoning hit the airwaves and record stores. The album reached number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 23 in New Zealand and number 91 in the UK.

Happy Birthday, Peter Buck

Happy fifty-fifth birthday today (December 6th) to R.E.M. guitarist and co-founder Peter Buck. Born in California, his family eventually moved to Atlanta, Georgia. After dropping out of Emory University, he moved back to Athens, Georgia, and began attending the University of Georgia. It was while working at a local record store that he met future bandmate Michael Stipe.

Besides performing with R.E.M., Buck as been an official member of a number of other groups as well. These include Hindu Love Gods, and Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3. As a record producer, Buck has worked with the Fleshtones, Uncle Tupelo and more. He has also been a session musician for the Replacements and Billy Bragg.

Here are the three album reviews I did from Buck's 1980's offerings with R.E.M. Enjoy.

For R.E.M. - Murmur click here

For R.E.M. - Document click here

For R.E.M. - Green click here

R.E.M. - Green

As 1988 was coming to a close, R.E.M. had moved over to the Warner Brothers record label and released their sixth studio album Green. This record also marked changes in how they put together an album - from the band members learning each other’s instruments so they could switch roles during recording to the way the songs were written (starting with lyrics first in some instances).

The record did very well commercially. In the US it went to number 12 on the Billboard album charts and went double-platinum in sales. In the UK, it peaked at number 27 on the charts and was their first album to achieve gold and then platinum sales status.

R.E.M. - Document

The American alternative rock band R.E.M. released Document, their fifth studio album, in 1987. The addition of Scott Litt as co-producer also marked a change in direction as the songs musically shifted a bit more towards the mainstream. This album featured the band's first top 10 Billboard hit and the album was their first platinum seller. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album at 41 on its 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980's list and number 470 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time list.

Okay, if you’ll recall last time that I reviewed an album by R.E.M. I confessed that they lost me a lot on the lyrics. I’m actually pulling them up to follow along and will attempt to offer what I think they mean (I’m prepared to be totally off-base on a lot of them).

the Replacements - Let It Be

In 1984, the Minneapolis punk rock band the Replacements decided to change up their sound a little bit for their third studio album Let It Be. The lyrics became a little more genuine and the musical arrangements a bit more detailed. The end result record might not have been a big seller but it was a critical success. It appeared on Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Albums of the 1980’s (at number 15) and 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time (at number 239). VH1 ranked it number 79 on their list of 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll. Spin magazine put it at number 12 on their list of 25 Greatest Albums of All Time. It also appears on the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die list.

R.E.M. - Murmur

On April 13th of 1983, a quartet of musicians (Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe) came up from Athens, GA, to Reflection Studios in Charlotte, NC (not far from here) to record their debut album - Murmur. It charted at number 100 in the UK, number 47 in New Zealand and number 36 on the US Billboard Hot 200.