Now that most of us have finished listening to Murmur, it is time to move on to R.E.M.'s second album Reckoning. Since we are going to be heading to Las Vegas I think we should take 3 weeks for this album instead of 2 so try to have it finished up by August 8. Also, just because we moved on to Reckoning that does not mean you have to stop participating in the Murmur post so go read other people's thoughts and reply to them!
To me Murmur had a distinct air of yearning, though it's hard to pin down what it was for; nostalgia, longing for simpler times perhaps? Reckoning is quite a bit more specific in it's themes but still leaves the air of mystery alive in many of the songs.
ReplyDeleteThe sound has been kicked up a notch - guitars are louder and fuller, bass meatier and percussion more up front in the sound. The vocals are a little higher in the mix, but still retain enough slurring and mumbling to make them interesting. Where Murmur's songs slowly mesmorized the listener, Reckoning picks you up and pushes you along on a wave of sound. These songs rock, as you can tell if you've listened to Reckoning Live or heard them done in concert.
Some of the songs have discernable themes - "Letter Never Sent" about the trials of being a military brat "never a choice of where I lived". "Second Guessing" - the increasing popularity of the band and the fan's relentless quest to figure out what it all meant. "Pretty Persuasion" about sexual identity and desire, and the loss and regret captured so perfectly in "So. Central Rain". Ironically my favorite song's meaning remains a mystery to me. But when the chorus kicks in after the "whoa-o-whoa" part in "Harborcoat", meaning is not important, it's just great music - one of my favorite passages of any song ever.
The title Reckoning would seem to say the the band thought that they had to face up to something, whether their pasts, or the question of where to go after a successful first alblum (Rolling Stone alblum of the year). More often than not bands with a good first alblum have trouble following it up. That's definitely not the case with Reckoning. Re-listening to all the R.E.M. catalog may change my mind, but I doubt it - for me Reckoning has been and is my favorite R.E.M. alblum.
Reckoning has a very upbeat peppy instrumental sound. The guitar is very confident in the first four songs leading one to think that this is a very together band that knows their stuff. In juxtaposition to the music I believe the words show a conflict in the band. The words sorry in South Central Rain and being persuaded or persuading someone in Pretty Persuasion are words of conflict. In the song Camera-maybe not the main focus of the song but the words “life was simple then” definitely make me believe the life has becoming confusing for the band. Rockville suggests that maybe they don’t want life to be as simple as it was in the past, “don’t go back to Rockville and waste another year.” The last song Little America is an admission of confusion in the band, “I think we’re lost.” Overall I thought the sound of this CD was more enjoyable than Mumur. That’s what I think and I think what I think!!
ReplyDeleteThe album starts off with Harborcoat, a peppy song that consists of more then one voice being intertwined throughout most of the song, which makes stipe's lyrics that much harder to understand. The jangly guitar sound that R.E.M. is known for is prevalent in all of the songs on this album including Seven Chinese Bros. a more mellow but still enjoyable song.
ReplyDeleteIn So. Central Rain stipe repeats the words "I'm sorry" several times. A move he would repeat on other Albums *cough* UP *cough*. Stipe actually has a very somber voice in most of the songs on this CD. I don't know if he wanted it that way or if he just couldn't sing loud very well yet.
As dad mentioned the sound is much fuller on this album, which is probably due to a better recording set up, or maybe they just got someone more experienced to help them mix it this time.
Overall I did not like this album as much as Murmur but it is still a great CD that is well worth the listen.