Leaving behind the garagey jangle pop of their first recordings,
R.E.M. developed a strangely subdued variation of their trademark sound for their full-length debut album,
Murmur. Heightening the enigmatic tendencies of
Chronic Town by de-emphasizing the backbeat and accentuating the ambience of the ringing guitar,
R.E.M. created a distinctive sound for the album -- one that sounds eerily timeless. Even though it is firmly in the tradition of American folk-rock, post-punk, and garage rock,
Murmur sounds as if it appeared out of nowhere, without any ties to the past, present, or future. Part of the distinctiveness lies in the atmospheric production, which exudes a detached sense of mystery, but it also comes from the remarkably accomplished songwriting. The songs on
Murmur sound as if they've existed forever, yet they subvert folk and pop conventions by taking unpredictable twists and turns into melodic, evocative territory, whether it's the measured riffs of "Pilgrimage," the melancholic "Talk About the Passion," or the winding guitars and pianos of "Perfect Circle."
R.E.M. may have made albums as good as
Murmur in the years following its release, but they never again made anything that sounded quite like it. [As far as deluxe editions go, Universal's 2008 expansion of
R.E.M.'s 1983 debut
Murmur leans toward the skimpy: it may spill over to two CDs, but the only bonus material is a live show recorded at Larry's Hideway in Toronto, just three months after the album's release. There was enough room on the first disc to add both the early Hib-Tone single of "Radio Free Europe" and their first EP,
Chronic Town, plus assorted stray tracks; much of this material has shown up on various releases over the years -- the bulk being reissued on 1987's clearinghouse
Dead Letter Office, which also had
Chronic Town on the CD, but the Hib-Tone single has popped up on
Eponymous and the rarities disc, 2006's
And I Feel Fine -- so most
R.E.M. fans have this in their collection, which is necessary as it's not here. Any lingering resentment over this missing music should be soothed by the live show on the second disc, which captures the band in full flight. This release constitutes the first official release of an early
R.E.M. concert (there are bootlegs containing a slightly longer set but this is close enough to qualify as a full show) and it's a welcome addition to their catalog as it crackles with an energy that is missing from the hazy, ethereal
Murmur.
R.E.M. barrel through the bulk of the album -- only "Moral Kiosk" and "Shaking Through" are absent -- plus a chunk of
Chronic Town, throwing in a cover of "There She Goes Again" and early versions of
Reckoning's "Harborcoat," "7 Chinese Bros.," and "Just a Touch," which didn't surface until 1986's
Lifes Rich Pageant. This wasn't a showcase night for
R.E.M., it was just another gig on the tour, and that's the great thing about it: the band isn't self-conscious, they're just tearing through their songs, rocking harder than they did on any of their studio albums. It's direct and a little raw -- with microphone feedback on occasion -- in a way that none of their early albums are, and that's what makes it worthy of a special edition, even if it's hard not to wish that first disc had just a few extra cuts as well.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine