R.E.M. Revisited
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Joel commented on the R.E.M. posting asking asking about Life's Rich Pagent. Yes this cd is very good and probably their best in what I consider their back catalog. You had Begin the Begin, Fall On Me, Cuyahoga, Superman, Hyena just to name a few and looking at the cd once again I agree with Joel. My point tho is that most bands have a cd that transforms them from what they were to what they are now. This cd usually involves moving to a major label, getting a new producer; losing/gaining members or taking a chance and trying something new. R.E.M.'s cd was Out of Time, they got rid of the guitar and used just a mandolin and put out their most famous song to date Losing My Religion. At this point, R.E.M. crossed over and going forward never recorded anything that would come close to sounding like their earlier work. Every album took a different approach and the classics seemed to all fall together like they were all from 1 cd. A good portion of my 64 songs features these ones but the R.E.M. songs that stand out were after Out Of Time.
Another band you can use this analagy on is U2, Achtung Baby set the stage for new U2. I for one have decided that I like new U2 and could care less about their older stuff. Joshua Tree has some great songs on it but I could live the rest of my life without hearing Sunday Bloody Sunday and be happy. U2 stumbled on Pop, but came back to what they said was their classic sound with All That You Can't Leave Behind. I for one don't think of it as their classic sound, its too well produced and just set the stage for U2 round 3. They have perfected the stadium rock sound and have given up on their political inspired anthems.
Now I am sitting here trying to sum up my whole point and have decided that my theory doesn't work on every band. In turn, I have truncrated it to just these 2 bands until I can rework it. I am listening to Pearl Jam right now and they are one of those that never changed their sound, they will play the same style til the day they die and those of us that are fans will be happy for that. Some bands need to change others are fine doing what they do best. In closing, R.E.M.'s best cd is Up followed by Life's Rich Pagent. U2's early work sucks and the best cd they ever recorded and one of my fav of all times is Achtung Baby.
Posted by mardenhill 9/20/2005 01:57:00 PM
Maybe the best artist(s) to use as an example for taking different directions in their sound is Bowie. The Beatles would be another. I understand what you're saying about REM and the fact that they came up on a lot of money, different producers, band members etc. and this then changed their sound. I'd argue that when a band is young and fresh and maybe even struggling the songs that come out of that are truer and more heartfelt and intense. Look, you're not going to remember the Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin for their later albums, you're going to remember Exile and IV, not Steel Wheels and Coda. The same for lots of bands. So the struggle for successful bands like U2 is to keep it real and innovative. I have to totally disagree that U2's best work is now. The Unforgettable Fire has an atmosphere that takes you somewhere else - it's entertainment sure but something deeper. Those songs and others like on the WAR and BOY albums are powerful. U2 at LiveAid was amazing. They didn't need fancy props - it was the power of their music and the words. Bono currently isn't tackling anything like the history of America (Joshua Tree) or the the life of Martin Luther King in Pride in the Name of Love which is their best song and what they'll be remembered for most. Of course, the best bands just stop (Joy Division, Velvet Underground, Beatles...) and we have their songs and the memory of a time and a place and a mood they caught and made audible.