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From:R.E.M. , A&M ,
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#1913 |
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 rem come on , 2005-10-31
I love so. central rain I think its my fav from them at least today it is. This is one of the greatest albums from the greatest groups of all time. The new rem is good. If you're just getting into rem buy this and fables of the reconstruction its there best.
1 of 6 customers found the following review helpful:
Almost as good as Murmur, definitely awesome., 2005-10-29
And let's not forget their last great album
before they slowly crumbled: Automatic for the People.
The lucky own R.E.M. on vinyl.
8 of 8 customers found the following review helpful:
 (4.5 Stars) I reckon' you'll like this. , 2005-01-20
R.E.M.'s second album "Reckoning" isn't a whole lot different from their debut, "Murmur". Perhaps it's a bit more refined and cleaner sounding. A worthy sequel for sure.
Songs like "Harborcoat" and "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" are crisp slices of jangly pop/rock like many of the songs on the album's predecessor. Good luck getting the chorus of "Rockville" out of your head.
However, there's songs like the moody/tense "Pretty Persuasion" and the somewhat raucous closer "Little America" that feel like uncharted territory for the band at this point. They're not quite 'rocking out' (wait until "Life's Rich Pageant" for that), but it's a new sound for sure.
Also, the ballads feel a bit more personal. "Camera", in particular, is a heartbreaking song written about a friend of Michael's who passed away shortly before the album was made.
"Time After Time" is utterly sublime, ranking up there as one of R.E.M.'s best songs. And the intricate "Letter Never Sent" truly rewards itself after repeated listens.
A couple other favorites of mine include the pensive (and catchy as hell) "7 Chinese Bros.", and the dreamy "So. Central Rain", the latter of which has an elegant chord progression in the verses that I really love.
If you liked "Murmur", there's no reason you won't like "Reckoning" as well. Both albums get better and better with each listen.
Highly Recommended.
Best Songs: Camera, Time After Time, Letter Never Sent, Pretty Persuasion, So. Central Rain.
1 of 2 customers found the following review helpful:
"a vacation in Athens is calling me", 2005-01-15
Pavement wrote an ode to this album on the AIDS benefit CD No Alternative called "The Unseen Power of the Picket Fence" (" `Time After Time' was my least favorite song"). Actually my least favorite song on this 1984 release is "Second Guessing" followed by "Harborcoat." The rest of the album is very solid, not as amazing as the next release Fables of the Reconstruction, but close. The best track is definitely the fanny-kickin' "Pretty Persuasion." This is an addictive rocker and always finds its way on my R.E.M. compilation tapes. Other highlights include the beautiful (although a little lengthy) ballad "Camera" sporting some of Michael Stipe's best vocal work; the fun, countrified tune "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" and "Letter Never Sent" with the excellent use of backing vocals. "7 Chinese Bros." is another addictive song. I find myself humming it out of the blue. It ends with the upbeat "Little America." Reckoning is a very solid early release by the boys from Athens, Georgia. In my opinion, their best album was yet to come: the 1985 release Fables of the Reconstruction. Reckoning is a nice precursor to that album.
10 of 10 customers found the following review helpful:
why, WHY did they give it up??, 2004-11-17
There's basically two kinds of REM fans. People who got into the post-Green material, and know them as a big-league stadium rock band, and those who appreciate their earlier indie material on the IRS label. Well, you guessed it, I'm on the IRS side of things. The only post-Document album of theirs which I actually own is "New Adventures in Hi-Fi," which is not nearly as good as the early work. I frankly don't understand why they gave up this sound at all. They had so much potential here. AARRGGHH!! Well, no use dwelling on it.
I can't begin to describe how great this album is. I first bought it when I was in high school, on cassette, a decade after it was recorded. I updated to a CD copy about five years later. It's only sounded better over that period of time. It has that raw, jangly, murky feel that REM was so good at back then, with abstract lyrics hinting at something big but never giving everything away. It's less staid-sounding than Murmur, but keeps that mysterious feeling that was lost when Mike Stipe became a regular old frontman and started demanding attention and wearing his heart on his sleeve. The whole murky-mumbly thing suited him and the band far better than anything. It is my favorite album of the 80s, even with competition from the Stone Roses, the Pixies, the Replacements, the Clash and Jesus and Mary Chain. It's also a huge influence on one of my favorite songwriters, Stephen Malkmus. So, if you're looking for everything that indie rock can be, look no further.
-HW
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