Standing Too Soon

Murmur - 1983

After relentless touring and the experience of recording a single and an EP, R.E.M. got down to the business of recording a full length record in 1983. Murmur would go on to be critically acclaimed and immoratalized on many "Greastest Albums of All-Time" lists. Due to the praise it received, a lot of music listeners became aware of the idea of non-mainstream, or alternative, music for the first time. I think that it's a fine record, but far from their best.

Before any of the five readers of this blog decides to burn me in effigy for this opinion, let me explain where and when I'm coming from. My introduction to Murmur came eight years after it was released. Six other albums by R.E.M. had been recorded after that one, and it was one of the last records by the band that I got around to listening to. As a result, my opinion comes from hindsight and I did not have the benefit of hearing Murmur when it was originally released in 1983 (Besides I was in the fourth grade the day it came out, so I was probably more into Hall & Oats, at the time). I can only offer my opinion of how I feel about the record on its own as well as in comparison to the rest of the R.E.M. catalogue.

My biggest beef with Murmur is the fact that it includes then newly recorded versions of "Radio Free Europe" and "Standing Still". I'm not against an updated take on a band's song appearing on a later recording if it is (a) better, or (b) drastically different. The Murmur versions of these two songs fail both of these points in my mind, especially "Radio Free Europe". "Standing Still" almost manages to capture the energy of the Hib-Tone single, but "Radio Free Europe" seems like the original on a sleepwalk. The power and rawness has been leeched out of it. I think that Murmur would have been a far better album without their inclusion.

So how would I have started the record? "Moral Kiosk" appears to be the most likely candidate for the role of album opener. It's upbeat and has a great starting guitar riff. I'd almost suggest "9 - 9" because it wouldn't sound out of place on Chronic Town and would have made a nice bridge between the EP and the LP. Unfortunately, the opening guitar line maybe a little too similar to the opening of "Wolves, Lower", making the it appear on the onset of the LP that R.E.M. have only a few tricks and a limited sound.

In my opinion, this is a front loaded record. After listening to it at any given time, the most prominent tracks reside on the a-side. Besides the aforementioned "Radio Free Europe" and "Moral Kiosk" the first half of Murmur includes two of the best songs produced by R.E.M. during their early years at I.R.S. Records: "Talk About The Passion" and "Perfect Circle". Both tracks are moving and beautiful. They are unique enough to not get lost amongst the other songs on Murmur, yet fit nicely as part of the whole. This is not the case with most of the second half. In particular, I find the last three songs on the album seem to bleed into each other without much distinction.

I know that it sounds like that I'm really coming down on Murmur, but I still think that it is a solid record. If anything, it's an important look at where R.E.M. was creatively and sonically in 1983 and the beginning of their career. It sure beats everything they've put out in the last eight years.

6 out of 10