Keep Your Money In Your Shoes

Fables of the Reconstruction - 1985

I think that Fables of the Reconstruction is the best R.E.M. album from their years at I.R.S. Records. Scratch that. I think it's their best record of all time. There, I've said it. Now I can proceed into an overly bias diatribe on how awesome it is.

For me, Fables... does everything a great record should to be truly excellent. It's cohesive without redundancy. In other words, the songs fit well on the same record, but the individually they are distinct. Also, there are several themes that provide an undercurrent for this piece; namely travel and idiosyncratic southerners. Yet, Fables... avoids the trappings of a standard concept album and it doesn't overstay its welcome (Fables... clocks in at just under forty minutes). In addition, R.E.M. try out some new tricks, without making a drastic change to their sound. Oh, and the songs are really, really good. Actually, they're all fairly brilliant.

The album opens with one of Peter Buck's greatest guitar riffs. The haunting line that begins "Feeling Gravity's Pull" helps establish the melancholia that will continue to permeate through most of the record. Also, this song begins R.E.M.'s off and on relationship with strings.

"Maps And Legends" is another winner full of cascading chords and layered vocals. Though some of his lyrics continue to be cryptic and hard to determine, Michael Stipe's vocals are clearer than they've been on the previous albums. Bassist Mike Mills continues to be an extremely reliable backing vocalist and really shines on this track.

Fables... really gets rolling with "Driver 8", one of the two singles culled from the record. Buck pulls off another great intro riff on this track. The musical arrangement, plus Bill Berry's deliberate drumming, help evoke the feeling of traveling by train.

We are introduced to an interesting character with strange carpentry ambitions in "Life and How to Live It". Stipe really lets the wails rip during certain sections of this song, while Mills provides an undercurrent "oohs" throughout. Once again, Buck kicks off the song with an amazing opening riff.

Things get a little hushed and spooky with "Old Man Kensey". This is helped out by Mill's creepy bass line. Bright streams of light burst through every so often on the track, especially during the bridge. Stipe and Mills continue sing around each other, playing with counter melody and singing different lines at the same time.

The second side opens up with a rather odd track: "I Can't Get There From Here". Buck uses a funky shuffle riff on this groovy number. Also, Stipe plays with his delivery, is still able to keep it from sounding jokey. This track also introduces horns into an R.E.M. arrangement. Despite the strange variances, this song is still a fun single and it builds on one of the album's themes.

"Green Grow The Rushes" is a fairly straight forward track that is in keeping with R.E.M.'s previous work. It works as a palette cleanser after the craziness of "ICGTFH". It's a pretty song, but feels weak compared to the rest of the album.

"Kohutek" is a truly great song. It oscillates between showery, splash chords and jangle rock. Then, out of nowhere, comes a rarely heard (for R.E.M.) guitar solo, from which Mills and Berry triplets the band back into the verse.

Probably the most rocking song on the album is "Auctioneer (Another Engine)". Berry is thunderous on the drums and he really propels the song forward. The tension is further amplified by Stipe and Mill's discordant harmonies.

In contrast, "Good Advices" is sweet and serene. It spotlights one of Stipes best vocal performances on the album and has his most discernible lines. It also contains a gorgeous walk up melody played by Buck and Mills during the chorus.

Which brings us to the closer, "Wendell Gee". This feels like a companion piece to "Old Man Kensey". Both songs end their respective album sides and focus on a character who lends his name to the song title. This is a quite little country ditty that features the banjo.

Of course, writing about Fables of the Reconstruction doesn't come close to doing the record justice. This is R.E.M. with two and a half albums under their belt, showing us what they've learned and how they've come to master their craft. It gets my highest recommendation.

10 out of 10