Quote:
Originally Posted by Gigantic Debaser
I'm fairly cool with the Smiths and appreciate The Queen is Dead quite a bit, but I'll admit that R.E.M. is a pretty big hole in my familiarity with the music of their heyday, i.e. I don't know anything much of them beyond the "big hits" – "Losing my Religion" etc.
What would the R.E.M. aficionados among you recommend as a good starting point in their discography?
|
I'd recommend just starting with their first two records,
Murmur and
Reckoning. It's great, great stuff. Their sound changes throughout their career though - so if their early stuff isn't much to your liking, try checking out some of their mid '90s material. Here's a sample of one of their early songs:
Just for comparison, here's a song of theirs from the mid '90s - as you can tell, the sound is quite different.
Most R.E.M. fans would disagree with me, but
Up is my favorite album of theirs. R.E.M.'s
Kid A, or close to it. Their only record that I think can safely be skipped is
Around the Sun.