Quote:
Originally Posted by Lisnaholic
Thanks, rs. Good to have a name to put to the jangly guitarist, who is contributing so much to the REM sound: the "wanna-be Byrds" guy of elphenor's description, I suppose. 
Yes, I will definitely take your advice and move on to Murmur next because I am well pleased with this Chronic Town recommendation. I also notice that most people here seem to favour early REM. Perhaps REM follow the arc of many bands: bold, innovative sound at the start of their careers, then getting soft, self-indulgent or over-complicated furthur down the line.
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Yes, you could say their work from 1987 on is all of the above. That was about the time they started to try to sound more commercial. They fought against that at IRS records but went full throttle after they signed with Warner Bros. And yet they still could make brilliant material with tracks like Losing My Religion and albums such as Automatic For the People and New Adventures in Hi- Fi. Even after Berry left and they became a trio, they could still put out some really great stuff. They split up finally before they could become another joke like U2.
But, yeah, their first three albums are definitely the highlight of REM's career (save AFTP of course).