Music Banter - View Single Post - Talk About the Passion

Rickenbacker · 03-07-2010, 10:34 PM

Right then, thanks for your input.

Green
Released 1988
Warner Brothers Records

1988 found R.E.M. at something of a crossroads. With a major record deal from Warner Brothers and a top ten single, the band seemed poised for mainstream success. In this way, it would appear that retaining the political role that R.E.M. had adopted with Document was in the best interest of the band commercially speaking. With this in mind, the follow-up "Green" could have easily been a sort of Document 2.0, less energetic, more polished, and written with less anxiety and currency. Thankfully, while their political/environmental message is not abandoned entirely on Green, it is approached with a certain resolve and maturity not seen from R.E.M. up to that point.

Whenever the Document formula is not fully dropped, it is amended and improved. Roughly a third of the songs present on Green are upbeat rocking political anthems, but where this method produced largely mediocre songs on Document, tracks like the pulse-pounding Orange Crush work quite well. The secret lies in the production, which is murkier than Document yet still resonating. On Orange Crush, producer Scott Litt, with whom R.E.M. worked on Document, mixes in sounds of helicopters and muttered words, adding to the overriding anti-Vietnam theme. With Litt's production, guitars sound heavier, drums more machine-gun like, and bass more determined to the point where the more upbeat songs on green simply blow Document out of the water. Orange Crush, for all its anthemic fist-pumping fervor is not even the best of the bunch, as the following song Turn You Inside-Out is even more visceral and engagingly aggressive.

"Divide your cultured pearls in haste
I'm looking for to lay to waste"

Stipe jeers, with the only believable kiss-off he has made to date. Mike Mills, ever distant sounding, still offers a remarkable backing vocal, supporting Michael with a resounding "I believe in what you do!" On the whole, Turn You Inside-Out is everything Document sought to accomplish, and an absolute highlight.

Juxtaposed against these angry and well made anthems is the majority of Green: down-tempo meditations of mandolin and organ, perhaps no less politically or environmentally conscious than their rocking counterparts but exponentially more mature and lyrically well developed. Rife with images of the outdoors, woods and fields, these songs seem to channel the classic "Fables of the Reconstruction" and "The Good Earth." Some of the material is so good that it would be at home on either of those records, such as the achingly gorgeous You Are the Everything. As crickets chirp in the background and the mandolin riffs a beautiful pattern, Michael Stipe and Mike Mills sing their most romantic song to date. With repeated listens, You Are the Everything quickly reveals its nearly unmatched brilliance.

Nearly on par with You Are the Everything is the underrated Untitled album closer. Slightly more upbeat musically and lyrically, Untitled reads like a call to arms if not an honest decree of romantic devotion. "The world is big and so awake", he sings. "I stayed up late to hear your voice"

With two great counterparts, Green's largest issue is its failure to tie the two together. Attempts at finding a middle ground are few and far between on the record, and for the most part they do not succeed in connecting the firey with the contemplative. The catchy single "Stand" and the cheerful "Get Up" try, but ultimately succumb to the irony and forced nature of their own shimmering joyfulness. However, one song stands out as the perfect balance between Green's two very different personalities. "World Leader Pretend" is a reflection more than an anthem; a conflagration of emotion somehow detatched from any sense of aggression yet perfectly constructed lyrically and musically. It is the triumph of a band that never knew a direction, and the ultimate point of maturity for R.E.M.

There are many things that are great about Green, but the sum of its parts are greater than the whole. As an experiment, Green was well executed. However due to a lack of cohesion, it is merely a good record that happens to display some incredible material.

Key Tracks: "You Are the Everything"; "World Leader Pretend"; "Turn You Inside Out"

7.5/10

Next Step: The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts

03-07-2010, 10:34 PM	#61 (permalink)
Rickenbacker / Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Conn Posts: 1,338	Right then, thanks for your input. Green Released 1988 Warner Brothers Records 1988 found R.E.M. at something of a crossroads. With a major record deal from Warner Brothers and a top ten single, the band seemed poised for mainstream success. In this way, it would appear that retaining the political role that R.E.M. had adopted with Document was in the best interest of the band commercially speaking. With this in mind, the follow-up "Green" could have easily been a sort of Document 2.0, less energetic, more polished, and written with less anxiety and currency. Thankfully, while their political/environmental message is not abandoned entirely on Green, it is approached with a certain resolve and maturity not seen from R.E.M. up to that point. Whenever the Document formula is not fully dropped, it is amended and improved. Roughly a third of the songs present on Green are upbeat rocking political anthems, but where this method produced largely mediocre songs on Document, tracks like the pulse-pounding Orange Crush work quite well. The secret lies in the production, which is murkier than Document yet still resonating. On Orange Crush, producer Scott Litt, with whom R.E.M. worked on Document, mixes in sounds of helicopters and muttered words, adding to the overriding anti-Vietnam theme. With Litt's production, guitars sound heavier, drums more machine-gun like, and bass more determined to the point where the more upbeat songs on green simply blow Document out of the water. Orange Crush, for all its anthemic fist-pumping fervor is not even the best of the bunch, as the following song Turn You Inside-Out is even more visceral and engagingly aggressive. "Divide your cultured pearls in haste I'm looking for to lay to waste" Stipe jeers, with the only believable kiss-off he has made to date. Mike Mills, ever distant sounding, still offers a remarkable backing vocal, supporting Michael with a resounding "I believe in what you do!" On the whole, Turn You Inside-Out is everything Document sought to accomplish, and an absolute highlight. Juxtaposed against these angry and well made anthems is the majority of Green: down-tempo meditations of mandolin and organ, perhaps no less politically or environmentally conscious than their rocking counterparts but exponentially more mature and lyrically well developed. Rife with images of the outdoors, woods and fields, these songs seem to channel the classic "Fables of the Reconstruction" and "The Good Earth." Some of the material is so good that it would be at home on either of those records, such as the achingly gorgeous You Are the Everything. As crickets chirp in the background and the mandolin riffs a beautiful pattern, Michael Stipe and Mike Mills sing their most romantic song to date. With repeated listens, You Are the Everything quickly reveals its nearly unmatched brilliance. Nearly on par with You Are the Everything is the underrated Untitled album closer. Slightly more upbeat musically and lyrically, Untitled reads like a call to arms if not an honest decree of romantic devotion. "The world is big and so awake", he sings. "I stayed up late to hear your voice" With two great counterparts, Green's largest issue is its failure to tie the two together. Attempts at finding a middle ground are few and far between on the record, and for the most part they do not succeed in connecting the firey with the contemplative. The catchy single "Stand" and the cheerful "Get Up" try, but ultimately succumb to the irony and forced nature of their own shimmering joyfulness. However, one song stands out as the perfect balance between Green's two very different personalities. "World Leader Pretend" is a reflection more than an anthem; a conflagration of emotion somehow detatched from any sense of aggression yet perfectly constructed lyrically and musically. It is the triumph of a band that never knew a direction, and the ultimate point of maturity for R.E.M. There are many things that are great about Green, but the sum of its parts are greater than the whole. As an experiment, Green was well executed. However due to a lack of cohesion, it is merely a good record that happens to display some incredible material. Key Tracks: "You Are the Everything"; "World Leader Pretend"; "Turn You Inside Out" 7.5/10 Next Step: The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts __________________ last.fm rym Talk About the Passion - R.E.M.'s Discography Reviewed Last edited by Rickenbacker; 03-29-2010 at 11:09 PM.