R. E. M. (a retrospective)

After this past Christmas, I had enough ready cash available to finally purchase the latter R.E.M. albums that I  never got around to buying.  Until recently, I had always trusted the conventional wisdom that their later stuff (everything from Document on) was basically bad and not worth listening to.  Their first four albums (Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction, and Lifes Rich Pageant) are brilliant and, for me, never lose their appeal.  I can literally listen to them over and over, and they have a timelessness and at the same time an old-fashioned quality that always rings true.  Another fine album of theirs is Dead Letter Office, a compilation album consisting of B sides and covers.  Though Fables of the Reconstruction is probably my favorite, I have probably listened to Dead Letter Office the most of any of them and in fact am listening to it right now. 

After this Christmas, I was finally able to gain some perspective on their more recent albums.  First, I must say that I've never liked Document and never will.  I even gave it another chance, but for me, it just doesn't come together as an album and features an unfortunate mix of really bad and really good songs.  Their other albums from that era don't bother me as much and, in fact, there are some that I really like.  I've actually owned Automatic for the People for a while now (I bought it based on a recommendation), and it's a terrific album that many consider their best.  Very melancholy, and unforgettable.  Definitely in that same weight class is Out of Time, which has the popularity, if not the reviews, to back it up.  Losing My Religion, Country Feedback, and many other songs on that album sound great and can be played again and again.  I kind of associate Automatic for the People and Out of Time as the best of this later period, even if they don't quite touch the diffuse sounds of the earlier period.  Other stand out albums for me from this later period are Green and Collapse into Now.  Green has some great, poppy as well as dark songs on it, and Collapse into Now is just a great, fitting end to the band, also with some great, catchy songs on it.  To be honest, the other albums aren't as memorable to me as the ones I've mentioned, but their later period definitely has some great moments and shouldn't be underrated.

Up for next Christmas: Led Zeppelin box set.  Stay tuned.