Album Review Friday
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#10 Couldn’t Stand The Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan
#9 Let It Be - The Replacements
#8 Learning To Crawl - The Pretenders
#7 The Smiths
#6 Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen
#5 Reckoning - REM
The origin of the alternative country (alt-country) sound is typically credited to Uncle Tupelo in the early 1990s. They were able to successfully combine the simple yet sincere songwriting of artists like Hank Williams with music infused with the edginess of punk and rock and roll. While many before them had fused country music with rock, it was Uncle Tupelo’s debutNo Depression that is often considered the first album that crystallized the alt-country sound. But the argument can be made that the true origin of alt-country traces back to REM’s second full length album Reckoning, released in 1984. On Reckoning,REM merged simple yet heartfelt lyrics with by a unique straightforward rock sound that certainly has its inspiration in both the punk and country scenes of the 1970s. While they would show flashes of this style across their later recordings, it is the beauty of the ten songs that comprise Reckoningwhich make it one of the best albums released in 1984.
Before Reckoning, REM was known most for the muddled and often incomprehensible vocals from their frontman Michael Stipe. While their debut album Murmur received widespread praise, it was often tempered with the difficulty most had with actually appreciating lyrics that could not be understood. Murmur certainly showed REM’s unique sound but was too inconsistent to predict success for a band that was little more than a darling of college radio stations. But with Reckoning, REM declared themselves as the alternative rock band to pay attention to, for the sound on this album would inspire and influence bands for the rest of the decade and beyond. Stipe’s vocals are clear, Peter Buck’s guitar sound and talent is mature, and Mike Mills’ bass with Bill Berry’s drums provide a dynamic foundation to what would become possibly the best alternative album of the 1980s.
While Stipe gets the credit the vocal power behind the songs on Reckoning, listening to the album again reveals how much Mills’ harmonies add to the texture of the music. Just listen to “Pretty Persuasion” as Stipe’s almost flat delivery is elevated every time Mills comes in with his backing parts. This combo is put to perfection on the opening track, “Harborcoat”. It is Mills’ counterpoint to Stipe’s lines that make the song so interesting and layered. Whether the song is really about Anne Frank or the Russian Revolution does not matter, it catches you and tells you this album is going to be worth a full listen.
The content of the lyrics do not get lighter, as topics include the untimely death of a friend in “So. Central Rain” and failed relationships in the dark but beautiful “Camera”. But regardless of the content, the music remains consistent. While sometimes criticized for ‘all sounding the same’, it is this unique sound that gives the album its beauty. One track blends into the next, and the bright guitar sounds of Buck provide the thread that connects them all. That sunny Rickenbacker tone set REM apart in the 1980s, and it became a signature of their future albums.
Probably the biggest hit off Reckoningis a prime example of how the band had already grown into their sound and was willing to experiment. “Don’t Go Back To Rockville” is an instantly catchy song, with easy sing-along choruses, and certainly has the Buck guitar signature all over it. But it is the backing piano and country flavor that give it enough texture to make it more than just a catchy pop song. And this combination would be seen more on their next few records, which were their peak. Fables Of The Reconstruction and Life’s Rich Pageant really show REM at their creative best, balancing the deep sound with enough rock and pop to make the albums interesting decades later. They lost that ability to check their pop indulgences with later recordings, most famously on Document, Green and Out Of Time.While more commercially successful, they lost the artistry that made the early albums so special. They would not find that perfect recipe again until 1992’s Automatic For The People, which became one of their finest.
REM was certainly one of the most influential bands of the 1980s, and with Reckoningdemonstrated their unique, individual sound. The sincerity of their songwriting coupled with the straightforward guitar centered music influenced bands for years to come, and made Reckoning one of the best albums of 1984, if not the decade.