General Information

R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and vocalist and frontman Michael Stipe. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. first gained attention due to Buck's "jangly" guitar style and Stipe's cryptic lyrics. R.E.M. released their first single, "Radio Free Europe", in 1981, followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, their first release on I.R.S. Records. In 1983, the band released their critically-acclaimed debut album Murmur, and built their reputation over the next few years through constant touring and the support of college radio. Following years of underground success, R.E.M. had a breakthrough Top Ten hit in 1987 with the song "The One I Love". After signing to Warner Bros. in 1988, R.E.M. began to put forth broader political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.

By the early 1990s, R.E.M. were viewed as pioneers of alternative rock and released their most successful albums, the multiplatinum Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), which veered from the band's established sound. R.E.M. released Monster, which as a return to a more rock-oriented sound, in 1994 and began their first tour in six years. However the tour was marred by a number of difficulties.

In 1997, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a then-record $80 million. That same year, Bill Berry amicably left the band, with Buck, Mills, and Stipe continuing as a three-piece. Through some changes in musical style, R.E.M. continued their career into the next decade with mixed critical and commercial success. In 2007, the band's history and influence was honored with its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

History

Formation: 1980–1982

R.E.M.'s history began in January 1980 when two University of Georgia undergraduates, Michael Stipe and Peter Buck, discovered they shared an admiration for 1970s punk and its predecessors. The pair soon met Mike Mills and Bill Berry, who were also students at the university, at a party. The quartet agreed to write several songs; Stipe later commented that "there was never any grand plan behind any of it." The unnamed band spent several months rehearsing and played their first show on April 5, 1980 at a friend's birthday party held in a converted Episcopal church. After considering names like Twisted Kites, Cans of Piss, and Negro Wives, the band settled on R.E.M., which Stipe pulled at random from a dictionary. Eventually, the band members dropped out of school to focus on the band.

Over the next year and a half, R.E.M. toured throughout the Southern United States. During the summer of 1981, R.E.M. recorded their first single, "Radio Free Europe" (sample (help·info)) at Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studios. "Radio Free Europe" was released on the local independent record label Hib-Tone with an initial pressing of one thousand copies, which quickly sold out. The single became a hit on college radio and topped Village Voice's year-end poll of Best Independent Singles.

The I.R.S. years: 1982–1987

First releases

R.E.M. had recorded its debut EP, Chronic Town, with Easter for Hib-Tone when the band's demo tape found its way to I.R.S. Records. The band turned down the advances of major label RCA Records and signed with I.R.S. in May 1982. Chronic Town was released by I.R.S. in August 1982 as the label's first American release. A positive review of the EP by NME praised the aura of mystery the songs presented, and concluded, "R.E.M. ring true, and it's great to hear something as unforced and cunning as this."

The band was initially paired with producer Stephen Hague by I.R.S. to record their debut album, but Hague's emphasis on technical perfection left the band unsatisfied and asking the label to let them record with Easter. I.R.S. subsequently agreed to a "tryout" session, allowing the band to return to North Carolina and record "Pilgrimage" with Easter and producing partner Don Dixon. After hearing the track, I.R.S. gave the green light to record the album with Dixon and Easter. The completed album, Murmur, was greeted with critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone listing it as their record of the year. The album was warmly received by college radio, and its success there pushed the album into the Top 40 on the Billboard album chart. A re-recorded version of "Radio Free Europe" was the lead single from the album. Other notable tracks included the piano-led "Perfect Circle", "Sitting Still" (a re-recorded version of the Hib-Tone B-side), and "Talk About the Passion", which was re-released as a single in 1988. Despite the acclaim awarded to the album, Murmur only sold about 200,000 copies, which I.R.S.'s Jay Boberg felt was below expectations.

R.E.M. made its first national television appearance on Late Night with David Letterman, where they performed a new, unnamed song. The unnamed song, eventually titled "So. Central Rain", became the first single from the band's second album, Reckoning, which was once again recorded with Easter and Dixon. One of the clearer songs was the second single, "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville", written by Mills about a love interest who was being called back home by her parents after they had heard of her disappointing grades.[ The album met with critical acclaim; NME's Mat Snow said that Reckoning "confirms R.E.M. as one of the most beautifully exciting groups on the planet."

College rock stars

For its third album, Fables of the Reconstruction, the band demonstrated a change in direction. Instead of Dixon and Easter, the band chose Joe Boyd, who had worked with Fairport Convention and Nick Drake, to produce the record. R.E.M. travelled to England, arriving just in time to enjoy a cold and rainy London winter. The band found the sessions unexpectedly difficult, causing tensions to emerge, later blamed on the weather and homesickness; the band reportedly came close to breaking up. The gloominess surrounding the sessions ended up providing the context for the album itself, influencing an album darker and drearier than the band's previous efforts. Lyrically, Stipe began to create storylines in the mode of Southern mythology, noting in a 1985 interview that he was inspired by "the whole idea of the old men sitting around the fire, passing on ... legends and fables to the grandchildren". Though Fables' singles were again mostly ignored at mainstream radio, the band found a growing college radio audience.

For its ensuing album, the band enlisted John Mellencamp producer Don Gehman. The result, Lifes Rich Pageant, was more accessible to listeners outside the college realm, with Stipe's vocals coming closer to the forefront. Buck discussed the difference in a 1986 interview with the Chicago Tribune: "Michael is getting better at what he's doing, and he's getting more confident at it. And I think that shows up in the projection of his voice."Over the course of Lifes Rich Pageant, Stipe's lyrics touched on a wide variety of themes, with a greater emphasis on politics and the environment. "Fall On Me" covered the concerns of air pollution, while "Cuyahoga" touched on the river of the same name in Ohio, which was once so polluted that it famously caught on fire in 1969. The album continued the trend of each album outselling its predecessor, and eventually peaked at #21 on the Billboard album chart. Following the success of Pageant, I.R.S. issued Dead Letter Office, a compilation consisting of tracks recorded by the band during their album sessions, many of which had either been issued as B-sides or left unreleased altogether. Shortly thereafter, I.R.S. compiled R.E.M.'s music video catalog (except "Wolves, Lower") as the band's first video release, Succumbs.

Rising to stardom

For their last album with I.R.S., the band entered what would become a decade-long relationship with producer Scott Litt. Again eager to make a hard-driving rock record[citation needed], the band eliminated many of the elements that had played so prominently on their early albums, including Buck's arpeggios and Stipe's mumbling vocals. Reacting to the conservative political environment of the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan, the album featured some of Stipe's most openly political lyrics, particularly on "Welcome To the Occupation" and "Exhuming McCarthy".[18] The completed album, Document, began the band's rise into the mainstream.

Document's first single, "The One I Love", caught on at Top 40 radio. Despite the lyrical ambiguity, the song became the band's first major single, reaching #9 on the Billboard singles chart. The album's second single, "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", was an apocalyptic rant reminiscent of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues". While not a particular success on mainstream radio, the pop-culture-laden song became a popular favorite on college radio, and the video was featured on MTV's 120 Minutes.

The band's I.R.S. years were summarized in the 1988 compilation Eponymous. The release included most of the band's singles, as well as a number of rarities, including the original version of "Radio Free Europe," a version of "Gardening At Night" with Stipe singing the song full-voice, and a version of "Finest Worksong" with horns, which Buck thought might have made Document "had instinct prevailed at the time". The album acted as a greatest hits album for the band, even though it was not labeled as such.

Warner Bros. years: 1988–1997

At the height of fame

In 1988, R.E.M. signed a five-album contract with major label Warner Bros. Records and released Green. This was the band's first experience with heavy promotion, and they toured large arenas worldwide in 1989. The band had now been brought to international attention, with radio hits like the top 10 "Stand," and continued their political interest with the anthemic "Orange Crush" and "World Leader Pretend," the first R.E.M. song to have its lyrics printed in the album sleeve. In 1990, a mid-'80s side project between Berry, Buck, Mills, and Warren Zevon, named the Hindu Love Gods, had a record of blues covers released by Giant Records without the R.E.M. members' consent or participation; a cover of Prince's 1985 hit "Raspberry Beret" received some modest radio airplay. After the Green tour ended the bandmembers unofficially decided to take the following year off, the first extended break in the band's career.

R.E.M. reconvened in mid-1990 to record their seventh album, Out of Time, which was released in the spring of 1991 and became the band's first chart-topping effort in both the U.S. and U.K. A lush pop album, Out of Time boasted a wider array of sounds than the group's previous efforts, including folk and classical instruments, orchestrations, and a collaboration with rapper KRS-One on the opening "Radio Song." Out of Time's lead single, "Losing My Religion" (sample (help·info)) became the group's biggest pop hit, reaching #4 in the U.S.. The band also scored a Top 10 hit with "Shiny Happy People," one of three songs on the album to feature vocals from Kate Pierson of fellow Athens band The B-52's. Two songs featuring Mills on lead vocals, "Near Wild Heaven" and "Texarkana," received notable airplay as well. Despite the lack of touring to support the album, Out of Time became R.E.M.'s biggest album, selling more than four million copies in the US and spending two weeks at the top of the charts.

After spending some months off in 1991, R.E.M. returned to the studio quickly to record their next album. In late 1992 they released the somber, meditative Automatic for the People. Though the group had promised a harder-rocking album after the softer textures of Out of Time, Automatic for the People "[seemed] to move at an even more agonized crawl," according to Melody Maker. Mandolin was again heard on some songs, as well as melodica and piano played by Mills. The more acoustic sound was mostly due to the influence of Buck, who had recently produced Uncle Tupelo's March 16-20, 1992. Many songs graced by string arrangements by Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. Like its predecessor, Automatic was a quadruple-platinum success, generating the Top 40 hit singles "Man on the Moon," "Drive," and the anti-suicide anthem "Everybody Hurts." Receiving the band's best reviews since their debut, Automatic for the People sold 15 million copies worldwide in spite of its cryptic, melancholy lyrics, and the fact that the band again declined to tour in support of it.

Monster

After piecing together two slow-paced albums in a row in the studio, 1994's Monster was, as Buck said, "a 'rock' record, with the rock in quotation marks." Though the result was conceived as a back-to-basics album, the recording was difficult and plagued with tension. The album, R.E.M.'s ninth, featured backing vocals by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore on one song, "Crush With Eyeliner," while "Let Me In" was a lament for Stipe's late friend Kurt Cobain. The single "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (sample (help·info)) proved to be a crossover hit, and Monster was their fastest-selling album to date, debuting at the top of the U.S. charts and earning strong reviews from critics. However, many eventually soured on the band's self-conscious foray into arena-ready glam rock, compared to the perceived depth of their previous work, while others took it as a delayed response to grunge.

Experiencing the widest popularity of their career, in January of 1995 R.E.M. set out on their first tour in six years, beginning several collaborations with prominent stage and lighting designer Willie Williams. On March 1, two months into the tour, Berry collapsed on stage during a performance in Lausanne, Switzerland. It transpired that he had suffered a brain aneurysm. He had surgery immediately and had fully recovered within a month. On May 15, R.E.M. resumed its tour in Mountain View, California, two months after Berry's aneurysm, but his illness was only the beginning of a series of health problems that plagued the Monster Tour. Mills had to undergo abdominal surgery to remove an intestinal adhesion in July; a month later, Stipe had to have an emergency surgery to repair a hernia.

Despite all the problems, the tour was an enormous financial success, and the group had recorded the bulk of a new album while on the road. The band brought along eight-track recorders to capture their shows, and used the recordings as the base elements for the album. As such, the band's touring musicians, including Nathan December and Scott McCaughey, ended up appearing on the album. After the tour was complete, the band entered the studio and recorded the four remaining tracks.

Shortly before its release, which was going to fulfill their contract, the band re-signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1996 for what was, at the time, the largest recording contract advance in history: a reported $80 million for five albums. 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi, their longest album to date, was decidedly bleak and underproduced. The album featured the seven-minute "Leave," the band's longest song to date, which was composed by Berry. Another notable track on the record was its lead single "E-Bow the Letter," a collaboration with Patti Smith, who had been one of Michael Stipe's earliest influences. Critical reaction to the album was mostly favourable; however, in light of such a huge contract sum, the album marked a considerable downfall of the band's commercial success. Though it debuted at #2 in the U.S. and #1 in the UK, the album failed to generate a hit single in the U.S. and has sold half of the sales of Out of Time. Also in 1996, R.E.M. parted ways with their long-time manager Jefferson Holt, allegedly due to sexual harassment charges levied against Holt by a member of the band's home office in Athens. Holt denied the accusations of harassment and insisted that it was an amicable separation between him and the band. The group's lawyer, Bertis Downs, assumed managerial duties.

Berry's departure

In March 1997, the band convened at Buck's Hawaii holiday and began recording demos of material written in Athens the previous month. The band took the opportunity to reinvent its sound, incorporating drum machines and Buck's vintage synthesizers from the 1960s and '70s. Berry was asked to come up with some patterns on the drum machines between that point and their next meeting, which was to be in Athens in October. Seven months later, R.E.M. met up at their West Clayton Street studio to begin rehearsals for the new album and to do some recording. Berry, however, was nowhere to be seen. "They had been recording for about a week, and Bill wasn't there, and I was going, you know, 'Where's Bill? Why isn’t he here?'" explained producer John Keane on VH1's Behind the Music.

As part of R.E.M., Berry had regularly contributed elements such as guitar, bass, vocals, and keyboards on studio tracks, and made numerous songwriting contributions: "Perfect Circle," "Can't Get There From Here," "Everybody Hurts," "Man on the Moon," and "Leave" were several Berry-written songs. Stipe admitted that the band would be different without a major contributor: "For me, Mike, and Peter, as R.E.M., are we still R.E.M.? I guess a three-legged dog is still a dog. It just has to learn to run differently."

After Berry's departure: 1998–present

Continuing as a three-piece

After taking a time-out to gather their thoughts, rest, and travel, the remaining members of R.E.M. returned to the drawing board, at Toast Studios in San Francisco, to work on its next album. They parted ways with producer Litt, ending their decade-long collaboration. In his place, the band commissioned Pat McCarthy to produce the record; he was assisted by Nigel Godrich for the engineering, fresh off his work with Radiohead's acclaimed OK Computer. Rather than hire a permanent replacement drummer, the band made use of drum machines on the album, and drafted ex-Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin and Beck touring drummer Joey Waronker for handling session duties.

The recording process was plagued with a great deal of tension and the group came close to disbanding completely. Also, Mills played guitar and keyboards more often than his typical bass duties, which are more often than not played by lead guitarist Buck. Led off by the single "Daysleeper", Up (1998) debuted in the top ten in the US and UK. However, the album was a relative failure, selling 900,000 copies in the US by mid-1999 and eventually selling just over two million copies worldwide. Up's dreamy, often electronic sound apparently put off many longtime fans still mourning Berry's departure, though Berry himself considered it R.E.M.'s finest work.

A year after Up's release, R.E.M. contributed a song, "The Great Beyond", to the soundtrack of the movie Man on the Moon, which starred Jim Carrey in the life story of comedian Andy Kaufman. (The film was itself named for the 1992 R.E.M. hit that referenced Kaufman in the lyrics.) A major U.K. hit and a minor U.S. hit, "The Great Beyond" garnered greater radio airplay than any of R.E.M.'s singles from Up. The band also wrote the instrumental score for the movie, a first for the group.

Reveal and Around the Sun

R.E.M.'s 2001 album, Reveal, continued the band's more subdued tone, its folk pop songs increasingly shrouded in layers of production effects. However, it also included the hit single "Imitation of Life". Reveal included drumming by Waronker, as well as contributions by Scott McCaughey (a co-founder with Buck of the band The Minus 5) and Posies founder Ken Stringfellow, who also backed the band live in this era. R.E.M. played a series of three free concerts to promote the album. They played before 80,000 in Cologne, 20,000 in Trafalgar Square in London, England, and 20,000 on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario.

In subsequent years, the band began the soundtrack for the 2001 film Vanilla Sky. The 2003 single "Bad Day", which was featured on the "best of" compilation In Time, sold well worldwide and spawned a tour featuring both hits and obscure fan favorites.

During a 2003 concert in Raleigh, North Carolina, Berry made a surprise appearance, performing backing vocals on "Radio Free Europe". He then sat behind the drum kit for a performance of the early R.E.M. song "Permanent Vacation," marking his first performance with the band since his retirement. (Berry has since made four more live appearances with the band.)

The band returned in 2004 with Around the Sun, which met with the mildest reception of any of the thirteen albums in R.E.M.'s career at that point, receiving mixed-to-negative reviews. Stipe had suggested the new album would be "primitive and howling," and the band had released a stark political protest song called "Final Straw" free over the Internet during the invasion of Iraq, leading fans to expect a return to roots. Instead, the album (and the final recording of that song) was ultimately more processed than even Reveal, although it featured some of Stipe's most personal songwriting. Singles from Around the Sun included "Leaving New York" (a Top 5 hit in the UK), "Aftermath", "Electron Blue", and "Wanderlust".

For the record and subsequent tour, the band hired a new full-time touring drummer, Bill Rieflin, who had previously been a member of Ministry. In the band's press release for the album, Stipe noted that Buck had brought Rieflin to the band in the hopes of pulling the band in a different direction. But Rieflin is not considered a replacement for Berry, and the band remains an official three-piece. In late 2004 the band toured with Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Bright Eyes and others on the Vote for Change tour. In 2004 the band also released a set of songs via iTunes. Throughout 2005, the band embarked on their first full-length world tour since the Monster Tour ten years earlier. During the tour, R.E.M. participated in Live 8. hereafter the band took a hiatus.

Recent years

EMI, which owns the I.R.S. catalogue, released a compilation album featuring some of R.E.M.'s work from the I.R.S. years on September 12, 2006 called And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987.[27]. On the same day, a DVD entitled When The Light Is Mine: The Best Of The I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 was released. On September 16, 2006, the band, including Berry, performed during the ceremony to honor their induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.While rehearsing for the ceremony, the band recorded a cover of John Lennon's "#9 Dream" for "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur," a tribute album benefiting Amnesty International, as well as releasing the song as a single for the album and the campaign, "#9 Dream" was Berry's first studio recording with the band since his departure almost a decade earlier.

In October 2006, R.E.M. was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. The ceremony took place on March 12, 2007, at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.[30] The band were inducted by Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder and performed four songs with Bill Berry.

R.E.M. has helped raise awareness of Aung San Suu Kyi and human rights violations in Burma working with the Freedom Campaign and the US Campaign for Burma. (Past music events have included the Black Eyed Peas, Damien Rice, and Wynton Marsalis.) The group has held a concert for Burma that was beamed into the country. R.E.M. is also going to be part of a concert series for Burma organized by the Freedom Campaign that will include well-known talent both nationally and internationally.

New album

Work on the band's fourteenth studio album will commence in 2007.The band plans to record the new album in Vancouver, Athens and Dublin, where they will be playing five nights as part of a 'Working Rehearsal' in Olympia Theatre on June 30, July 1, July 3, July 4, and July 5. These dates are their only planned concerts for 2007. Speaking of the dates Stipe notes “Returning to Dublin for our live rehearsal this summer provides the great start we need for our next album’s work,”. “I intend to hit the ground running.” Mills says the band chose the Olympia, an historic music hall built in 1879, because of all the great shows they’ve seen there over the years: “From the Waterboys to Lou Reed. I am thrilled to play at this wonderful venue, and in front of some of the best fans in the world”. On May 3, the band's website announced that R.E.M. would work with producer Jacknife Lee and record in Vancouver for a few weeks before moving to Ireland.

Musical style

In a 1988 interview, Peter Buck described typical R.E.M. songs as, "Minor key, mid-tempo, enigmatic, semi-folk-rock-balladish things. That's what everyone thinks and to a certain degree, that's true." All songs are credited to the entire band, even though individial members are sometimes responsible for writing the majority of a particular song. Each member is given an equal vote in the songwriting process; however Buck has conceded that Stipe, as the band's lyricist, can rarely be persuaded to follow an idea he does not favor.

Early articles about the band focused on Michael Stipe's singing style (described as "mumbling" by The Washington Post), which often rendered his lyrics indecipherable. Stipe commented in 1984, "It's just the way I sing. If I tried to control it, it would be pretty false." Producer Joe Boyd convinced Stipe to begin singing more clearly during the recording of Fables of the Reconstruction.[38] Stipe harmonizes with Mills often in songs; in the chorus for "Stand," Mills and Stipe alternate singing lyrics, creating a dialogue.

Peter Buck's style of playing guitar has been singled out by many as the most distinctive aspect of R.E.M.'s music. Buck's "economical, arpeggiated, poetic" style reminded British music journalists during the 1980s of 1960s American folk rock band The Byrds. Comparisions were also made with the guitar playing of Johnny Marr of alternative rock contemporaries The Smiths. While Buck professed being a fan of the group, he admitted he initially criticized the band simply because he was tired of fans asking him if he was influenced by Marr. Mike Mills' melodic approach to bass playing is inspired by Paul McCartney and Chris Squire of Yes; Mills has said, "I always played a melodic bass, like a piano bass in some ways . . . I never wanted to play the traditional locked into the kick drum, root note bass work." Mills has more musical training than his bandmates, which he has said "made it easier to turn abstract musical ideas into reality."

External links

• Official R.E.M. website
• R.E.M. at Last.fm