R.E.M. - Reckoning (Deluxe Edition)

I'm assuming we all know R.E.M. I know most people probably will only know them for "Losing My Religion" or "Happy Shiny People", but they've had huge legendary indie credit pre-Out Of Time. I am also assuming that Universal Music is intending to re-releasing Deluxe Editions of R.E.M.'s older albums (starting with Murmur and ending with Green). And like last year's excellent Murmur Deluxe Edition, this year's release is on Reckoning (a special 2-disc special Deluxe Edition is set for release next week, June 23^rd).

I'll admit it's been a few years since I last put on my original Reckoning CD, but listening to the album for review, it still sounds as refreshing and modern, as it did for me the first time I heard it in the 90s. Surprisingly, the album is quite short, as a lot of albums in the 70s and 80s. You have to have to remember that in the 1980s when Reckoning was released, that vinyl and cassettes were the music format. Each record side only could only accommodate for 20 minutes at 33⅓, so 40 mins was typical of a full length.

What's interesting about Reckoning is that between Side A and Side B, that there are themes on each side. R.E.M. called Side A, The Left Side of Reckoning which is more or less was meant as a soundtrack. You can tell the shift to a more up tempo starting on The Right Side with "Second Guessing".

The band felt (at the time), that "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" and "Pretty Persuasion", were too old and was never really meant to be on this album. These songs are probably band's biggest hit songs among fans and critics.

I've always identified with "Rockville", I get a sense of isolation, growing up in rural small town USA and being ashamed to go back to live. Even the jangly country piano on this song kind of lends itself to its secret origin in an unknown midwest town somewhere.

The other interesting thing about the album is that during the recording of "7 Chinese Brothers", Michael Stipe could barely sing into the microphone as he suffered from exhaustion from the band's previous '83 tour schedule. Producer Don Dixon could not hear Stipe on the recording tape and the song was re-recorded several times. Finally, to try and get inspiration, he handed him The Joy of Knowing Jesus by the Revelaires, which Stipe started reading the liner notes from the album: "Reverend Bill Funderburk sings 'He Cared That Much For Me', Charles Surratt introduces his own composition 'On Calvary For Me', 'The Joy of Knowing Jesus' is a song of pure delight featuring John Barbee".

And yes, the recording was made into a song called "Voice of Harold", available on their rarities/oddities album Dead Letter Office.

As for the bonus second disc, this includes the entire live show from their Little America tour (named after the last song on Reckoning) in Chicago's Aragon Ballroom on July 7, 1984. The show was broadcast on WXRT, so the audio is from a master soundboard and it sounds clear and excellent.

Understandably the live recording captured many of the band's early songs plus their latest album's songs (eight of the songs are from Reckoning), there are two gems in the live set: their Velvet Underground cover of "Femme Fatale" and "Driver 8"*. The later song would later be my favorite song on their third album, Fables of the Reconstruction, with its catchy "take a break, driver eight".

The band sounds tight and playing songs after songs without any problems. Hearing the audience cheers and feedback on the recording indicate to me how intimate the show was. In fact, Michael Stipe dedicated "7 Chinese Brothers" to "the guy that broke his leg coming in tonight and went to the hospital and came back. Hold up your crutches, guy!".

Reckoning is like a walk down memory lane, look for for the re-issue on Deluxe Format next week.   If you already own the album, from a previous release, this new version's been remastered with the bonus live disc.  It's also available in 180g vinyl for collectors.

* I couldn't find any reference anywhere, but in popular culture, I remember reading Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol and one of the multiple personality from Crazy Jane was Driver 8. And of course, I smiled to myself, because I knew that he stole his inspiration from the REM song. (Morrison was notorious for stealing pop music and putting them in his writings, see also his creation of The Love Glove and Nowhere Man).