Search - R.E.M. :: Murmur

Murmur + 4 nice bonus tracks

JC_John | Raleigh, NC United States | 04/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is no question that Murmur is a flat-out masterpiece (see the reviews for the US release). This edition is a nice one to have because you get a small sample of early live REM. Track 13, There She Goes Again, was the original B-side to the Radio Free Europe single ('81). It varies slightly from the version found on Dead Letter Office. Track 14, 9-9(live), is an energetic version of a very often overlooked song on Murmur. Many people feel this version surpasses the album version. Track 15, Gardening At Night(live) (see Chronic Town), and 16, Catapult(live), are two others that fans of their early work ought to check out. You really can't go wrong with this album if you have a little cash on hand."

How do you improve perfection?

Dan Stanley | Australia | 08/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Murmur is the finest album I've heard from R.E.M. thus far. It's a fantastic collection of songs that fit together like a jigsaw and leave you blown away, song after song. However if you see this version for sale, I recommend picking it up... the bonus tracks are great!



One of my favourite things about this great cd is that the songs work well together, and blend in well to make it an atmospheric experience... you won't be skipping any tracks on this one! Where as on albums like Green, you play it to hear the hits, but everything else isn't as good.



Except for Radio Free Europe, the bands first single, there's not any song that stands out over the other, and that's the way I like it. All the tracks are different, but provide you with the same basic atmosphere and listening pleasure. We Walk is very different to West Of The Fields, but they work together so well!



The gem of the album has to be Perfect Circle, a truely beautiful song, and my second favourite on the album. Pilgrimage, my favourite, is fantastic and fun (and perhaps one of the most underrated songs of all time), and other songs like Moral Kiosk and Catapult will leave you smiling. You really can't go wrong with this cd, it's full of underrated R.E.M. classics.



One of the bonus tracks is the cover of There She Goes Again by the Velvet Undergrounds. While included on the Dead Letter Office compilation, this is a great recording that's actually superior to the original version :P



The live recordings of Catapult and 9-9 are great (although they're curious selections), but the live version of Chronic Town's Gardening at Night knocks me off my feet, time and time again. It's incredible.



If you don't already own Murmur, you're missing out on one of the greatest albums of all time. Shame on you! Buy Murmur right now, and if you can spare a little bit more, buy this version! :D"

Resusitated the Heartbeat of Music

Rocky Raccoon | Boise, ID | 09/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you don't count R.E.M.'s first long E.P (extended play) beginning 'Chronic Town,' then their debut starts here. 'Murmur' their first album is brilliant, deserving all the accolades that are heaped upon it. With vibrant echo effects, a repertoire of ecclectic guitar, including folk, rock, punk, and new-wave patterns, 'Murmur' would be the crowning achievement of any other band. Having romantic, religious, and surreal images, R.E.M. propulsively and hypnotically lives up to the band name with a solid set of songs that work well together. Before alternative was a household world, R.E.M. came up with an avant guard folk-rock, new wave masterpiece before anyone could give the genre a name.



Their pell-mell approach is progressive, but hardly conventional. The opener "Radio Free Europe" and the latter "Sitting Still" stand up to the best punk. But, "Moral Kiosk," "9-9," and "Shaking Through" contain complex, yet mesmerizing fast-forward appeal. They can also bring "dreams of elegian" with the depths of hypnotic songs like "Pilgrimage" and "West of the Fields". (One shouldn't forget that they are an art band among other things. Their rendering of "Pilgrimage" is done with echo effects that resemble Gregorian Chant, and the music to "9-9" musically refers to NFL music used during highlights in the eighties.) If the variety weren't enough, then folk-rock is mastered on the celestial "Talk About the Passion" and "We Walk". Variety is underscored with some intricate musicianship on the exquisite "Perfect Circle". Song for song, 'Murmur' is a throbbing, heartfelt album of excellence. Later, albums would reinvent the band like no other since The Beatles, but on 'Murmur' they already showed they were perfectionists with every aspect of their music. This C.D. is worth the extra import price.



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