Green - R.E.M. (CD 1988)

Before Green was released, Michael Stipe (frontman for R.E.M., of course) made a big deal about how this would be a great album because Warner Brothers gave the band the artistic freedom to record whatever it wanted. Indeed, this album is the major labor debut for R.E.M., and was closely watched by fans of the band. This disc came out on election day in 1988 as some kind of statement against George Bush, and I think that little fact is just great -- R.E.M. responded to the allegedly bland and square Republicans by releasing an album that was more commercial than normal for R.E.M. and was recorded with the goal of making lots of $$$ in mind. Heh, heh, heh. I love it. Silly boys!

Now, this isn't a bad album, but it's not all that great either. I mean, "Stand" is supposed to be a song that makes fun of pop music, but is nothing more than a little pop song that's just plain awful. The lyrics are some of the worst that R.E.M. has ever written, and that's saying something -- the band started to decline horribly with this disc and has come out with some true trash in the past decade or so. To make matters worse, Stipe tries to engage in some bad poetry with songs such as "The Wrong Child." That little tune features miserable music, snotty mandolins and some odd lyrics about a sick kid who can't go outside. This tune is something that Communist nations probably use to torture prisoners -- it's about as unpleasant as anything that's ever been put down on tape.

As for the vocals, Stipe comes across plain and clear here. One thing that's instantly noticeable is that his voice was pushed to the back on earlier albums for a good reason -- the man can't sing worth a damn. He rather whines more than sings on this entire album, and that's just plain irritating. Worse yet, hearing what the man is actually saying is a bit of a curse -- Stipe's lyrics are little more than stream-of-thought ramblings that, perhaps, worked best when shoved way in the back.

So, we've got some horrible tracks here, and Stipe's voice just gets on my nerves after a time. However, there are some positive things about the album.

First, "Orange Crush" is a fine tune, and one of the most popular off the album. Sure, I don't know what the hell the song is supposed to be about, but that's okay. The grinding guitars and somber nature of the track make for one of the most intimidating things the band has ever recorded. That one's very cool. Some other tracks such as "Pop Song 89" and the 11th song that has no titled are also fine pieces of music that shows how good R.E.M. can be when it kicks back and has a bit of fun. Yes, the more serious songs here really destroy about half the album -- it's hard to figure out what the hell Stipe is talking about on those, anyway, and the atmosphere created in those tunes is just unpleasant without reason.

So, you've got an album here that would have made a great LP -- about half of the songs are full of ringing guitars and unusual touches that we've learned to expect from R.E.M. However, the rest of it is either misguided pop junk or "artsy" noise that no one but Michael Stipe's mother will love. Grab this if you're a die-hard fan, but leave it alone otherwise.