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R.E.M.: Green

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Warner Bros. Records
Released: 1988.11.08
Time:
 41:01
Category: Alternative Rock
Producer(s): Scott Litt & R.E.M.
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.remhq.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Pop Song 89 (B.Perry/P.Buck/M.Mills/M.Stipe) - 3:04
[2] Get Up (B.Perry/P.Buck/M.Mills/M.Stipe) - 2:39
[3] You Are the Everything (B.Perry/P.Buck/M.Mills/M.Stipe) - 3:41
[4] Stand (B.Perry/P.Buck/M.Mills/M.Stipe) - 3:10
[5] World Leader Pretend (B.Perry/P.Buck/M.Mills/M.Stipe) - 4:17
[6] The Wrong Child (B.Perry/P.Buck/M.Mills/M.Stipe) - 3:36
[7] Orange Crush (B.Perry/P.Buck/M.Mills/M.Stipe) - 3:51
[8] Turn You Inside-Out (B.Perry/P.Buck/M.Mills/M.Stipe) - 4:16
[9] Hairshirt (B.Perry/P.Buck/M.Mills/M.Stipe) - 3:55
[10] I Remember California (B.Perry/P.Buck/M.Mills/M.Stipe) - 4:59
[11] 11 (B.Perry/P.Buck/M.Mills/M.Stipe) - 3:10

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Bill Berry - Drums, Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar on [3,6,9], Producer
Peter Buck - Guitar, Mandolin, Drums on [11], Producer
Mike Mills - Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Accordion, Backing Vocals, Producer
Michael Stipe - Vocals, Packaging, Photography, Producer

Bucky Baxter - Pedal Steel Guitar on [5]
Jane Scarpantoni - Cello on [5]
Keith Leblanc - Percussion on [8]

Scott Litt - Producer, Engineer
Thom Cadley - Engineer (Bearsville)
George Cowan - Engineer (Bearsville)
Tom Laune - Engineer (Ardent)
Jay Healy - Engineer (Ardent)
Bob Ludwig - Mastering
Jem Cohen - Photography
Michael Tighe - Photography
Jon Mccafferty - Packaging & Photography
Frank Olinsky - Packaging

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Recorded at the Ardent Studios, Memphis in May-July 1988 and at the Bearsville Studios, Woodstock, NY, in July-September 1988. Mastered at Masterdisk, New York City, New York, United States



As far as major-label debuts by underground bands go, Green is fairly uncompromising. While it displays a more powerful guitar sound on "Get Up," "Turn You Inside Out," and "Orange Crush," it also takes more detours than Document, whether it's the bizarrely affecting contemporary folk of "The Wrong Child" and "You Are the Everything," the bubblegum of "Stand" and "Pop Song 89," or the introspection of the lovely "Hairshirt" and "World Leader Pretend." But instead of presenting a portrait of a band with a rich, eclectic vision, Green is incoherent. While its best moments are flat-out great, the band has bitten off more than it can chew; many of the songs sound like failed experiments, and its arena-ready production now sounds slightly dated. Nevertheless, half of the record is brilliant, and it certainly indicates that R.E.M. are continuing to diversify their sound.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine - All Music Guide



There’s an ambition on Green that’s not always present on their earlier albums.

Having parted company with their indie roots after taking the big-buck deal offered by Warner Bros, REM punted away the from their natural comfort zone painstakingly articulated across a string of eclectic albums since their debut in 1983. Enjoying rising popularity not only at home but increasingly in Europe, they took up with producer Scott Litt (who had raised the bar on the preceding album, Document) to make their first real swing at the big-time.

Recorded over an eleven week period, whilst the majority of REM’s trademark elements are in place, there’s also an ambition on Green that’s not always present on their earlier albums. Perhaps it’s being in the company of clear-cut stompers such as “Pop Song 89,” with its Doors-like tease, or the message-laden “Stand”, calling for a raising of political awareness at a time when the American Right were on the ascendant. Certainly the megaphone diplomacy of the booming “Orange Crush” left nobody in doubt that REM were moving up into the big league.

The commodious and well-lit spaces of Green stand in stark contrast against the moody, atmospherics of old, though there are some stylistic carry-overs. The prog-rock dirge of “I Remember California” bears gloomy witness to a world losing itself in a blur of accelerating change. How they themselves coped with their increasing visibility was also an area of concern. Ascribing any definitive meaning to a Michael Stipe lyric is fraught and foolish, though “World Leader Pretend” whilst being about the remoteness of our political classes also ponders on how fame erects barriers that are both irksome yet, in some ways, necessary.

Green is not quite the sell-out some REM die-hards would have you believe but it was the point at which the discreet manifesto previously pursued became writ large. A bigger sound made more explicit than ever before, Green pump-primed the world for what would become Athens’ biggest export.

Sid Smith - 2007
BBC Review



Green catapulted R.E.M. from campus cult favorites to rock stars of the highest order. The album contains three of the Athens, Georgia, quartet's most popular radio hits ("Pop Song 89," "Stand," and "Orange Crush"), punching up the big rock hooks and letting the spooky independent production slip away. Some diehard fans cried "Sellout!" but that's a strange attitude given singer Michael Stipe's environmental activism. "I'm very scared of this world," he sings above jangling mandolins on "You Are the Everything." It's still unclear what he's trying to say, but at least we can understand the words this time.

Steve Knopper - Amazon.com



Eight years into a career that had started at a reclaimed church in Athens, Georgia, and ended up at Warner Brothers with an extremely artist-friendly contract, the members of R.E.M. were getting restless. They’d been touring almost nonstop throughout the 1980s and were understandably growing tired of their assigned instruments and their assumed roles in the band. So in 1988, when they holed up in a local studio to demo new songs, drummer Bill Berry called dibs on bass for one tune, while bass player Mike Mills moved over to keyboards. Peter Buck set aside his electric guitar and strummed a mandolin. Michael Stipe sang. According to Tony Fletcher’s massive band bio Perfect Circle, now out in its sixth edition in 25 years: “The process was partly an education, forcing themselves to learn to play equipment they’d often taken for granted, and partly to explore the inherent chemistry of the group, to see whether R.E.M. remained R.E.M. even when its characters changed their roles.”

The immediate result of this intraband game of musical chairs was “You Are the Everything”, a standout on their sixth album and major-label debut, Green. Against a chorus of nighttime crickets, Buck’s mandolin almost jangles, Berry’s bassline dances in the moonlight, and the effect is a curious Southern pastoral without precedent in R.E.M.’s catalog. The song would become crucial, however, to their future output, providing a musical and logistical blueprint for much of Out of Time and Automatic for the People - the band’s most popular albums, which exploded their traditional drums-bass-guitar-singer line-up.

This alone would have been sufficient to establish Green as pivotal in R.E.M.’s catalog. Released on November 8, 1988 - the day Vice President George H.W. Bush was elected as the 41st President of the United States of America - the album marks many firsts for the band. It was their first effort for a major label, and so understandably represented a gigantic risk. It was their first to go double platinum, which proves the risk paid off. It was their first to gain a popular foothold in the UK - testament to Warner Brothers’ international reach. And yet, it’s that complete rethinking of the band’s line-up that defines Green 25 years later; listening to this newly remastered anniversary edition, it’s impossible to miss that sense of renewed purpose within the band, which both expanded and solidified their sound. If nothing else here sounds quite like anything R.E.M. had done in the past, it still sounded undeniably like R.E.M.

Green is an album of experiments. Freed from their usual roles, the band members tinkered with sugary pop, martial arena punk, fluttering folk rock, country flourishes, and dramatic dirges. Especially on the second side (referred to by the band as the “metal” side, referring not to the genre but to the element), these experiments collide for a set of songs as strong and as diverse as any sequence on previous albums. Stipe’s vocals overlap eerily on “The Wrong Child” to create an unsettlingly spectral roundelay. Against the military stomp of “Orange Crush” he sings through a megaphone that lends his vocals a corroded quality appropriate to the subject matter (namely, the degenerative effects of Agent Orange on U.S. soldiers). Foretelling the glam-rock attack of Monster, “Turn You Inside-Out” is a scabrous examination of the entertainer/audience relationship, while “I Remember California” grows so darkly ominous that it threatens to sink the Golden State in the Pacific.

Whereas Document, their final release for I.R.S. Records, sounded grimly solemn, Green is often positively giddy as the band try out new tricks and as Stipe grows more confident and charismatic as a frontman. The album contains some of the jauntiest and most upbeat tunes they had ever recorded, revealing a self-deflating sense of humor as well as a sophisticated self-awareness. “Pop Song ‘89” is a pop song about pop songs, with Stipe introducing himself (“Hi! Hi! Hi!”) before wondering, “Should we talk about the weather?/... Should we talk about the government?” Both subjects had figured prominently into his lyrics on previous albums, and R.E.M. were trying to figure out what to sing about next.

The joviality of tunes like “Get Up” and especially “Stand”, which dominated the “air” (or first) side, proved divisive, alienating long-time fans while attracting new listeners. Because MTV played the hell out of “Stand” and because this pop urge would culminate in the questionable “Shiny Happy People”, it’s all too easy to dismiss the pop songs on Green. They certainly haven’t aged as well as some of the other, graver tunes, but it’s intriguing to hear R.E.M. bring to the fore a playfulness that had previously only been shunted to the margins. Plus, there’s a certain charm to their unguarded goofiness, which seemed at odds with the band’s sense of purpose and Stipe’s cultivated enigma. And it extended to the packaging as well: the spot-gloss 4s on the over, the spiraling tree trunk on the CD, and especially the untitled closing track, which made it impossible to request at live shows. "Untitled" grows out of the same pop impulse that motivates “Stand”, yet the result is wide-eyed and big-hearted as Stipe delivers some of his most direct lyrics. The music is simple, shaky, even arguably unprofessional, as Buck lays down a rudimentary drumbeat and Mills interjects an emphatic organ riff. Even on a major label, R.E.M. were still trying to shirk the trappings of their newfound celebrity, to play with their own image, to bend the language of pop music to convey their own ideas rather than fix their ideas to the mechanics of pop.

Still, R.E.M. were professionals. In the studio they might have switched things up, but on stage they hunkered down into their individual roles and did their jobs with exciting efficiency. The success of first Document and then Green meant they were playing increasingly larger venues, and the long run of dates burned them out so much that they would decide not to tour for their next two albums. So the live bonus disc on this reissue, recorded at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina (friendly territory for the band, as the crowd on this recording makes clear), shows R.E.M. at the height of their abilities as a live act, with a strong batch of songs and a relentless intensity. The tempos are quick, the dynamic rowdy - almost impatient on “The One I Love” and “Life and How to Live It”. Songs from Murmur and Lifes Rich Pageant sound rejuvenated in this context, meshing naturally with the newer material; early versions of “Belong” and “Low” point the way forward. “This song goes out to… you,” Stipe says before the band launches into “You Are the Everything”.

Green is defined by the tweaks R.E.M. made to their creative process, by the restlessness that destroys many bands but somehow revitalized these four musicians. For that reason, this reissue of Green is incomplete: it lacks those original demos R.E.M. made in Athens, when they were still figuring out that they could shuffle the deck, exchange instruments and roles, redefine the band without changing its membership. On the other hand, the concert disc provides some valuable insight into the afterlives of these songs: how the band lived with them, how they played them, mutated them. On these live tracks, you can hear the old bar band that cut its teeth covering “Stepping Stone” and “Hippy Hippy Shake” on cramped stages in tiny clubs around Athens. In other words, R.E.M. at their greenest.

Stephen M. Deusner - May 14, 2013
© 2015 Pitchfork Media Inc.



On Green, R.E.M. dares to think positive. Songs like "Stand," "Get Up," "World Leader Pretend" and "The Wrong Child" are a continuation of the upbeat call to arms sounded on Document's "Finest Worksong." It was no coincidence that such a hopeful record was released on an election day whose outcome was a foregone conclusion. Now is not the time for despair, R.E.M. seems to be saying, but for a redoubling of efforts.

Having made the leap from a small label, I.R.S., to a monolithic major one, Warner Bros., R.E.M. hasn't sold out; rather, the band has taken the opportunity to crack open the shell it's been pecking at since it recorded its first album. On Green, R.E.M. acknowledges the outside world with a slew of musical references and some relatively pointed lyrics.

As Michael Stipe's vocals get more distinct, so does his message – instead of meaning almost anything you want them to, his noticeably improved lyrics seem to be about at most two or three different things. Stipe even makes an effort to enunciate. And perhaps more remarkable, this is the first R.E.M. album with printed lyrics – actually, it provides the lyrics to just one song, "World Leader Pretend," but with this band you take what you can get.

Green reveals a much wider range than previous efforts, including a playfulness that wasn't there before. Some songs have a downright bubble-gummy feel: on "Stand," Peter Buck lets fly with a ridiculously wanky wah-wah guitar solo. Still others reveal more emotion than the band has shown in the past; "You Are the Everything" and the untitled track that closes the album are frank love songs with few strings attached.

Except for those tender ballads, R.E.M. has completely lost its folk inflections. A heavy guitar sound has replaced the old Byrdsy jangle (which scores of college bands continue to ply). The trademark asymmetrical song structures are gone, too; now, verses are repeated for maximum catchiness.

The band's last two albums – Life's Rich Pageant and Document – seemed very much of a piece, but Green is a distinctive record with a new feel, at once slightly synthetic and deeply felt, with Stipe conveying strong conviction without shouting and subtle emotion without disappearing into the woodwork. (Green was coproduced by Scott Litt, who also coproduced Document, the band's commercial breakthrough.)

"Turn You Inside-Out" includes percussion by former Sugar Hill Records house drummer Keith LeBlanc, but it's no rap jam – rather, it's the heaviest rock these guys have yet recorded. R.E.M. won its reputation as a great rock & roll band as much with its live shows as with its earnest, evocative records, and this album begins to approach the concert experience – not necessarily in its visceral impact, but in its stunning contrasts: the song that follows "Turn You Inside-Out," the mandolin-laden "Hairshirt," is the most delicate and affecting thing the band has ever done. "I am not the type of dog who could keep you waiting for no good reason," Stipe fairly croons.

Musically, Green quotes a lot of sources. Listen closely and you can hear references to the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Sly Stone and others. If R.E.M. were any more calculating, one might suspect this is the band's sneaky way of squeezing into tightly formatted AOR radio, with its emphasis on classic rock bands.

Just as it's fascinating to watch elder statesmen like Keith Richards reconcile rock & roll with middle age, it's fascinating to see how R.E.M. handles fame and commercial success. On paper, this looks to be the band's biggest album ever – strong singles material ("Get Up," "Stand" and "Orange Crush"), a major label, a more accessible sound. So it's not for nothing that the album is titled Green, although environmental concerns, naivete and the generally positive attitude of the record must also have something to do with it.

R.E.M. may be dangerously close to becoming a conventional rock & roll band, but Green proves it's a damn good one.

Michael Azerrad - January 12, 1989
RollingStone, Issue 543



Green is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in November 1988. As its debut album for Warner Bros. Records, the band continued to explore political issues both in the album's lyrics and packaging. To promote Green, the band embarked on an 11 month world tour and released four singles: "Orange Crush", "Stand", "Pop Song 89", and "Get Up".

Green was released on November 7, 1988, in the United Kingdom, and the following day in the United States. R.E.M. chose the American release date to coincide with the 1988 presidential election, and used its increased profile during the period to criticize Republican candidate George H. W. Bush while praising Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis. With warm critical reaction and the conversion of many new fans, Green ultimately went double-platinum in the U.S., reaching number 12, and peaked at number 27 in the UK. It was R.E.M.'s first gold album in the UK, making it the quartet's European breakthrough. "What I love about it is the immensely unlikely lyrics," remarked Neil Hannon, frontman of The Divine Comedy, "and, in the mandolin on 'You Are The Everything' and 'The Wrong Child', it's got a bit of what comes later but in a much purer way. It's so small and intense, it's amazing."

The band would tour extensively in support of the album throughout 1989, before beginning work on 1991's Out of Time. Green has gone on to sell four million copies worldwide.

R.E.M. supported the album with its biggest and most visually developed tour to date, featuring back-projections and art films playing on the stage. The tour was much larger in scope than the "Work" tour that supported the previous album. This was especially true in venues outside of the United States due to Warner Bros. Records ability to market the band overseas. On the final night of the 11-month trek to support Green, at the Fox Theater, in Atlanta, GA, the band performed their first full-length album, "Murmur," in order, from start to finish, followed by "Green," in order, from start to finish. The night was concluded by an encore set performed by Microwave & the Melons—the road crew lead by guitar tech Mark "Microwave" Mytrowitz. It marked the only live performance of "The Wrong Child," and one of the few live performances of "Hairshirt." After the Green tour, the band members unofficially decided to take the following year off, the first extended break in the group's career.

Some songs from Green—such as "Pop Song 89" and "Orange Crush"—had appeared occasionally on the "Work" tour in 1987. Though the lyrics were embryonic, the melodies and arrangements were similar to those that appeared on the finished record. Similarly, the band began playing versions of "Low" and "Belong" in the later part of the Green Tour, both of which would appear on their next album Out of Time.

Portions of the tour would be filmed for the band's first live video album Tourfilm.

The album was remastered in 2013 for its 25th anniversary, adding the bonus live album Live in Greensboro 1989 by Rhino Records; was released on May 14. Additionally, the EP Live in Greensboro EP was released on April 20 as a promotion for Record Store Day.

Kurt Cobain listed it in his top fifty albums of all time.

Wikipedia.org
 

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