Customer Reviews

Fables Of The Reconstruction 25th Anniversary

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The mid-80s, as the cool documentary "American Hardcore" points out, was a weird time of hopeless "what now?" attitude in American underground music. Punk had died, heck even some were nostalgic for it, and "alternative rock" was its replacement, mass acceptance and MTV buzz-bin hipness on the horizon. Minor Threat spoke of "Salad Days". The stuff you prided yourself in "discovering" was showing up a month later in John Hughes flicks. To be labeled a "sellout" was the ultimate insult, meaning the most extreme loss of integrity, something that you just always knew a band like REM wasn't interested in. When REM released their 3rd, there were word-of-mouth stories of how the album almost broke them, about how they recorded it in London yet it turned out to be as Southern as Georgia clay, and how it was still strange enough that you needn't worry about their pictures being plastered on your younger sister's bedroom wall alongside Wham! and Duran Duran. We were safe in their weird eccentricity - despite a hit single.

In many ways, "Fables Of The Reconstruction" is not just the quintessential REM album, it's the last REM album. Their final weird, spooky take on Southern Americana before big drums and global fist-clenching, they move thoughtfully here, even when the songs are frantic. Michael Stipe is at his lyrical and stylistic peak: he became a cryptic storyteller, bending his harmonies, screaming, whispering - he's all over the place. Buck takes charge, making noises and sounds that legions of college-aged kids would replicate in years to come. The band itself plays with clear precision, interesting for an album that has a rep as a jangly mess. A good word is "immersed": you feel, at any time, that these songs are beneath, or that you are beneath them. It is Southern, then: stifling, immovable, and earthy, the minor chords throughout mirroring a dark place where the pastoral South meets the fear and violence at its core. At the time, I recall trying to decipher lyrics in "Kohoutek" and "Auctioneer" and just giving up; in an age when all other music seemed validated by clarity, this album, even compared to their first two, was troubling and anxious, ambiguous and manic. But it wasn't so remote that it was off-putting, which is its charm. Consider "Old Man Kensey", the album's centerpiece: a sweltering dirge whose verses gain enough steam, only to have the chorus seemingly SLOW DOWN and drain all the song's momentum, exploding into a chromatic mess of a bridge whose lyrics, chords, and chimey ambience become a singular mass, almost bringing relief from the tensions built up in the verses - pure REM and unlike anything anyone dared try back then. Dare I say it, it's kinda punk rock.

In epic remastered and boxed form, the album becomes even easier to like. Traditionally, I have always sided with the criticism of Bill Berry's drums as way too buried, too plastic; here, they aren't necessarily in the front, but you can at least hear what he's doing. I used to suspect that the mix was always after some sort of fake mono, as though the sounds were all deliberately coming from one small place. The remastering turns the album inside out, giving a unique weariness that accentuates the forlorn folksy quality of stuff like "Maps and Legends" and "Good Advices", two of their very best songs. The album of demos is even more raw and energetic, sounding like a late-night church-hall broadcast of the standard new set with the band doing its best to stay alive amid a creeping sensual lethargy. There's no album out there in American music like "Fables", creepy and five-dimensional, but completely friendly all the same. Listening to this in a new package brings a comfortable closure, like something finally got its due. It's enough to make you buy one for your younger sister.

It seems so long ago, but in the early 1980s, REM was such a breath of musical fresh air. The punk era had morphed into new wave, new wave had morphed into the new romantics, but what of American rock n' roll? These four college kids from Athens, Georgia toured the U.S. extensively, playing small clubs, lodging at the homes of college disc jockeys, and playing what was, for that time, unique sounding folk influenced rock music featuring Peter Buck's "jangly" guitar lines, Michael Stipe's deep voiced but mostly incomprehensible lyrics, Mike Mills' melodic bass playing and harmony vocals and Bill Berry's solid drums. REM inspired countless college bands and came to be synonymous with the concepts "alternative" and "indie" rock. During their "early" period they recorded a terrific EP, Chronic Town, an incredible debut album, Murmur (Rolling Stone's 1983 album of the year), an equally strong sophomore effort, Reckoning, and this dark, atmospheric third album, Fables of The Reconstruction. It was their last album before they began altering their sound on the way to superstardom.

When it was released, Fables was an absolute knock-out album, and with two MTV/radio friendly singles, "Can't Get There From Here" and "Driver 8," was for many, including this reviewer, their first real introduction to REM. I fondly remember traveling up and down the California coast in the summer of 1985 listening to this album over and over on the car stereo.

Over the years, however, Fables has been viewed as a lesser REM album. There is a general perception that the band members do not like it, and I do recall reading one interview with the band that supported this perception. In the very brief, but fine, liner notes for this reissue, Peter Buck acknowledges, but disputes, this perception, and gives some insight into the difficult circumstances under which the album was made.

If I was asked to name REM's finest album, I'd probably say either Automatic For The People or Murmur. Reckoning and Out Of Time would also be up there. But as for my favorite REM album, it's Fables -- hands down.

Why is Fables so special? Fables has a special feel, it transports you to the rural south, at least the rural south of an era ago as conjured by the band, tells tales of the characters that live there (to the extent one can decipher the lyrics), and conveys a murky, dark, gothic feel, one that pervades the album. Moreover, the band experiments here with all sorts of instruments and sounds, including horns, strings and banjo. Peter Buck's playing may be simple, but it is simply majestic. Most importantly, the songwriting is absolutely first rate. You might not hear them on any greatest hits compilations, but "Maps and Legends," "Good Advices" and "Wendell Gee" are amongst the finest tunes the band has written. "Green Grow The Rushes," "Life and How To Live It" and "Kohoutek" are also terrific. Contrary to what has been written elsewhere, this is one REM album that is great to listen to from start to finish.

So what about this reissue? It's a two disc set, one disc featuring a remastered version of the original album and a second disc containing demos of album tracks and three bonus tracks recorded in Athens before the band left for England to record the album with producer Joe Boyd. The disc containing the original album is housed in a solid cardboard replica of the original album jacket and the second disc is housed in a similar, but black and white, sleeve. Also included is an actual full-sized (not kidding) poster for the album, several postcard type pictures of the band members from the original album and a somewhat sparse booklet that includes the original album sleeve text, pictures and the aforementioned liner notes authored by Peter Buck. The whole package is housed in a very, very solid box (good tactile feel), the top and bottom of which feature the front and back, respectively, of the original album. Although more extensive liner notes would have been welcome, cosmetically this is one damn nice deluxe edition.

Of course, packaging is nice, but what about the sound? I'm happy to report that with this remaster, Fables has never sounded better, however, it is much louder than the initial release of Fables on CD, likely the product of sound compression. Having said that, the music seems to just burst from the speakers. The sound has been cleaned up and you can actually decipher many of the lyrics now. While some of the murkiness has been lifted, the mood of the album is still there. Just throw this CD on, crank it up and you will be transported.

The second disc of demos is primarily of interest for fans only. It offers an interesting glimpse of the band's rough final run through of the album's tunes. Without the layers of sound later added, the lyrics and instrumentation are much clearer. Many of the performances are terrific. The three bonus tracks, "Bandwagon" (a very good tune), "Hyena" (later to appear on the band's fourth album, Life's Rich Pageant) and "Throw Those Trolls Away" (not available elsewhere), are a nice addition. While some might have preferred a concert recording, as was included in the Murmur and Reckoning deluxe reissues, I can report that the one 1985 show I attended was not a strong one, and perhaps these studio recordings made for a better option.

In sum -- price aside -- this is one of my favorite reissues, and is by far my favorite REM CD release. Musically, sonically (subject, however, to the above caveat about loudness) and cosmetically, this is terrific.

Fables of the Reconstruction is my favorite R.E.M. album. I can listen to every track straight through, but this reissue is a disappointment. Other than the volume of the music following the modern trend of being turned very loud, causing audio compression, there's nothing special about the sound quality. The album has always lacked bass, and there's been no attempt to enhance that. But since the new remaster already shows some signs of distortion, boosting the bass would have caused more. I already have the remasters of Murmur and Reckoning, and have my reservations on the loud volume and sound quality on those as well. But after this recent disappointment, I will not pursue any further R.E.M remasters. If your idea of "sparkling" or "improved" sound means much louder, then this remaster is for you.

The packaging is nice, but I have no interest in these demos. The poster is nice but it would have never left the box anyway. So at this price, it's going back and I am sticking to the original CD I bought back in 1989.

If you want to hear the results of a very satisfying remaster, check out the brand new deluxe edition of the classic debut album by A-ha. Though the volume is louder, the compression is minimal and the sound is very improved over the previous CD. This type of result is certaily a rarity these days. Louder does not constitute "remastered".

Fables Of The Reconstruction is the reason why I didn't get into R.E.M. at first. It's a good album, in fact almost as good as Murmur or Reckoning, but it has a few problems that don't make it easy on a first listen. It was the first R.E.M. album I came across and I remember that for a long time You Can't Get There From Here was the only track that caught my attention - loved the funky guitar and Stipe's deep vocals on the verse then shifting to a weird falsetto on a great chorus - it was catchy yet with an edge. But the rest of the album didn't really make it. The vocals were so-buried in the mix and overall it lacked a bit of punch. (Note: I must say that I was listening to the likes of U2 and The Cult back then). I wasn't impressed and the cover design did not help.

It was only with Lifes Rich Pageant that I became interested in R.E.M. and then went back to the first albums and saw what a great band they were. And finally gave Fables a second chance and saw that it was a great album too.

So, maybe it was the british weather, maybe it was Joe Boyd's fault, but Fables seems to be the kind of album that tries to understate itself all along. It starts off with an oddball: Feeling Gravity's Pull is a great song but the exquisite guitar "riff", the chunky rhythm and the buried vocals (sorry, it's difficult not to mention the buried vocals over and over) don't make it an easy hors d'oeuvre. Then there are a few songs that are alright but somehow bellow-par in the R.E.M. catalogue (Maps and Legends, Old Man Kensey, Kohoutek). And there is no doubt that the production missed something - rockers Life And How To Live It and Auctioneer sound constrained and suffer the most. I can only guess how these tracks would sound if produced by Don Gehman for Lifes Rich Pageant. As it is we are left with the chance to see them played live, where these songs really come to life. Life And How To Live It, in particular, has been a concert favourite for the band along the years as Michael seems to enjoy singing this song and always puts out a great performance.

In spite of being a generally electric album, Fables favours a more acoustic feel then the previous albums, evident on a few beautiful ballads (personal favourites Green Grow The Rushes and Good Advices). These are the songs that always fitted better within the dark tone of the album.

But not everything is gloomy. There are also a couple of possible hits: You Can't Get There... and Driver 8 which is in many ways the archetypal R.E.M. song.

I had some expectations on this Deluxe Edition since I felt that Fables was the album that could benefit more from the remastering and I'm not disappointed. The brighter sound really fleshes out the vocals and guitars. Overall, it sounds a more sparkling album. So, yes it's a great upgrade!

The demos cd is interesting but it only confirms the gloom that was to come - it doesn't rock. So, after all, maybe it wasn't Joe Boyd's fault. Most interesting is the unreleased Throw Those Trolls Away, of which most of the lyrics would surface on I Believe. Also interesting is Hyena in the way that it shows the contrast between this pale version and the wild final version on Lifes Rich Pageant.

One last note for the packaging: Murmur and Reckoning were beautifully packaged so why go for the irritating bulky box? Posters, postcards... Are these people going through a Dark Side Of The Moon phase? And Peter Buck's few liner notes leave you wishing for more. This album surely deserved it.

As Peter Buck writes in the (way too brief, but we'll get to that in a second) line notes, "Fables Of The Reconstruction" is definitely R.E.M.'s most misunderstood record. The first time I heard it was in 1992 when a friend got it for me for Christmas. Up to that point the only albums I owned by them were "Out Of Time", "Green" and the newly released "Automatic For The People" so this was my first real dose of early R.E.M. I remember not being too impressed with the album, apart from "Driver 8", and it quickly gathered dust in my CD collection.

But then something happened...as I got older and revisited the album, I found myself enjoying it more and more and now consider it one of their best. So naturally, after eating up the 25th Anniversary reissues of "Murmur" and "Reckoning", I was beyond excited when I heard the official word that "Fables" would receive the same deluxe treatment.

The music itself on here has never sounded better, and while I sort of preferred the period era live sets that were included with both previous reissues, the demos are a nice touch.

The only reason I am giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is the packaging. I don't quite understand why they switched it up with this one and didn't have it the same way as "Murmur" and "Reckoning". Yeah, the poster is neat (even though I'll never hang it up, it will just sit in the box) and so are the cards...but I'd rather just have a nice booklet with extensive liner notes. Peter Buck is notorious for writing really informative, cool liner notes and I feel like the two pages he wrote for this record were done last minute and just leave me wanting more. Here's to hoping that next year when they (hopefully) reissue "Life's Rich Pagaent" they focus more on the content rather than packaging.

This is one of R.E.M.'s best albums, but this reissue package leaves something to be desired. The liner notes are pretty sparse--no gushing essays by rock critics, no pithy song-by-song remarks by Peter Buck, no remembrances from fellow musicians who saw this band Way Back When. Instead we get a very brief intro note by Buck, which would be pretty good if it were written by anyone else. But if you've read the notes to Eponymous or other compilations, you know Pete's capable of so much more.

And thus, my disappointment with this package--it could have been so much more. The remaster job is fine. It doesn't sound much different from the original--which is okay, I guess, since the original is awesome--but it makes me wonder what the point of this exercise really is (that is, until I see the price tag). The demos disk is also fine, but this easily could have been a single disk package. I'm puzzled as to why they didn't do a live disk for this package, since the 1985 shows are among their best--probably because they played so many covers back then.

The poster and cards are fine, but I probably won't ever look at them again. I'd much rather have a nice color booklet with more photos and essays, but it is what it is.

The one positive thing I take from this package is that they didn't screw up the sound of the album. Unlike with the disastrous "...And I Feel Fine" compilation, my ears didn't hurt when I was done listening.

So, it's a great record, and if you've never heard it, you really should. But I probably would just pick up the regular CD at your local shop instead of buying this package.

I agree with many of the other reviewers in that the remastered CD does sound better than the orginal edition from 1985. But I, too, have trouble with the second CD's outtakes and wonder why the band didn't include a 1985-era concert or live versions of the studio tunes instead? As mentioned, one must be a huge R.E.M. geek (as am I) to appreciate the original, pre-London versions, although I doubt I'll listen to them again myself. I also have no use for the poster or postcards and would have liked to read some other Rock critics' takes on "Fables" in the liner notes. I have to believe there's some live material floating around that the band could have included on the second CD to fill the available time space (i.e., bump the playing time up to 70+ minutes or so), in order to justify the high list price mentioned by many of the other reviewers. Still, I'm thankful that they are re-issuing their IRS catalog in each of the 25th anniversary years and can't wait to see what they offer up for "Lifes Rich Pageant" in 2011.

It may be hard to remember now but before the world tours and sold out stadiums, R.E.M. began as more of a local act. For the first part of their career they were heavily associated with the Athens music scene, and it seemed like R.E.M. couldn't exist anywhere but in the American South. Peter Buck's folk influence and Michael Stipe's dark, cryptic lyrics evoked the hidden backwoods of Americana in the same manner as William Faulkner or Flannery O'Conner. Fables of the Reconstruction was, arguably, the last album by R.E.M. that still felt immersed in the Southern Gothic tradition. It might seem strange, then, that the album was recorded not in Athens, but in England. Of course, sometimes we need to leave a time and place in order to truly see it.

Fables opens with the disorienting "Feeling Gravity's Pull." Stipe sings of falling asleep while reading and name checks the surrealist artist Man Ray while Buck's guitar trips its way along a stuttering melody. This signals a different direction from their previous album, Reckoning, which, while still firmly planted in Southern soil, managed to have a more outsized feel with bigger hooks and catchy choruses. Fables's off kilter feel is mirrored in the packaging. The front cover reads, "Fables of the..." and the back cover continues, "Reconstruction of the...," creating an endless loop.

Tellingly, the second track, where most bands would place the obvious single, is instead taken up by a down tempo tribute to outsider artist, Rev. Howard Finster, "Maps and Legends." It is only by the time we reach "Driver 8" that the album starts to develop real momentum, thanks mostly to Bill Berry and Mike Mills's propulsive rhythm section, which nicely mirrors the subject of the song, a train engine. Themes of movement and change run throughout the album, perhaps an early indicator that after Fables R.E.M.'s sound would also shift directions. "Driver 8" in particular speaks to the timelessness of R.E.M.'s music. By reaching back and writing about an older mode of transportation, R.E.M. projects their subject matter outside of the here and now. This is nicely mirrored in their music, which borrows just as much from 60s folk as it does from punk and new wave.

The latter two influences can be heard in some of the more energetic numbers, like "Life and How to Live it" and the at times violently atonal, "Auctioneer (Another Engine)." The most out of step song on the album is perhaps "Can't Get There from Here," which sounds like Public Image Limited by way of Creedence Clearwater Revival. The guitar on "Can't Get There" sounds more like a rhythm instrument than the lead. From Stipe's low voiced deliver to the high pitched squeal that opens the songs, "Can't Get There" serves as a humorous one off, a respite from the pitch black Southern woods that seems to hover around the rest of the album. The song may be a sonic outlier, but thanks to its placement in the center of the album, at the moment when the listener is ready for a break, and thanks to lyrics that extend the theme of geography and insider/outsider, the album just wouldn't work as well without "Can't Get There from Here."

And it's this inconsistency made congruent that perhaps best defines the sound of R.E.M. The band is probably best known for their jangle-pop sound, and yet there isn't a single moment in their career where this description fully encompassed the band's identity. R.E.M. borrowed too much and had too much of their own personality to easily define. In the album's closing song, "Wendell Gee," Stipe sings that the title character chooses to "whistle as the wind blows," which perhaps best defines R.E.M.'s career as artists who, while ever mercurial, never made changes that weren't on their own terms. Fables signaled the end of R.E.M.'s early sound, and as much as I love the triptych of Murmur, Reckoning, and Fables, I'm just as pleased that they chose to follow their inspiration to wherever it took them, trusting that fans were going to follow.

Probably my favorite REM album. Actually a tie between this and Lifes Rich Pageant. Got this reissue the same time as Lifes Rich Pageant. Got this mostly for the demos. Includes demo/alternate takes of the original album's songs. Awesome album.

I was introduced to REM in 1983, but I was heavy into the Doors and Skynerd, and they really didn't take. It wasn't until a couple years later I got Life's Rich Pageant and my life was changed. Listening to this album was like listening to REM for the first time. Each song was jumping out of the speakers, I was straining to decipher the lyrics and being blown away by what I heard. I went from being a tired, disgruntled plumber back to the kid with the world by the balls. Thanks again Michael, Peter, Mike and Bill.