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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
In the View Of A Pylon, September 23, 2008
By 1985, I had already lived a few years absorbing this being called: R.E.M. The only reason that I was ahead of the pack was due to my move to Virginia two years prior. The Music scene in the South was very fertile {New Bands had a chance of Radio play} and the Club/Bar circuit was rich with Veterans such as Gregg Allman and Robin Trower, but was also generous to new Bands such as: The Georgia Satelites and Red Ryder, that were playing throughout the Southlands. The early 1980's DID show promise, away from the constant deluge of: "Thriller."
R.E.M. had been through my town already, and my Concert memories of the show in Virginia Beach with The Dream Syndicate as the opener in the hot summer of 1984, had already passed into the stuff of Legends. This was my Band, and the Kings of Music, below the Mason/Dixon Line. About half the Music I played was R.E.M. {some liked this, others ran in horror!} This was for me, was as if I had been there in 1965, in LA when The Byrds broke through. I had a chance to be there for this new Band. I was convinced that R.E.M. was going to conquer the World.
As: "Reckoning" was so different from: "Murmur" so is: "Reconstruction Of The Fables" a twist and a turn away from the second LP: "Reckoning", was the Band's all-out Rock 'N' Roll Album. This third one is a run away from Rock, the band was ready to get off the Interstate and head for the Ditch.
They went to London, enlisted veteran producer: Joe Boyd {Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny} and explored a more reflective take on the music. With folk elements mixed with swirling guitars that invoke strange new soundscapes, the Band was looking back at the past five years in reflection, as if they had just survived a War.
This is a: "Guitar Album" as the vocal work of Michael Stipe is mixed slightly below the thousands of guitars played by Peter Buck. "Feeling Gravity's Pull" starts the show with a guitar lick, and the games are indeed..."On". This Record has a certain: 'Feel' about it. What that would mean to you, is much different of what it means to me, and as I listen to this Wonderful Weirdness over the decades, the meaning has changed more than once or twice. This is an evolving process, this is like an incurable disease, "Fables" will not leave your life.
These songs: "Maps & Legends", "Driver 8", "Old Man Kensey", "Auctioneer" and "Kohoutek" are as strange and magical as their titles would suggest. They are also about the infectious pieces of Music you will ever hear. The music of R.E.M. is very different from others that share this World. The lyrics? I have no clue about the lyrics, they barely break through the surface anyway, they are another component to the sound of this music that is of no more important to me, than the drums. The words are another ingredient here to shape and scope of this...SOUND.
The production of this record is as large or small to each selection as needed. "Can't Get There from Here" features a very strange brass section. String sections and Orchestrations are employed throughout this disc as well. My favorite song here is the beautiful: "Green Grow The Rushes", that was adapted from a Scottish Folk Song of several centuries ago. But, I can not find fault with a single track on this great album. I never listen to; "Fables" unless I have the time to play the entire record through from start to finish, it is the proper way to enjoy this music for me, to hear it in it's complete form.
This: "Expanded Edition" contains some extra material. Three Tracks: "Crazy", "Burning Hell" and "Bandwagon", are from the "Dead Letter Office" Collection CD. There are also live versions of: "Driver 8" and "Maps and Legends". I would purchase this CD in any form, Original or Expanded, but that is your choice. For me, this record shows the promise that existed in the 1980's, of Music that still dared to take chances, and went somewhere completly different from the Mainstream. This is not for everyone, many folks do not like this record even one little bit. I have played this for many, and few have come onboard, in agreement with my opinion of it. So be it.
"Fables" one of the Best of the Eighties.
4.5 Stars !!!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great collection of songs!, August 16, 2004
One thing before I continue: If you own the original copy of Fables, there is no need to purchase this album; they're all included on Dead Letter Office. But for those of you who don't own the album, this is certainly the one to get.
From the excellent opener, Feeling Gravitys Pull, the listener is drawn into the albums generally gloomy mood... but who said there's anything wrong with gloomy? There are the radio hits Driver 8 (my personal favourite of this cd), Life And How To Live It, and the somewhat upbeat Can't Get There From Here, all great songs. Maps and Legends is my personal favourite, very nice track indeed :P
We also have the calm, though catchy melodys of Green Grow the Rushes, Old Man Kensey, Good Advices and Wendell Gee (a very good album closer, one of the best I've ever heard!) No track on this cd is really that bad, so there's no track skipping here!
Then we have the bonus tracks, that are good but certainly not enough to entice those who own the original. Crazy and Bandwagon are great little covers, the former always urgeing me to start dancing! Burning Hell is probably the worst of the bonus tracks, but it's not that bad.
The two live recordings of two of the better albums on the songs are great, and the live version of Maps is actually superior to the original! Definatly worth hearing for new R.E.M. listeners!
Verdict? Well, I gave the original 4 stars because it still pales in comparison to R.E.M.s other albums, and a few bonus tracks won't change that. But this cd is definatly worth picking up, it's the sort of atmospheric music you won't find on any other cd!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Such an excellent album, October 13, 2001
Maybe I'm just not getting it but 'Fables' is my favourite REM album behind 'Automatic' and 'Life's Rich Pageant'.Fans were obviously influenced by bandmembers hasty statements pertaining to their view that this was their least favourite album. You've got to remember this album was made in a period of time when relations were strained between bandmembers, so antagonism and bad memories towards the album would have to be expected. The music doesn't suffer though. This album has many magical moments. 'Maps and Legends' is simply brilliant with Michael and Mike singing a beautiful harmony together. 'Green grow the Rushes' is a slow, jangly guitar ballad which always hits the spot and 'Kohoutek' is a typical REM sounding track, which makes it great of course! In fact there is only one real poor song on the album and that is 'Burning Hell', which is terrible. It's so untypical of REM, in a bad way. They are not even experimenting, it's just a very bad song. Don't believe the bad hype this album has got. If you like REM, you'll like this. You'll probably grow to like it more than other REM albums, which I did.
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