Album of the day (#4021): Fables Of The Reconstruction

[albummaster]

Today's album of the day

Fables Of The Reconstruction by R.E.M. (View album | Buy this album)

Year: 1985.
Country:
Overall rank: 1,057
Average rating: 76/100 (from 401 votes).

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Tracks:
1. Feeling Gravitys Pull
2. Maps And Legends
3. Driver 8
4. Life And How To Live It
5. Old Man Kensey
6. Can't Get There From Here
7. Green Grow The Rushes
8. Kohoutek
9. Auctioneer (Another Engine)
10. Good Advices
11. Wendell Gee

About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.

[rockbluesfolkjaz]

It was a great era in time for R.E.M. There's a lot of excellent music on that album, the albums before and after it as well. It's not as great as "Reckoning," from the previous year, '84. But it's still a very good batch of songs from a band that had quite a run for a while.
_________________
Elder of the gentle race

[MadhattanJack]

I remember this as being the "transition album" between the earlier period when you couldn't understand any of the lyrics, and the later one where you sort of could.

This was also their first album that wasn't produced by Mitch Easter, and it does sound a little different — more prominent vocals, a bit less treble and definition on the bass, and of course a significant change in the drum sound and perhaps less prominence for the drums in general. I kind of preferred Mitch Easter... That said, I don't think they made even a mildly disappointing album until "Green" came out, a couple of years later.

The ranking at 1,057 is probably about right, give or take.

[craab]

I think it's the weakest of the IRS records, sandwiched by two abstolute classics in Reckoning and Life's Rich Pageant. Still to be the worst REM IRS Record is still to be a pretty good album. My band in the 90s used to cover Driver 8 so I will always have some sentimental attachment to at least that part of the album

[LordMark]

"Driver 8" is the most popular song, but my personal favourites are "Feeling Gravity's Pull" (a perfect opening for a dark R.E.M. album), "Maps and Legends", and "Can't Get There From Here".

[theblueboy]

I dig Wendell Gee. R.E.M’s first great slow song. Those Mike Mills backing vocals…seems like the beginning of a new chapter.