There's basically two kinds of REM fans. People who got into the post-Green material, and know them as a big-league stadium rock band, and those who appreciate their earlier indie material on the IRS label. Well, you guessed it, I'm on the IRS side of things. The only post-Document album of theirs which I actually own is "New Adventures in Hi-Fi," which is not nearly as good as the early work. I frankly don't understand why they gave up this sound at all. They had so much potential here. AARRGGHH!! Well, no use dwelling on it.

I can't begin to describe how great this album is. I first bought it when I was in high school, on cassette, a decade after it was recorded. I updated to a CD copy about five years later. It's only sounded better over that period of time. It has that raw, jangly, murky feel that REM was so good at back then, with abstract lyrics hinting at something big but never giving everything away. It's less staid-sounding than Murmur, but keeps that mysterious feeling that was lost when Mike Stipe became a regular old frontman and started demanding attention and wearing his heart on his sleeve. The whole murky-mumbly thing suited him and the band far better than anything. It is my favorite album of the 80s, even with competition from the Stone Roses, the Pixies, the Replacements, the Clash and Jesus and Mary Chain. It's also a huge influence on one of my favorite songwriters, Stephen Malkmus. So, if you're looking for everything that indie rock can be, look no further.

-HW

In all the years I've been listening to this CD (and I listened to it a lot today as well), I find that my favorite song of this album keeps changing. Rockville. Harborcoat. Time after Time (I'm naming my first daughter AnnElise). Today, though, it's Letter Never Sent.

Dammit, each song on this CD is totally different than the next, and just about every one of them deserves to be a hit.

Ranked against my favorite REM albums, it's hard to not put this one at the top. Fables, Murmur, Life's Rich Pageant...they are all great. I don't know if it's my favorite REM album, but I know that I wouldn't want to live the rest of my life without this masterpiece. I guess the main point is, if you enjoy Life's Rich or Murmur or any other REM album, you will definitely LOVE Reckoning.

Now if you'll excuse me, vacation in Athens is calling me. Buy Reckoning today. Don't waste another year.

R.E.M. broke onto the scene with "Chronic Town" when I was a sophomore in high school in 1982. Prior to this time, I was "into" the mainstream hard rock of the day (Van Halen, Aldo Nova, Huey Lewis, Rush, Men at Work, etc.). R.E.M gave me an individualistic retreat amidst the pressure of adolescent conformity. In this period prior to adulthood, I was able to invest R.E.M.'s music with my own innocence, naivete, and sense of mystery. The band's initial EP ("Chronic Town") and first two LPs ("Murmur" & "Reckoning") seemed to beg the listener down this path. The music suggested a growing youth movement that embraced kindness, creativity, and commeraderie.

Side One (pardon this out-moded expression) was one of the best LP sides ever. The sound of "Reckoning" was more driving and slightly more electric than it's folk-tinged predecessor, "Murmur". The vocals were rarely decipherable, but one could extract occassional nuggets ("Your handshake is worthy, it's all that you've got"..."The wiseman builds his house upon the rock, but I'm not bound to follow suit"..."Goddamn your confusion"..."pull your dress on, and stay real close"). These little chestnuts somehow seemed and felt important at the time. Never enough to hang one's hat on, but enough to conjure intrigue.

Side Two yielded "Letter Never Sent", which is still at the top of my favorite R.E.M. songlist. Other highlights included "Second Guessing" and "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville".

While R.E.M. continued to create occassional moments of brilliance ("Maps & Legends", "Flowers of Guatemala", "Me in Honey", and "Man on the Moon"), their music yielded diminishing returns from this point forward. Peter Buck abandoned the gorgeous sweep of the clean arpeggio jangle of his Rickenbacker for power chords and distortion. At the time I grieved and lamented this loss, but after 20 years I realize that the sound I loved HAD to change. It was the product of its time and the age of its creators. And somehow the fact that R.E.M. and I went down different paths after 1984 lends a bittersweet pathos to "Reckoning".

"Reckoning" is one for the ages. And the embarrassment of Michael Stipe circa 2003 does not diminish its beauty. Highly recommended.

R.E.M.'s second album "Reckoning" isn't a whole lot different from their debut, "Murmur". Perhaps it's a bit more refined and cleaner sounding. A worthy sequel for sure.

Songs like "Harborcoat" and "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" are crisp slices of jangly pop/rock like many of the songs on the album's predecessor. Good luck getting the chorus of "Rockville" out of your head.

However, there's songs like the moody/tense "Pretty Persuasion" and the somewhat raucous closer "Little America" that feel like uncharted territory for the band at this point. They're not quite 'rocking out' (wait until "Life's Rich Pageant" for that), but it's a new sound for sure.

Also, the ballads feel a bit more personal. "Camera", in particular, is a heartbreaking song written about a friend of Michael's who passed away shortly before the album was made.

"Time After Time" is utterly sublime, ranking up there as one of R.E.M.'s best songs. And the intricate "Letter Never Sent" truly rewards itself after repeated listens.

A couple other favorites of mine include the pensive (and catchy as hell) "7 Chinese Bros.", and the dreamy "So. Central Rain", the latter of which has an elegant chord progression in the verses that I really love.

If you liked "Murmur", there's no reason you won't like "Reckoning" as well. Both albums get better and better with each listen.

Highly Recommended.

Best Songs: Camera, Time After Time, Letter Never Sent, Pretty Persuasion, So. Central Rain.

"Reckoning" is a continuation of the first album. Same janglily, hooky songs with the vocals very low in the mix although much brighter and more beautiful than "Murmur". Many of these songs are just goregous, beautiful in the extreme with many breathtaking moments and very solid material from beginning to end.
If you are to have only one R.E.M. album, I'd say get this. "Murmur" may be one of the all time greatest debuts in rock history, but this actually improves upon it and demonstrates why R.E.M. was one of the greatest underground acts of the early to mid 80's.
I don't give out 5 star ratings to just anything, this more than deserves it..I'd give it a 6 if I could..it's just that beautiful of a rock record.