Jazz Articles about R.E.M.

Peter Jesperson: Euphoric Recall - A Half Century as A Music Fan, Producer, DJ, Record Executive and Tastemaker

by Doug Collette
December 31, 2023

Euphoric Recall: A Half Century as A Music Fan, Producer, DJ, Record Executive and Tastemaker Peter Jesperson 310 Pages ISBN: # 978-1681342719 Minnesota Historical Society Press 2023 As indicated in the lengthy subtitle to Euphoric Recall, Peter Jesperson posits himself as something of a musical renaissance man. And while he may not fit the literal definition of creative artist in any of those varied roles (or the summation thereof), it's hardly arguable he ...

Maps & Legends: The Story of R.E.M

by Doug Collette
August 5, 2023

Maps & Legends: The Story of R.E.M. John Hunter 706 Pages ISBN: #979-8987103708 Nottingham Press2023 Because the phrase Maps & Legends so accurately reflects John Hunter's narrative, it is the ideal main title for depiction of The Story of R.E.M.. The two words in fact accurately mirror his bookending of the iconic band's history: the first word represents an exploration of the four bandmembers' formative years, while the second is an ever-so-meticulous inspection ...

Begin the Begin: R.E.M.'s Early Years

by Doug Collette
May 18, 2019

Begin the Begin: R.E.M.'s Early Years Robert Dean Lurie 288 pages ISBN: #978-1891241680 Verse Chorus Press 2019 Coming from the unusual angle of a repatriated Southerner by the name of Robert Dean Lurie, Begin The Begin is a fast and fascinating read devoted to the formative period, including the first flush(es) of success that occurred during R.E.M.'s Early Years. As is the case with the best book covers, this one featuring Joanna Schwartz' ...

R.E.M.: Automatic For The People - 25th Anniversary Edition

by Doug Collette
November 12, 2017

If the anniversary packages of R.E.M.'s discography, like Automatic For The People, seem to be arriving in quick succession, that's because the band hit an extraordinarily prolific stride around a quarter century ago. Breaking beyond the boundaries of their previously-established and recognizable style with Green (Warner Bros., 1988), the foursome continued into the next decade writing, playing and producing at a sufficiently ingenious level they rendered moot the glib label 'jangle-pop.' Each of the multiple configurations of the ...

R.E.M.: R.E.M.: Reckoning-Deluxe Edition

by Doug Collette
January 29, 2010

Has there ever been an American rock band with more natural chemistry than the original four-man lineup of R.E.M.? Listening to both discs of the Deluxe Edition of Reckoning, initially released in 1984, it's hard to think of a group more in tune with itself and its audience at this point in its career than R.E.M.

In his extensive liner notes to the double-disc package, Tony Fletcher makes point after notable point about the quartet's good-natured willfulness, and the iconoclasm ...