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Fables of the Reconstruction
by: R.E.M.

List Price: $11.98

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Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0724349347922
Format: Original recording reissued
Label: Capitol
Manufacturer: Capitol
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Capitol
Release Date: January 27, 1998
Studio: Capitol
Sales Rank: 6415
MPN: 93479

Disc 1:

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:

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Document

Amazon.com:
R.E.M.'s third full-length recording, Fables of the Reconstruction delivers the purest distillation of the band's early sound. With the exception of the horn-laden, radio-friendly "Can't Get There from Here," the songs form a connected soundscape. Nearly transparent production highlights the glittering guitar arpeggios, active bass, and the disciplined, patterned drum lines, with organ and spare string arrangements adding texture to several pieces. And then there are the vocals: dense harmonies of voices calling out to each other, a rich humming and howling around Michael Stipe's central mumble. A careful listener can discern most of the lyrics, though what exactly they signify remains unclear. The album is best contemplated in its entirety, and the songs reward careful, repeated listening. This is a seminal alternative album, its material evocative, its ultimate meanings elusive. If your CD collection has room for only a few R.E.M. albums, Fables should be one of them. --Albert Massa

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Early R.E.M. Material That Mainstream Radio Should Have Paid Attention To
The 1990s music landscape saw Alternative Rock begin to basically become part of the mainstream music fold. Alternative Rock actually had its roots in the 1980s. Alternative Rock really ties itself to the "Indie Rock" (Independent Rock) movement. It is a style of music that often covers a wide variety of genres, often working on independent record labels, but most importantly the artist maintains complete control of the music and their careers. With 1980s Rock dominated by "Hit Radio" and mainstream music, much of the Alternative Rock movement was "underground" - heard in smaller venues and colleges. A band that was at the forefront of this underground movement of music was R.E.M. While many know R.E.M. is a pop-band from the 1990s, many also know R.E.M from the 1980s as one of the ... Read More

Rating:

- One of R.E.M.'s best........4.5 stars
One of R.E.M.'s finest albums, Fables of The Reconstruction is sandwiched between Reckoning and Life's Rich Pageant. As good as those albums were, they were ever so slightly overrated just as this one's slightly underrated. An evocative and intense journey, Fables may be the most unique of all in this band's catalog. Like a fog soaked day full of rain but also fresh air, you'll realize that this is exactly the kind of music you need to hear sometimes. Fables of The Reconstruction is a damn good listen and it's a classic R.E.M. album.

Rating:

- Dark and underrated R.E.M. early effort
The third album by R.E.M. was recorded during a difficult phase where the band was fighting (and the future looked bleak). The music reflects this turmoil: it's often spare, moody, dark, troubled; a stark contrast to the more upbeat and harder rocking music in the near future. Like the last two albums, it begins strongly with a mostly great first half, but a few instantly skippable tracks later on spoil the broth ("Old Man Kensey," "Kohoutek"). As expected from early R.E.M., the best song comes right out the gate, and "Feeling Gravity's Pull" is reminiscent of the Cure and Joy Division, two groups that rarely get compared to this one. Truly, tensions have affected Stipe and company.

After that and "Auctioneer," though, the best tracks rarely stand with the upper echelon of R.E.M.'s ... Read More

Rating:

- Very Underrated
This is that rarest of things: an underrated R.E.M. album. The sound is like nothing R.E.M. did before or since. "Maps and Legends" and "Green Grow The Rushes" are personal favorites, but almost everything here is solid. Much better than "Murmur" or "Reckoning," but seldom mentioned in the same sentence-until now!

Rating:

- Fabled Journey
'Reconstruction of the Fables' showcases the uncompromising dedication R.E.M. has to reinvent their sound wheel on every outing. Every album is consistently great quality with the moxy even the Beatles lacked. (For them superstardom garnered nearly limitless resources at their disposal.) '...Fables' is a brilliant album that is only slightly tarnished by a production that reminds one of the sixties. The folk-rock sensibility is certainly updated, however, and the concept presented is consistent in a lyrically and musically varied fashion.

Sojourn is the keyword here. They start this adventure with the shivery instrumentation of "Feel Gravity's Pull." With Peter Buck's sharp guitar patterns, Michael Stipe sings of an inward journey, presented with a landscape of "...a Man Ray* kind of ... Read More

Music : Fables of the Reconstruction