Amazon.com: Green catapulted R.E.M. from campus cult favorites to rock stars of the highest order. The album contains three of the Athens, Georgia, quartet's most popular radio hits ("Pop Song 89," "Stand," and "Orange Crush"), punching up the big rock hooks and letting the spooky independent production slip away. Some diehard fans cried "Sellout!" but that's a strange attitude given singer Michael Stipe's environmental activism. "I'm very scared of this world," he sings above jangling mandolins on "You Are the Everything." It's still unclear what he's trying to say, but at least we can understand the words this time. --Steve Knopper
First off, Green is not that bad of an album. Though it isn't that great of an album either, especially for a group like R.E.M. Now I am not going to get into the whole sellout thing. Whether R.E.M. sold out with the release of Green is neither here nor there. Good tunes is good tunes, and if a album has good tunes does it really matter if they sold or not? No. The issue is that R.E.M. doesn't do mainstream very well. At least in the 1980's they didn't because they didn't really know how to yet.
'Pop Song 89' is a clever and intelligent piece of satire from Mr. Stipe. Peter Buck also plays a really cool guitar riff throughout. 'Get Up' is catchy and really does sound like a typical 1989 pop song... irony kills. 'Stand' is annoying and not worthy of an R.E.M. album, lets just get that out of the way now. 'Orange Crush' is classic, and might be the groups signature song from the 1980's. Maybe. It is really the only track on the album that sounds like anything the did before this release. 'World Leader Pretending' is by far the best song on the album though. The greatest lyrics Stipe had written to this point. Bucks acoustic guitar work is vital and the song as a whole was written so well it can pertain to anytime in history even today.
Other then that there are a few scattered moments throughout but nothing to write home about. Green is a lack luster album, with not much in the department of standing out. Sad, but worth owning for the few moments which shine brightly like the sun through an overcast day.
R.E.M. begins to rise from the underground
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 pioneers in Alternative Rock. R.E.M. would achieve a groundswell of success from the underground movement. In 1987, things would change when R.E.M would bring in producer Scott Litt. On their "Document" album, R.E.M. would successfully crossover into the mainstream with their first Top 40 hit, "The One I Love". This success would position R.E.M. to rise from the underground movement and become a force on the mainstream music scene. Following "Document", the band would switch from little-known I.R.S. records to Warner Brothers. In 1988 - once again teaming with Litt, R.E.M's first album with Warner Brothers, "Green" would solidify their standing as a force on the mainstream. At the same time, R.E.M. would remain true to their underground roots.
There are three changes I noticed in "Green" from previous albums. First up, "Green" probably shows some of the most pop-friendly songs by R.E.M. since the group's inception. In other words, these are songs that could easily be played on mainstream radio. While I always felt there was a place in mainstream radio for the I.R.S years of R.E.M., I can see how these songs are more receptive to R.E.M. The second change is that this album definitely had a stronger political charge than previous albums. This is perhaps because this was recorded during an election year. Finally, this album would introduce the use of the mandolin - something that would be a trademark sound for the band as they progressed forward with their career.
Here is a song by song synopsis.
"Pop Song '89": Two of the characteristics of this album are shown loud and clear. The title of the song is indicative of the mainstream sound this song has - and of what this album has. There are also political undertones with the line "Should we talk about the government?"
"Get Up": This song also has a nice mainstream feel to it. In particular, there are some nice background vocals from the band that compliment lead vocalist Michael Stipe perfectly.
"You are the Everything": This is one of the songs that feature Mandolin by Peter Buck. This song almost as a feel from the underground days of the album "Fables of the Reconstruction" - namely the feel of traveling across the Southern United States.
"Stand": This was probably one of the more popular songs from this album. While it wasn't one of my favorites, I can't knock the song. Lines such as "Think about direction" to some extent carries a political undertone.
"World Leader Pretend": As the title indicates, there is a political message in this song. However, there is so much to this song - this is a powerful song not just lyrically, but musically. It represents a great cross between the underground sound and mainstream sound of R.E.M. Stipe provides haunting vocals that really give this song an edge.
"The Wrong Child": This is a second song with the mandolin. The mandolin adds to the haunting quality of this song that is reminiscent of the underground sound of R.E.M.
"Orange Crush": Awesome song. This song probably falls more on the mainstream end thanks to the catchy melody and lyrics. The title references "Agent Orange" from Vietnam thus having a political undertone. However I feel it is the vocals again by Stipe and company that really are the strong point of this track.
"Turn You Inside Out": I would also say this song has a mainstream feel to it. Like "Orange Crush", it are the vocals by Stipe and company that really are the song's strong point.
"Hairshirt": This is the third song with the mandolin. Once again the mandolin is used to create a haunting sound that is reminiscent of the underground days of R.E.M.
"I Remember California": This song is a tribute to the State of California. The geographic aspects of this song also remind me of "Fables of the Reconstruction". Bill Berry's drums help contribute to the haunting feel of this song.
'Untitled Hidden Track': There is an eleventh track with no name on it, although there it is listed on the disc label (without a title). This song has less of a haunting feel compared to the other tracks.
The liner notes on my particular version of this collection were thin and with the exception of "World Leader Pretend", the lyrics were not included.. This was slightly disappointing because I think R.E.M. music has some of the most interesting music and adding lyrics would have been a good thing. Overall, this album shows the transition that R.E.M began to made from underground to mainstream band. I credit producer Scott Litt for helping make this seem easy for the band. I like how R.E.M. was able to work both sides of the line here. This is an album that should keep both the core fans and new fans happy. This album is highly recommended.
Great Major Label Debut Only four stars for this album? Green is absolutely amazing. I've read reviews where people say this album is more mainstream than their earlier work. I wouldn't agree with those statements. It is different from anything they had released before, but I don't agree that they sold out. For me it doesn't sound like a "commercial" record at all. It's just a natural progression for the band. Orange Crush is definitely one of the greatest songs this band ever produced. My favorite track off this album is World Leader Pretend; amazing! Someone said that Stand was the most commercial track they produced up to that point. I don't agree at all. This is an odd, quirky song that was the theme song for the short lived sit-com Get A Life, which was quite bizarre. REM was gaining popularity when this album came out, but they didn't get really big until Out of Time was released. To label this album commercial or sell out is ridicuous.
Truly Spectacular This is personally my favorite album (and I own all R.E.M.'s albums)as it is the album that got me into this group. This is an excellent album to start out with if you are not too familiar with R.E.M. Songs like Stand, Orange Crush, and Pop Song 89 make this album utterly amazing. Not to mention a great untitled hidden track (which I am still waiting to hear live). This is a must for anyone who likes R.E.M. the slightest bit.
Great!! Great album from REM, my favorite songs are Orange Crush, Wrong Child, World Leader Pretend, Pop Song 89 and the best of all, I remember California; Peter Buck guitar style makes me feel out of this planet on that song, the chorus sang by Michael gives me goose bumps..
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