14 May 2019

Very interesting list. Almost treating them as completely different bands. I can appreciate that. As far as crafting songs and recording them for a major label, Automatic would be my pick as their best album. The ability to satisfy older fans and draw in new fans, peaked with Automatic For The People. At that point they were still undeniably R.E.M. Things changed with Monster and I never felt as comfortable with the albums after that. I love ‘What’s The Frequency, Kenneth’ from Monster and ‘Electrolite’ from New Adventures. But after Monster I would hope for the best, but expect the worst. However, I’m sure there are some fans that prefer the Up to Collapse Into Now era.

13 May 2019

I jumped on board R.E.M. w/ Life’s Rich Pageant in early ‘87. Highly anticipated the release of Document in the fall of ‘87. Upon release, I felt that Document was a little too slick and straightforward. I finally saw them on the Work Tour and Document eventually became one of my favorite albums. Anyway, here is my list 1. Fables 2. Life’s Rich Pageant 3. Green 4. Murmur 5. Reckoning 6. Document 7. Automatic 8. New Adventures 9. Out Of Time 10. Monster