“There’s a splinter in your eye and it reads ‘react’. R. E. A. C. T.”
R.E.M. – Reckoning – 1984
Often dismissed as Murmur part 2 (I have no empirical data for this, I just feel that way through conversations…and the fact that this album seems to never get talked about), Reckoning, recorded in less than 3 weeks is a much more urgent and, in many ways, more accessible record than the first. That takes nothing away from either record, but it’s obvious that touring for Murmur taught the boys a lot about playing together and writing songs.
In other words, Reckoning is REM’s version of a pop record at the time.
I say this because one listen to side one and you will realize that you know and love and miss all these songs. “Harborcoat”. “7 Chinese Brothers”. “Pretty Persuasion”. “So. Central Rain”. That’s half an album’s worth of toe-tapping, air drumming, Indie pop.
Reckoning isn’t as mysterious as Murmur. Albeit Stipe is still hiding behind mumbles and shyness. Despite that lack of mystery, the songs are enigmatic anyway but this time, as opposed to last, Mills, Berry & Buck are a tight rock unit supporting melodies and harmonies and lyrics, all of which are indecipherable.
That’s sort of brilliant, dontcha think?
There is a blog called “PopSongs”. The author spent a couple years listening to every REM song and dissecting them. Michael Stipe even weighed in after a while. It’s pretty dense. I will most like quote it here as often as I deem necessary. This is what a better writer than I wrote about Reckoning:
“That’s Reckoning for you — nearly every song on the record in some way deals with the aftermath of an event, and at least half of them are traumatic. It’s an album about mourning your losses, taking stock of changes, owning up to guilt, and, in the end, moving on. In this way, the recurring theme of water in the lyrics is extremely appropriate. Just as with the fire of Document, the floods of Reckoning are destructive, but also purifying. There may be panic and trauma on Reckoning, but it’s ultimately a record about finding maturity after a period of chaos. “
The coda theme is proving correct on Reckoning. Don’t Go Back to Rockville feels like the end of the record. Incidentally, http://www.hermenaut.com/a135.shtml is an personal account of that song, and hysterical one at that, by the woman on whom the song is based. “Little America”, while easily one of my favorite barnburners of the 80s, comes across as an encore. A sublime one, though.
Pound for Pound, if I had to choose, and it would be an impossible choice, I take Reckoning over Murmur to my desert island. It’s less difficult to penetrate and sometimes I just wanna sing along. Even if I have no idea what the fuck I’m saying.
Grade: A+
ASide: Don’t Go Back to Rockville, So. Central Rain, Pretty Persuasion, 7 Chinese Brothers
BlindSide: Harborcoat, Time After Time (AnnElise), Second Guessing, Little America
