Fables Of The Reconstruction 25th Anniversary | 
| Artist: R.E.M.
Label: EMI
Category: Music
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $20.21
as of 9/9/2010 06:13 CDT details
You Save: $9.77 (33%)
New (27) Used (4) from $15.25
Seller: moviemars-cds
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 646
Format: Box set, Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 5.4 x 1
EAN: 5099964607122
ASIN: B003M70P1M
Release Date: July 13, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Feeling Gravity s Pull | | • | Maps and Legends | | • | Driver 8 | | • | Life and How To Live It | | • | Old Man Kensey | | • | Can t Get There From Here | | • | Green Grow The Rushes | | • | Kohoutek | | • | Actioneer (Another Engine) | | • | Good Advices | | • | Wendell Gee |
Disc 2
| • | Auctioneer (Another Engine) [demo version] | | • | Bandwagon [demo version] [final version was B-side to Can't Get There From Here] | | • | Can t Get There From Here [demo version] | | • | Driver 8 [demo version] | | • | Feeling Gravity s Pull [demo version] | | • | Good Advices [demo version] | | • | Green Grow The Rushes [demo version] | | • | Hyena [demo version] [album version appeared on Life s Rich Pageant] | | • | Kohoutek [demo version] | | • | Life and How To Live It [demo version] | | • | Maps and Legends [demo version] | | • | Old Man Kensey [demo version] | | • | Throw Those Trolls Away [demo version] [previously unreleased] | | • | Wendell Gee [demo version] |
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Product Description
Originally released in 1985, R.E.M.'s 3rd album, Fables of The Reconstruction peaked at #28 on the Billboard charts and spawned two hit singles, Can t Get There From here and Driver 8. Breaking with their tradition of recording in Athens GA, the band recorded in England with producer Joe Boyd.
This 25th Anniversary Edition features the classic album digitally remastered. The bonus disc is a complete run thorugh of the album done in studio in Athens, before the band left for London for the actual recording sessions. These demos have never before been released and feature three additional tracks, not on the final album, including "Throw Those Trolls Away, " a song the band has never released.
The albums are packaged in a lift top box and include a poster and 4 postcards, as well as the CD booklet.
Album Description
Digitally remastered and expanded 25th Anniversary two CD edition of the veteran Alt-Rock act's 1985 album. Disc One contains the original album in magnificent remastered sound while Disc Two features 14 demos including early versions of album cuts and a previously unreleased track ('Throw Those Trolls Away'). The CDs are housed in a lift top clamshell box including 24" x 36" poster and four postcards. Liner notes written by Peter Buck. EMI. 2010.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
 American Gothic July 13, 2010
Garbageman (the other side of California)
45 out of 47 found this review helpful
The mid-80s, as the cool documentary "American Hardcore" points out, was a weird time of hopeless "what now?" attitude in American underground music. Punk had died, heck even some were nostalgic for it, and "alternative rock" was its replacement, mass acceptance and MTV buzz-bin hipness on the horizon. Minor Threat spoke of "Salad Days". The stuff you prided yourself in "discovering" was showing up a month later in John Hughes flicks. To be labeled a "sellout" was the ultimate insult, meaning the most extreme loss of integrity, something that you just always knew a band like REM wasn't interested in. When REM released their 3rd, there were word-of-mouth stories of how the album almost broke them, about how they recorded it in London yet it turned out to be as Southern as Georgia clay, and how it was still strange enough that you needn't worry about their pictures being plastered on your younger sister's bedroom wall alongside Wham! and Duran Duran. We were safe in their weird eccentricity - despite a hit single.
In many ways, "Fables Of The Reconstruction" is not just the quintessential REM album, it's the last REM album. Their final weird, spooky take on Southern Americana before big drums and global fist-clenching, they move thoughtfully here, even when the songs are frantic. Michael Stipe is at his lyrical and stylistic peak: he became a cryptic storyteller, bending his harmonies, screaming, whispering - he's all over the place. Buck takes charge, making noises and sounds that legions of college-aged kids would replicate in years to come. The band itself plays with clear precision, interesting for an album that has a rep as a jangly mess. A good word is "immersed": you feel, at any time, that these songs are beneath, or that you are beneath them. It is Southern, then: stifling, immovable, and earthy, the minor chords throughout mirroring a dark place where the pastoral South meets the fear and violence at its core. At the time, I recall trying to decipher lyrics in "Kohoutek" and "Auctioneer" and just giving up; in an age when all other music seemed validated by clarity, this album, even compared to their first two, was troubling and anxious, ambiguous and manic. But it wasn't so remote that it was off-putting, which is its charm. Consider "Old Man Kensey", the album's centerpiece: a sweltering dirge whose verses gain enough steam, only to have the chorus seemingly SLOW DOWN and drain all the song's momentum, exploding into a chromatic mess of a bridge whose lyrics, chords, and chimey ambience become a singular mass, almost bringing relief from the tensions built up in the verses - pure REM and unlike anything anyone dared try back then. Dare I say it, it's kinda punk rock.
In epic remastered and boxed form, the album becomes even easier to like. Traditionally, I have always sided with the criticism of Bill Berry's drums as way too buried, too plastic; here, they aren't necessarily in the front, but you can at least hear what he's doing. I used to suspect that the mix was always after some sort of fake mono, as though the sounds were all deliberately coming from one small place. The remastering turns the album inside out, giving a unique weariness that accentuates the forlorn folksy quality of stuff like "Maps and Legends" and "Good Advices", two of their very best songs. The album of demos is even more raw and energetic, sounding like a late-night church-hall broadcast of the standard new set with the band doing its best to stay alive amid a creeping sensual lethargy. There's no album out there in American music like "Fables", creepy and five-dimensional, but completely friendly all the same. Listening to this in a new package brings a comfortable closure, like something finally got its due. It's enough to make you buy one for your younger sister.
REM's Lost Americana July 15, 2010
D. A. Rich (Boston, MA)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
It seems so long ago, but in the early 1980s, REM was such a breath of musical fresh air. The punk era had morphed into new wave, new wave had morphed into the new romantics, but what of American rock n' roll? These four college kids from Athens, Georgia toured the U.S. extensively, playing small clubs, lodging at the homes of college disc jockeys, and playing what was, for that time, unique sounding folk influenced rock music featuring Peter Buck's "jangly" guitar lines, Michael Stipe's deep voiced but mostly incomprehensible lyrics, Mike Mills' melodic bass playing and harmony vocals and Bill Berry's solid drums. REM inspired countless college bands and came to be synonymous with the concepts "alternative" and "indie" rock. During their "early" period they recorded a terrific EP, Chronic Town, an incredible debut album, Murmur (Rolling Stone's 1983 album of the year), an equally strong sophomore effort, Reckoning, and this dark, atmospheric third album, Fables of The Reconstruction. It was their last album before they began altering their sound on the way to superstardom.
When it was released, Fables was an absolute knock-out album, and with two MTV/radio friendly singles, "Can't Get There From Here" and "Driver 8," was for many, including this reviewer, their first real introduction to REM. I fondly remember traveling up and down the California coast in the summer of 1985 listening to this album over and over on the car stereo.
Over the years, however, Fables has been viewed as a lesser REM album. There is a general perception that the band members do not like it, and I do recall reading one interview with the band that supported this perception. In the very brief, but fine, liner notes for this reissue, Peter Buck acknowledges, but disputes, this perception, and gives some insight into the difficult circumstances under which the album was made.
If I was asked to name REM's finest album, I'd probably say either Automatic For The People or Murmur. Reckoning and Out Of Time would also be up there. But as for my favorite REM album, it's Fables -- hands down.
Why is Fables so special? Fables has a special feel, it transports you to the rural south, at least the rural south of an era ago as conjured by the band, tells tales of the characters that live there (to the extent one can decipher the lyrics), and conveys a murky, dark, gothic feel, one that pervades the album. Moreover, the band experiments here with all sorts of instruments and sounds, including horns, strings and banjo. Peter Buck's playing may be simple, but it is simply majestic. Most importantly, the songwriting is absolutely first rate. You might not hear them on any greatest hits compilations, but "Maps and Legends," "Good Advices" and "Wendell Gee" are amongst the finest tunes the band has written. "Green Grow The Rushes," "Life and How To Live It" and "Kohoutek" are also terrific. Contrary to what has been written elsewhere, this is one REM album that is great to listen to from start to finish.
So what about this reissue? It's a two disc set, one disc featuring a remastered version of the original album and a second disc containing demos of album tracks and three bonus tracks recorded in Athens before the band left for England to record the album with producer Joe Boyd. The disc containing the original album is housed in a solid cardboard replica of the original album jacket and the second disc is housed in a similar, but black and white, sleeve. Also included is an actual full-sized (not kidding) poster for the album, several postcard type pictures of the band members from the original album and a somewhat sparse booklet that includes the original album sleeve text, pictures and the aforementioned liner notes authored by Peter Buck. The whole package is housed in a very, very solid box (good tactile feel), the top and bottom of which feature the front and back, respectively, of the original album. Although more extensive liner notes would have been welcome, cosmetically this is one damn nice deluxe edition.
Of course, packaging is nice, but what about the sound? I'm happy to report that with this remaster, Fables has never sounded better, however, it is much louder than the initial release of Fables on CD, likely the product of sound compression. Having said that, the music seems to just burst from the speakers. The sound has been cleaned up and you can actually decipher many of the lyrics now. While some of the murkiness has been lifted, the mood of the album is still there. Just throw this CD on, crank it up and you will be transported.
The second disc of demos is primarily of interest for fans only. It offers an interesting glimpse of the band's rough final run through of the album's tunes. Without the layers of sound later added, the lyrics and instrumentation are much clearer. Many of the performances are terrific. The three bonus tracks, "Bandwagon" (a very good tune), "Hyena" (later to appear on the band's fourth album, Life's Rich Pageant) and "Throw Those Trolls Away" (not available elsewhere), are a nice addition. While some might have preferred a concert recording, as was included in the Murmur and Reckoning deluxe reissues, I can report that the one 1985 show I attended was not a strong one, and perhaps these studio recordings made for a better option.
In sum -- price aside -- this is one of my favorite reissues, and is by far my favorite REM CD release. Musically, sonically (subject, however, to the above caveat about loudness) and cosmetically, this is terrific.
Gloomy album needed remastering and it got it! July 14, 2010
Joao Nunes (Portugal)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Fables Of The Reconstruction is the reason why I didn't get into R.E.M. at first. It's a good album, in fact almost as good as Murmur or Reckoning, but it has a few problems that don't make it easy on a first listen. It was the first R.E.M. album I came across and I remember that for a long time You Can't Get There From Here was the only track that caught my attention - loved the funky guitar and Stipe's deep vocals on the verse then shifting to a weird falsetto on a great chorus - it was catchy yet with an edge. But the rest of the album didn't really make it. The vocals were so-buried in the mix and overall it lacked a bit of punch. (Note: I must say that I was listening to the likes of U2 and The Cult back then). I wasn't impressed and the cover design did not help.
It was only with Lifes Rich Pageant that I became interested in R.E.M. and then went back to the first albums and saw what a great band they were. And finally gave Fables a second chance and saw that it was a great album too.
So, maybe it was the british weather, maybe it was Joe Boyd's fault, but Fables seems to be the kind of album that tries to understate itself all along. It starts off with an oddball: Feeling Gravity's Pull is a great song but the exquisite guitar "riff", the chunky rhythm and the buried vocals (sorry, it's difficult not to mention the buried vocals over and over) don't make it an easy hors d'oeuvre. Then there are a few songs that are alright but somehow bellow-par in the R.E.M. catalogue (Maps and Legends, Old Man Kensey, Kohoutek). And there is no doubt that the production missed something - rockers Life And How To Live It and Auctioneer sound constrained and suffer the most. I can only guess how these tracks would sound if produced by Don Gehman for Lifes Rich Pageant. As it is we are left with the chance to see them played live, where these songs really come to life. Life And How To Live It, in particular, has been a concert favourite for the band along the years as Michael seems to enjoy singing this song and always puts out a great performance.
In spite of being a generally electric album, Fables favours a more acoustic feel then the previous albums, evident on a few beautiful ballads (personal favourites Green Grow The Rushes and Good Advices). These are the songs that always fitted better within the dark tone of the album.
But not everything is gloomy. There are also a couple of possible hits: You Can't Get There... and Driver 8 which is in many ways the archetypal R.E.M. song.
I had some expectations on this Deluxe Edition since I felt that Fables was the album that could benefit more from the remastering and I'm not disappointed. The brighter sound really fleshes out the vocals and guitars. Overall, it sounds a more sparkling album. So, yes it's a great upgrade!
The demos cd is interesting but it only confirms the gloom that was to come - it doesn't rock. So, after all, maybe it wasn't Joe Boyd's fault. Most interesting is the unreleased Throw Those Trolls Away, of which most of the lyrics would surface on I Believe. Also interesting is Hyena in the way that it shows the contrast between this pale version and the wild final version on Lifes Rich Pageant.
One last note for the packaging: Murmur and Reckoning were beautifully packaged so why go for the irritating bulky box? Posters, postcards... Are these people going through a Dark Side Of The Moon phase? And Peter Buck's few liner notes leave you wishing for more. This album surely deserved it.
brings me back August 9, 2010
Bogart
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was introduced to REM in 1983, but I was heavy into the Doors and Skynerd, and they really didn't take. It wasn't until a couple years later I got Life's Rich Pageant and my life was changed. Listening to this album was like listening to REM for the first time. Each song was jumping out of the speakers, I was straining to decipher the lyrics and being blown away by what I heard. I went from being a tired, disgruntled plumber back to the kid with the world by the balls. Thanks again Michael, Peter, Mike and Bill.
Definitely worth buying if you're an R.E.M. fan! August 15, 2010
Heather E. Taylor (USA)
I especially like the 2nd CD of demos. The packaging is also nice -- sturdy cardboard, no plastic.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14
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