"Life's Rich Pageant" is one of my favorite records of all time. But I'm really not a fan of R.E.M..
I've come around to "Murmur" after doing all I could to avoid it when it was released. I mostly don't like Stipe as a vocalist. And there are few songs I despise as much as "Everybody Hurts"...until now.
Ladies and Germs, The Reverend.
18 comments:
The Right Reverend
Oh man. That is simply stunning. The recording we need right now.
Unlike you Sal, I've always been a fan of REM including some of their post-Berry releases. This version is wonderful. Thanks for the tip.
That is simply incredible. I'm a big REM fan and Life's Rich Pageant is a clear #1 for me. I read that the members of the band were blown away by this. Thanks for sharing.
MURMUR was a life changer for me. The rest of their stuff, not so much.
Wow! I never cared for that song, all it needed was the right voice to make it great!
I saw Luka Bloom a long while back. In his banter preceding Everybody Hurts, he said that Americans can do self-pity in songs without shame, but the Irish and English can't. Al Green has it mastered.
- Paul in DK
Brilliant
When The Reverand sings it, you really believe everybody hurts.
I'm sure i missed this but what is this from please?
It just came out yesterday. Pretty sure it's not from anything, at least not yet.
Thanks for sharing this. I was a big fan of REM up through Life's Rich Pageant, but they gradually lost me after that and I eventually stopped paying attention altogether. Stipe got more and more annoying as they got bigger and bigger. I do still like the early records though.
I love REM with all of my heart but I thought I couldn't listen to this song ever again....until now
I had a really nasty cold come on sooo fast, it knocked me out. Yesterday, I listened to this song by the Rev and….I’m Back, baby! Thank you for posting,
Sal.
Well, I think "Automatic For the People" is a fine album with some excellent tracks including "Everybody Hurts" with that lovely orchestration by John Paul Jones. To say there are few songs you despise as much - Blimey O'Reilly, but that's harsh! Anyway, I agree the Al Green version does the business & I guess I'm allowed to like both versions. Cheers!
I do like AFTP. And I think I'd like more R.E.M. if it wasn't for Stipe, who more often than not gets under my skin. "Everybody Hurts" is a fine song. But Stipe's hamfisted delivery ruins it for me. I am probably in the minority.
Slightly less harsh comments noted. Anyhow, I like it when you don't hold back with your criticisms. You guys are tough - I think you must eat raw meat for breakfast. I'm going to play "Everybody Hurts" (the REM one) loud now - so there! Cheers!
Hahahaha. Looking forward to the Rev's version. R.E.M. is a great band, for me, cool and generous with praise for other acts and their influences. Hugely commercial (eventually) but never embarrassing. Life's Rich Pageant kicks ass and is their least appreciated great album. And of course Murmur and Automatic For The People are the two pillars of their importance. After AFTP, you can safely walk away but a lot of good stuff in that run. And Michael Stipe! I would NEVER have guessed he would stop singing when the band ended. No solo album? I am wildly surprised. It's kind of cool, too. And for you, a blessing.
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