Greeeeeeeeeeeeeen
Overall Album Score: 8.2 out of 10 GREEN! That’s the color your eyes turn after selling out to a major record label! Heck, it was 1988, R.E.M. were BIG names by then, and the fat guys with rings on all their fingers were ready to start making deals with Michael Stipe and his band of merry henchmen. And, apparently, the fat guy with the Bugs Bunny ring on his finger gave them the most convincing offer, and the band did Green with Warner. (I made all that up, by the way … I don’t know in-demand R.E.M. was at this point … they were pretty famous, though.) At any rate, R.E.M. still appears to be going strong with Green. They don’t put forth anything that compares to the breadth of their Murmur or their quintessential Lifes Rich Pageant … This is simply a regular ole, wonderful ole R.E.M. album! This record is pretty diverse as well, for better or for worse. Most of the album has some pretty regular pop ditties (providing the album’s best moments … “Pop Song 89,” “World Leader Pretend,” “Get Up”), and a few are these odd experimental things. “Hairshirt” and “The Wrong Child” are not conventional at all … and they’re not particularly enjoyable either. One song in here, “Turn You Inside-Out” sounds like mainstream 80s pop … So far, this is the first time that R.E.M. had ever done that to us … please don’t do that to us again. Thank you. Overall, though, Green is a good album. The seasoned R.E.M., I’m sure, is perfectly happy with this one. Overall Album Score: 8.2 out of 10 (Not a significant R.E.M. album, but this does give the fans something more to enjoy from them.) Average Song Score: 8.5 (R.E.M. basically lives up to our expectations as far as the quality of the songs go.) Album Tilt: 8.0 (Standard R.E.M. fare. Selling out to a major record label neither helped nor hindered their abilities!) Artist Rating: 8.0 (There’s some weird experimentation on here … none of it was very intriguing or successful, really.) Track Reviews Pop Song 89 9.5/10 This three-minute, concise little pop song makes listening to the beginning of the album, anyway, so delicious! (Mmmmmm… R.E.M.) The melody on this proves that these guys are simply spectacular when it comes to songwriting! … Please! Keep it up! Get Up 9/10 This pop song is pretty lightweight, but that doesn’t keep it from being snappy, catchy, and another R.E.M.ian delight. There’s some odd wind chime things in the middle of this … hmmmm … I’m not sure why that was necessary! You Are the Everything 8.5/10 More lightweight stuff. This is a slow, quiet song (and has a bit of a Celtic atmosphere, I believe) … It does manage to keep my interest throughout the whole thing, so I would never be able to call it boring. It’s not very dynamic. Stand 8.5/10 Fun, catchy, NOT boring … lightweight … I’d say this is one danged consistent R.E.M. album … and a real bore to review, I might add. World Leader Pretend 10/10 Oh! This song is about me! Cool! Not only that, but this song really has a nice groove worked into it. … And, ooooo! This song is so engaging! … I’m listening to it, and I’m engaged. Now, if I can only figure out whom I just got engaged to. The best song on the album. The Wrong Child 7/10 This sounds like R.E.M. was trying to sort of recreate an acoustic piece from Led Zeppelin’s early period. … I’m not sure why they would want to do that. This song is rather difficult to enjoy, frankly. It still has some merit, though. Orange Crush 9/10 Mmmmm… I looooooove orange soda! Also, I think I love this song! It is a very neat pop song. The instrumentals and melody are all very strong. R.E.M. are as awesome as always. Now, let’s all go over to the Love Shack. Turn You Inside-Out 7.5/10 This sounds a lot like the average sort of pop from the late 80s. Hmmmm… I already knew that R.E.M. were selling out by switching to a major label, but this would have to be considered a sell-out stylistically! It ain’t a bad song, though. It’s just throwaway. Hairshirt 8/10 Hairshirt, eh? You really ought to have got on that barber of yours for not putting on that bib before cutting your hair! I mean! Dude! Let’s at least hope you didn’t tip the little bastard. … Uuuummmmmmmmm … This isn’t a bad song. It’s slow and rather minimal. I’m not impressed at all by it, though. I Remember California 8.5/10 I remember California, too! … Which is funny, because I’ve never been to California. I might go there one day, I suppose. Not today. Actually, this is a sort of neat little song. The groove is pretty good … the melody is alright as well … but the best thing about this song is its darkened atmosphere! All hail the darkened atmosphere! Hurrah! Hidden Track 8.5/10 I found the hidden track! (Now that music is online, they are not doing a great job of hiding these ‘hidden tracks’ anymore.) This really isn’t a bad track … I’m not sure why they wanted to hide it! It has a good melody, it’s played well, and it’s enjoyable. Mr. Greenjeans wants you to send me a comment RIGHT NOW about THIS ALBUM here! |
All reviews are copyrighted by Michael Lawrence. Where the heck are my fingernail clippers?
