“Chronic Town” by R.E.M. - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1982 → ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1980s →

The debut mini-album from the Athens, Georgia 4-piece arrived in August, 1982; the first record to be released on Miles Copeland's new IRS record label. They lined-up: Michael Stipe (22, vocals); Peter Buck (25, guitar); Mike Mills (23, bass, vocals) and Bill Berry (24, drums, vocals). This was something quite new, a jangling brand of pop-rock that was dreamy and intriguing. You can't quite make out what the singer's going on about, but that only serves to pull you in even more, and is quite possibly a clever trick. Relating to this, Peter Buck said: “We made Chronic Town for our own pleasure, as a learning process. We used lots of backwards guitars and weird sound ideas. We tried anything we'd ever wanted to try, so a lot of things on there are too busy.” A lively treat and an impressive starter.

The Jukebox Rebel
11–Oct–2007

Tracklist

A1	[04:10] R.E.M. - Wolves, Lower (Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe) Indie
A2	[03:29] R.E.M. - Gardening At Night (Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe) Indie
A3	[03:54] R.E.M. - Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars) (Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe) Indie
B1	[03:06] R.E.M. - 1,000,000 (Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe) Indie
B2	[05:40] R.E.M. - Stumble (Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe) Indie

ratings by TJR