| Murmur | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 12, 1983 (1983-04-12) | |||
| Recorded | January 6 – February 23, 1983 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:11 | |||
| Label | I.R.S. | |||
| Producer | ||||
| R.E.M. chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Murmur | ||||
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Murmur is the debut studio album by Americanalternative rock bandR.E.M., released on April 12, 1983, byI.R.S. Records. The album was recorded in the winter of 1983 at Reflection Studios inCharlotte, North Carolina, with musiciansDon Dixon andMitch Easter serving as producers.Murmur received critical acclaim upon release for its unconventional sound, defined by lead singerMichael Stipe's cryptic lyrics, guitaristPeter Buck'sjangly playing style, andcountermelodic lines from bassistMike Mills. In 2003, the album was ranked number 197 inRolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[8] It retained the position in the 2012 list and was raised to number 165 in the 2020 revision.[9]
R.E.M. started preparing for their debut album in December 1982. I.R.S. paired R.E.M. with producerStephen Hague, who had a higher profile than the band's previous producerMitch Easter.[10] Hague's emphasis on technical perfection did not suit the band; the producer made the group perform multiple takes of the song "Catapult", which demoralized drummerBill Berry. Hague then took the completed track toSyncro Sound studios in Boston and added keyboard parts without the band's permission and to their dismay.[11] Unsatisfied, the band members asked the label to let them record with Easter.[11] I.R.S. agreed to a "tryout" session, allowing the band to travel toNorth Carolina and record the song "Pilgrimage" with Easter and producing partnerDon Dixon. After hearing the track, I.R.S. permitted the group to record the album with Dixon and Easter.[12]
On January 6, 1983, R.E.M. entered Reflection Studios inCharlotte, North Carolina, to begin recording sessions with Easter and Dixon. Much of the band's material for the album had been tested on preceding tours. Because of their bad experience with Hague, the band recorded the album via a process of negation, refusing to incorporate rock music clichés such as guitar solos or then-popular synthesizers to give it a timeless feel.[12] Berry specifically was resistant to "odd" musical suggestions, insisting that his drums be recorded in adrummer's booth, a practice that was considered antiquated at the time.[13] Dixon and Easter took a hands-off approach to much of the recording process. The pair would only fix up a vocal track or ask lead singerMichael Stipe to re-record a vocal if it was very substandard.[14] "Being both musicians, our approach was to leave as little imprint as possible," Dixon recalled in 1994. "We felt like our job was to, as cheaply as possible, reproduce what appeared to be just them playing live."[15]
Due to Buck'sFender Twin Reverb amplifier being "dead", every song except 'Pilgrimage' instead featured Easter'sAmpeg Gemini II. Mills'sDan Armstrong bass guitar was set aside in favor of aRickenbacker 4001 owned by Easter's girlfriend.[16]
In a rare instance of R.E.M. co-writing, Stipe asked friend Neil Bogan to contribute lyrics to "West of the Fields".[17]
Recording was completed on February 23, 1983.[citation needed]
OnMurmur, R.E.M.'s sound is "firmly" rooted in Americanfolk rock,post-punk, andgarage rock. According toStephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic, the band abandoned the "garageyjangle pop" of their previous releases, instead opting for "a strangely subdued variation of their trademark sound." He explained, "Heightening the enigmatic tendencies ofChronic Town by de-emphasizing thebackbeat and accentuating the ambience of theringing guitar, R.E.M. created a distinctive sound for the album -- one that sounds eerily timeless. [...]Murmur sounds as if it appeared out of nowhere, without any ties to the past, present, or future. [...] The songs onMurmur sound as if they've existed forever, yet they subvertfolk andpop conventions by taking unpredictable twists and turns into melodic, evocative territory." The album's production has been described as "atmospheric." The album also incorporatespiano.[18]
R.E.M. guitaristPeter Buck took stylistic cues fromthe Byrds,Television, andthe Feelies. VocalistMichael Stipe has been said to have "elevated mumbled vocals to an art form." The album's rhythm section is heavily influenced by British post-punk, though with less of thefunk influence associated with the style.[19]
The front cover features an image of a large quantity of the noxious weedkudzu, which grows so rapidly that it overtakes the landscape and kills other plants by completely shading them. Thetrestle featured on the back cover of the original vinyl LP release, originally part of theGeorgia Railroad line into downtown Athens, became a local landmark. Plans to demolish the trestle, now commonly referred to as the "Murmur Trestle", were met with public outcry. On October 2, 2000, the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission voted to save the trestle.[20] In 2012, the local government said it cannot afford to keep it and declared in 2016 that it would likely come down.[21] Later that year, the Athens-Clarke County Commission suggested that a trail tax could fund its existence.[22] The Murmur Trestle was approved for demolition in 2019, and work began in 2020 to destroy it. The replacement bridge, part of the Firefly Trail, is composed of three sections: a replica of the original wooden trestle design and two sections of new weathered steel arches.[23] The bridge was opened to the public in April 2023.[24]
Copies of the initial tape edition (catalogue number CS 70604) list a cover of "There She Goes Again" bythe Velvet Underground as the final track, but it is not present. This mistake was fixed with subsequent printings. The track was rumored to be intended forMurmur, but removed so that all the tracks would be original and the group would not have to take a royalty cut.[citation needed] The band later distanced itself from this rumor.[25] The cover was included as a B-side to theI.R.S. issue of "Radio Free Europe" instead.[26]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [18] |
| Blender | [27] |
| Chicago Tribune | [28] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[29] |
| Pitchfork | 10/10[30] |
| Q | [31] |
| Rolling Stone |  [32] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [33] |
| Uncut | [34] |
| The Village Voice | A−[35] |
Murmur was released in April 1983. The record reached number 36 on theBillboard album chart.[36] A re-recorded version of "Radio Free Europe" was the album's lead single and reached number 78 on theBillboard singles chart that year. Despite the acclaim awarded the album, by the end of 1983Murmur had only sold about 200,000 copies, which I.R.S.'s Jay Boberg felt was below expectations.[37]Murmur was eventually certified gold (500,000 units shipped) by theRecording Industry Association of America in 1991.[38]
The album drew substantial critical acclaim.Rolling Stone called it "epochal"[39] and gave the album four out of five stars. Reviewer Steve Pond felt the album fulfilled the promise the band showed onChronic Town. He wrote, "Murmur is the record on which [R.E.M.] trade that potential for results: an intelligent, enigmatic, deeply involving album, it reveals a depth and cohesiveness to R.E.M. that the EP could only suggest." He concluded, "R.E.M. is clearlythe important Athens band."[32] Jonathan Gregg ofRecord describedMurmur as "a splendid littlefilm noir of an album, austere but rich in implication." He particularly praised the band's distinctive "twitchy, restless dance beat" and the incomprehensibility of the album's meaning, noting that Stipe's already enigmatic lyrics are often hard to make out due to being sung with a deliberate slur, lost in a muddy mix, and/or drowned out by the instrumental work, resulting in an impressive sense of meaning even as the meaning itself is not understood.[40] It wasRolling Stone's Best Album of 1983, beatingMichael Jackson'sThriller,The Police'sSynchronicity andU2'sWar. Buck noted in 2002 that I.R.S. was "mind-boggled" by the album's positive reviews, especially in the British press, since R.E.M. had not yet toured that country.[41]
In 2016, Dan Weiss ofPaste Magazine wrote: "Punk never quite marriedRickenbacker arpeggios until 'Radio Free Europe' and 'Sitting Still' made it safe for bands likethe dB's."[42]
A 2023 listing of the best debut albums byPaste includedMurmur at sixth place, stating that "the way Buck’s guitar and Mike Mills’ bass busily bounced around otherwise simple choruses created something entirely new".[43] In 2025,Radio X included the album in its list of "The 25 best indie debut albums of the 1980s".[44]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic gave the album a perfect score, and wrote: "R.E.M. may have made albums as good asMurmur in the years following its release, but they never again made anything that sounded quite like it."[18] Music journalist Andrew Earles highlighted the tracks "Laughing" and "Sitting Still" in his bookGimme Indie Rock, calling them "required listening for absolutely any fan of American underground rock".[19]
Since its release,Murmur has featured heavily in various "must have" lists compiled by the music media. In 1989, it was rated number eight onRolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s.[45] In 2003, the TV networkVH1 namedMurmur the 92nd greatest album of all time.[46] Some of the more prominent of these lists to featureMurmur are shown below. The album was also included in the book1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[47]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolling Stone | US | Top 100 Albums of the Last 20 Years[48] | 1987 | #58 |
| Spin | US | 100 Alternative Albums[49] | 1995 | #8 |
| Pitchfork Media | US | Top 100 Albums of the 1980s[50] | 2002 | #5 |
| Rolling Stone | US | The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[51][52][53] | 2012 | #197 |
| 2020 | #165 | |||
| Blender | US | 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die[54] | 2003 | |
| Q | UK | The 40 Best Records of the 80s[55] | 2006 | #6 |
| Mojo | UK | The 100 Records That Changed the World[56] | 2007 | #75 |
| Slant Magazine | US | Best Albums of the 1980s[57] | 2012 | #13 |
| Rolling Stone | US | The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time[58] | 2013 | #18 |
All songs written byBill Berry,Peter Buck,Mike Mills, andMichael Stipe, except "West of the Fields" by Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe, and Neil Bogan.
Side one
Side two
R.E.M.
Production and additional musicians
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | USBillboard 200 | 36[36] |
| 1994 | UK Albums Chart | 100[36] |
| 1996 | 111[36] | |
| 2009 | 199(Deluxe Edition)[64] |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "Radio Free Europe" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 25 |
| 1983 | "Radio Free Europe" | Billboard Pop Singles | 78 |
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – US | Gold | October 10, 1991 |
Murmur was bundled together withChronic Town andReckoning in the United Kingdom asThe Originals in 1993.
On November 25, 2008, I.R.S. Records,A&M, andUniversal Music released a 25th anniversary edition two-disc reissue ofMurmur. Disc one features the standard 12-track album, digitally remastered, and disc two contains a previously unreleased live concert the band played atLarry's Hideaway inToronto on July 9, 1983. This set was recorded by Blair Packham ofthe Jitters.[65]
In addition toMurmur songs, the set includes tracks fromChronic Town, a Velvet Underground cover, and early versions of songs fromReckoning andLifes Rich Pageant.[66] The release also includes a fold-out poster insert, featuring exclusive essays by Don Dixon and Mitch Easter, as well as former I.R.S. executives Jay Boberg, Sig Sigworth, and art designer Carl Grasso.[67]
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | April 12, 1983 | I.R.S. | vinyl LP | SP 70604 |
| 44797-0014-1 | ||||
| Compact disc | 44797-0014-2 | |||
| cassette tape | 44797-0014-4 | |||
| CS 70604 | ||||
| United Kingdom | August 29, 1983 | I.R.S. | LP | 70014 |
| United States | 1983 | I.R.S./A&M | Compact Disc | 70014 |
| The Netherlands | 1983 | Illegal | LP | 25433 |
| South Africa | 1983 | I.R.S./CBS | LP | ASF-2886 |
| Worldwide | 1990 | A&M | Compact Disc | 70014 |
| Worldwide | 1991 | A&M | Compact Disc | 129 |
| The Netherlands | July 31, 1992 | EMI | Compact Disc | 7 13158 2† |
| The Netherlands | 1992 | I.R.S. | LP | 4653781 |
| United States | 1995 | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | LP | 231‡ |
| Compact Disc | 642‡ | |||
| Europe | 1999 | EMI | Compact Disc | 13158† |
| Europe | 2000 | I.R.S. | Compact Disc | 7131582† |
| Asia | 2007 | Toshiba/EMI | Compact Disc | 53571 |
| United States | November 25, 2008 | I.R.S./Universal Music Group | Compact Disc | B0012251-02• |
†I.R.S. Vintage Years edition, with bonus tracks
‡Remastered edition on 180-gram vinyl and gold Compact Disc
•Remastered Deluxe Edition, withLive at Larry's Hide-Away bonus disc
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1995 | I.R.S./EMI | CDbox set | 7243 8 35088 2 2 |
