Murmur

I was genuinely gobsmacked by this album, thinking I was going to hear the 90s REM I grew up with on the radio. This was so beyond my expectations and felt fresh and new and light even today. I absolutely loved the first half of this record and added a number of songs to my library, including Pilgrimage, Moral Kiosk and Catapult.

This is really great. I just love it, the jangly guitars and catchy melodies; I'm annoyed I haven't really listened to REM before. How is this a debut? Definitely one of the best debuts in my opinion. By the end of the first song, I was hooked.

This Alternative Rock like being stuck on a long, boring walk through a college campus while everyone around me seems to be having conversations I cannot quite hear. The jangly guitars keep repeating the same bright patterns, the bass moves underneath them and the drums maintain a steady pulse, while Michael Stipe mumbles indistinct words that never give me much to hold onto. What might initially seem mysterious and atmospheric soon becomes repetitive and forgettable. The songs blend into one another, and instead of becoming curious about what comes next, I find myself waiting for the walk to end. By the later tracks, the whole thing feels like a snooze fest: pleasant enough in places, but too repetitive and indistinct to keep me engaged.

Radio Free Europe is a bop, and I liked lots of the bass work, but I just don't think I'm a Michael Stipe man. I can see why some people might be Michael Stipe men, but the frequent vibratoless wailing delivery thing is just annoying to my ears. And the punk-inflected shout-singing nonsense on 'Catapult' is just more vocal silliness, as if there wasn't enough on this album: it sounds like he's yelling 'cat poo', which actually made me laugh. Hit the Ts, Michael, hells bells! Honestly the whole thing is too much of its era: it's constantly wrestling with the massive influence of punk on all guitar rock while still trying to be a bit different, a bit experimental, a bit late cold war and cool, but ultimately producing nothing but constant restless shuffling and wailing, like 9-9.

Enjoyable but they needed a better singer

Another fantastic REM album

5/10 Understand time and place in music but nothing really interesting or new.

I don’t like REM and I can’t remember why. I do know that I get really irritated when I see certain types of bald heads and Michael Stipe has that. I could never really pinpoint what genre these guys belong in either. It’s soo sappy to be pop. Not cool or loud enough to be punk. Not indie. If it’s alt rock then they are on that bottom tier. The one that straddles that very thin line with like, yacht rock or something. So I can’t really explain what this album sounds like. I guess the best way is to say that every song could be played on Yo Gabba Gabba or Sesame Street teaching kids about colors or counting or some shit. Of course you’d have to edit all the songs to sing about those things. It’s just a play it safe album with no big takeaway song from it. I don’t like that.

One big hit the rest is kinda meh.

This is just a meh straight down the middle 3. Just fades straight away to background music.

Highlights: - Radio Free Europe - Laughing - Talk About the Passion 3.75

I like REM's later albums but I found this album completely forgetable, no particular song stuck out, didn't add any to my library. But a competent album, just boring

8/10 During the course of this album reviewing project, I have come to a realisation that, while I really enjoy a lot of R.E.M.’s work, none of the individual albums I’ve reviewed thus far have been entirely consistent in quality. There’s been a lot of brilliant music on those records, but I’ve yet to find one that has not also had a bit of filler, or some tracks that have not met the standards of their best work. It’s slightly disappointing really, as when they get it right, they’re a brilliant band. Going all the way back to their 1983 debut album, let’s see how the R.E.M. story began. What’s quite interesting is that, while there are elements of the trademark jangle guitar for which the band are known, this record as a whole has a slightly darker tone on the whole than their later work. They’ve always tackled subject matter that leant in that direction, but it was often juxtaposed with a lighter and more airy presentation, whereas this has a bit more of a murky production style. But I like it. The atmospheric elements of the production are strong, and balance well across a song selection that manages to cover a range of styles, from the more poppy stuff like Laughing and Sitting Still, to the more on the edge tracks like Pilgrimage and the magnificent 9-9. While the album does have range, that aforementioned production does a fantastic job of providing a consistency of tone that encompasses the broader extent of the work and unifying it into a stylistically coherent whole. From a musical point of view, it’s quite obviously an R.E.M. record. Michael Stipe has a very particular approach to melody that I feel like I’d be able to pick out even if he wasn’t the one singing. There are certain melodic patterns and intervals that he uses regularly that always stand out as fingerprints of his work, and it’s quite nice to have such an established musical signature from an artist. The bass work on this album is actually really strong too and Mike Mills does a great job of giving drive and direction to a lot of the songs, while also allowing himself freedom to play with a touch of flair and prominence that I don’t necessarily remember being as prominent on other records from the band. He’s ably supported by a punchy and tight rhythmic base from Bill Berry who does pretty much the perfect amount to let the songs work without him needing to dominate. And his work on 9-9 is where he really gets to show off. Of course Peter Buck’s guitars have typically been one of the calling cards of R.E.M.’s sound, and they’re great here again, but when compared to their later albums, I feel like the musical balance between each of the band members is probably at its most balanced here, which for me results in a stronger and more balanced musical presentation. So it’s a good one. As the record ticked along, I started wondering if this was actually the band’s best record. It doesn’t have any of their very best singles, of course. But that’s not what makes an album great. And I think, when approaching this as a whole piece, it actually is their most consistent, most coherent and most enjoyable record from start to finish. I’ll always love their best work, but when it comes to albums, I think this might be the one I choose to return to. Radio Free Europe - There’s a nice punch and bounce to this. It’s quite poppy from a melodic sense and the jangly guitars lean into that vibe too. The bass line is great, particularly the little run up the scale it does during the verses. It’s structurally pretty straightforward, but everything pulls together really nicely to create a tonally consistent and engaging musical whole. Very good. Pilgrimage - This is more tonally dark, particularly the verses, though there is still an echo of that darkness that carries over into the choruses. The production and restraint of the verses are strong and have a great ambience. The vocal melodies are vey typical Michael Stipe stuff, but that gives it the REM sound, despite the slightly darker general approach. Laughing - The bass work continues to be strong. I like the compositional device of punching as a band on the two, which gives it a nice, slightly off-kilter feel. Despite that, it’s pretty poppy, with a light and airy feel that works really well for me. There’s nothing overly complex about any of this, but it feels like all of the parts perfectly complement one another, and the general rhythmical flow and subtle melodic work connect perfectly. Lovely. Talk About The Passion - This feels more musically roaming in places and, while it finds a bit more centre during the chorus, it does feel like it drifts away from that a bit too much. The chorus is pretty good though, and the use of strings to add a bit of harmonic depth is well handled. Not bad, but a slight dip in quality. Moral Kiosk - This is better though. There’s a slight edge of murk and darkness to it, but the forward momentum is solid. I really like the little lead guitar riff at the end of each line during the verses, and the slight vibe change into the choruses is cool. Bill Berry gets a bit more drumming work to do and some of his rolls and fills are great, while he builds a pleasant bouncy base with Mike Mills on the Bass. Perfect Circle - They transition back into something a bit more withdrawn and subtle with that slightly dark edge that bubble away under the sprinkles of trebley melodic work. It’s quite a nice blend, and the vibe is pretty strong. I don’t think it has as much melodic quality as the best cuts on the album, but it works nicely as a transitional piece and has some interesting reverberant and murky production behind the twinkling of the sharper instrumentation. Catapult - And now the slightly more jangle pop style comes back in again. The chorus is fantastic in its simplicity and hookiness, and the interplay between the guitar and Stipe’s vocal are great. Things get a bit more drifty and dreamy through the verses, but there are some nice bits of melodic writing, particularly from the guitar, and the way it builds into the chorus is delicious. Sitting Still - They take the poppy edge from the last track and turn it up a notch again now. The call and response between vocal and guitar in the verses is lovely, and the pace and control of the bass is really nice too. There’s a quality bounce to the rhythm here and it kicks along at a really satisfying pace, dealing nicely with dynamic range between the different sections. We get some great moments of backing vocal work to back Michael Stipe up and thicken up the sound. There’s an urgency to this that works well for me too. Pretty tasty stuff. 9 - 9 - Ok, so I love this. It all appears to be in 4/4 time, but the way they play around the beat pulls it all over the place and gives it a really unconventional and experimental feel. There are some fantastic production elements that give this a depth and feel that feels fairly unique, but still blends beautifully with the rest of the album. There’s brilliant work from everyone on here, drums, bass, guitar and vocal all have incredibly strong and, most importantly, interesting contributions to make. And it somehow has an edge of poppiness to it that ties all of the more experimental elements together into something that still has conventional charm. Wonderful. Shaking Through - While not in any way unconventional like the last one, there’s still great charm and quality to this one. Melodically, it’s pretty strong and has a lovely bouncing groove to it. The piano work is excellent and it feels like theres a strong narrative flow to the composition. All of the parts feel like they’re dancing around the solid and front-foot drumming work at the centre and there’s so much movement and harmonic quality to it. And then they throw in a gloriously cheesy key change near the end. More great stuff. We Walk - This is a bit more lightweight and rhythmically plodding, but it still has a certain charm and energy to it. There are some interesting pieces of production, particularly the big reverberant percussive sound effects. It’s a little bit more on the mundane and repetitive side, but I still actually quite like the lilt and subtle quirkiness of it. It’s not vastly special, but it’s still not bad. West Of The Fields - And here comes a bit more drive again. The groove of this is solid. More great bass playing and drumming. The rhythm section has been on point for pretty much the whole record. The way they switch emphasis the band makes from punchy and sharp to more smooth, legato stuff is great, and there are some nice melodic moments in there too. It’s not the strongest track on the record, but there’s still a lot to like here.

I think I was too young to appreciate this album when I first bought it

The 1st track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. The 2nd track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. The 3rd track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. The 4th track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. The 5th track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. The 6th track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. The 7th track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. The 8th track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. The 9th track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. The 10th track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. The 11th track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. The 12th track is a 3/5, not bad, but nothing something I would go out of my way to listen to. I would give the album a 3/5, it's not a bad album, but it's not something I would go out of my way to listen to.

Solid album! I really enjoy REM and this album was onei hadn't checked out much 6/10

I bought Murmur on CD about 2 35 years ago! It's weird to me that this album was released nearly 45 years ago! Anyway, it's a great album, with some REM classics on it, as well as some deep cuts that are always nice to hear again. I'm probably sitting at 4.5 for this one, but I'm going to round down to 4, as it's not REM's best album, so I'll save my 5 for that 😜

I liked it more than I thought I would. It wasn't as whiney as I feared and the voice/guitar didn't grate as much as on their later tracks (like losing my religion). I did like the start and end of the album, but tuned out a little in the middle, could have been my commute in the rain or the soundscape they play. I'll give it a low 4, high 3

Day 76 Malcolm in the Middle ass sound. Never seen it. Fav track: Pilgrimage

There isn't a single song on this album that I actually like. There are a few that are OK, but knowing the hype of the album I feel like it's a joke I'm not getting.

Liked it, estaba nice

One of my favourite bands and probably their best album. Gets better with every listen

This debut album by R.E.M. definitely hints at the greatness to come in the late 80’s and early 90’s and while there are some absolutely amazing songs on here it does wane a little towards the end. But what a solid start to their career.

I've always had a fondness for REM; something about the melodies, the jangly guitar, and the incredible voice of Michael Stipe always felt just so familiar and easy to get into. This album in particular shows some of their best work, especially in the first half. What I do kind of find "annoying" sometimes are the lyrics of it all. I am aware that Stipe wrote a lot of 'em with the melody in mind instead of them actually making sense. He definitely falls into the stream of consciousness category - going for imagery via feeling rather than structure. Be that as it may, I can never mishear the accidental(?) misgendering of Laocoön in "Laughing" (love the track though). Also, the songs in the second half of the album aren't as strong, even though "Shaking Through" is a personal highlight for me. Overall, an awesome debut album by a special band.

A banda em grande fase criativa e com execução muito competente das músicas. É um ótimo disco. Kuba Auri.

A wonderful record. Murmur feels boppy and dreamy. I've never gone back this far with R.E.M. and I should have.

Congrats, R.E.M. for the most appealing album to me so far! You are growing on me with each successive album. 2.4 stars.

Best R.E.M album I’ve listened to thus far. I think it’s because it actually has character and energy. Lyrics are still a bit sappy, but the fact that there is an attempt to make some happy tunes (not manic) had me enjoying my listen.

R.E.M.s first album from 1983 - the mould for their coming carreer. Nice one,

🤑

This album just wasn't for me. Nothing turned me off, nothing was bad or repellant. The whole album just came and went, in one ear and out the other. Fav track: Radio Free Europe

I have it, I listen to it, but I don’t love it. Opener is a skip for me, followed by a couple good songs, that repeats throughout. Later albums are better, but it’s a solid debut album.

Liked the first track, the rest was unremarkable. Heard it before? ❌ Listen again? ❌ Rating out of ten? 5️⃣

Nope.

I can respect it is a good album but felt very much like one giant song rather than individual sounds/tracks

Gut!

great album. would like to learn more about the arc of this band's career and how their sound evolved from the 80s to contextualize this properly

Radio free europe - 5 Pilgrimage - 4 Laughing - 3 Talk about the passion - 4 Moral kiosk - 3 Perfect circle - 3 Catapult - 4 Sitting still - 3 9-9 - 4 Shaking through - 4 We walk - 4 West of the fields - 3

Now this is where the movement that can be traced as far back as The Velvet Underground’s second self-titled album in the late ‘60s, or as late as The Pixies’ breakthrough in the late ‘80s, yes, the coveted genre of Indie Rock, makes what I believe is its first tangible appearance. College radio rock by broke young musicians, who make jangly hooky post-punk-influenced songs? Indie rock. Definitely. The problem, is that it’s not super awesome after the first side. Stipe is a great vocalist, especially on songs like “Talk About The Passion,” one of my favorite songs on the album, with its steady beat, and its lyrics that invoke homelessness and biblicality in the same breath, it’s incredible. Sadly I really don’t love the riff in “Moral Kiosk,” and after the super awesome “Catapault,” the rest of the album kind of just blends into one long messy second side that I find really boring. Say what you will about their later work, it’s too pop, it’s too sensitive, FUCK YOU. The greatest thing Mike Stipe ever did was inject emotion into his vocals. “Everybody Hurts,” “Losing My Religion,” and “Man on the Moon” are all subpar without the emotion that permeates the performance. There’s little of that here, and that really lessens the album experience for me. That being said, the highs are too undeniable, and the album’s sheer momentousness is enough to keep it at a shaky, but deserved, 8.0/10 DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: YES REASON: I mean it’s basically the first indie rock album. You don’t get a lot more important than that, especially in our modern age.

I really expected to like this and rate it higher. In spite of a couple fun tracks, it did not live up to my memory. Micheal Stipe’s nasally singing voice gives an unemotional veneer. Do I sing all nasally like that? I think maybe I do.

At times, working through this list has raised existential despair. Is this really all there is? Three REMs, six Bowies, U2, and a token record from Brazil every now and then. Is this the pinnacle of 100 years of popular music? The critics don’t seem to be adding anything beyond what commercial radio has already shoved down our collective throats. The whole thing is way too swill-adjacent rather than underrated gem. What’s next? Spiderman 3 a must-watch? Fucking Shantaram a must-read? That’s the bar for critically endorsed time well spent as we all trudge on through life, closer and closer to the grave? Anyway, I feel bad for singling out REM here. The saddest part is that this album is better than most, but doesn’t fit my internal standard for a “must hear”.

I like some of the songs but wouldn't listen to this in general.

mkay it was a pleasing surprise to listen to this one

Pretty good on first listen, not what I was expecting but works. Can see why it’s a solid foundation for indie rock. Not every song stuck with me but some did. But I feel like I’d be larping if I said I was the biggest fan.

I see why that this album is considered the transition from post-punk to alternative rock. Micheal Stipe’s voice is so distinguishable, very nice listen. 3,5/5. Radio Free Europe: 3,5 Pilgrimage: 3,5 Laughing: 4 Talk About the Passion: 3,5 Moral Kiosk: 3 Perfect Circle: 3 Catapult: 5 Sitting Still: 3 9-9: 3 Shaking Through: 3 We Walk: 2 West of the Fields: 3

Decent - had no idea REM released an album as early as 83

A very good debut album. It’s like a preview of coming attractions for what R.E.M. would eventually develop into.

4 eme album proposé après 'Document' (3/5) et 'Automatic For The People' /‘Green’ (2/5). Je finis donc les albums de ce groupe par leur tout premier. J’aime bien les lignes de basse dans cet album (+1) mais c’est à peu près tout. J’ai fini par m’ennuyer beaucoup, et donc je n’ai vraiment pas envie de l’écouter une seconde fois. =>2/5

a great early work from a terrific band. the rawness of early REM is on full display with their incredible lyrics. enjoy.

Interesting debut album, but I prefer the early 90s albums more.

JANGLE POP CHE NON ADORO. TROVO FASTIDIOSA ALLA LUNGA LA BATTARIA, CHE IO TROVO PIATTA E MONOTONA. NON MI E' DISPIACIUTO NONOSTANTE CIO'. 3/5.

R.E.M. are one of those bands that seem to have been around forever, even though they didn't arrive until the '80s and had largely faded from view by the end of the noughties. I've always appreciated R.E.M. without ever feeling the need to follow them, and this album hasn't changed that, damn good though it is as a debut. You can already hear what was to come. The songs are tuneful, well written and varied. There's plenty to like here, and they were always interesting to watch. I imagine it won't be long before they jump on the stadium reunion bandwagon. Good luck to them. 3½

very enjoyable listen actually pretty good stuff

Forgettable album by a not forgettable band Murmur’s definitely a high floor kinda album. I don’t think there’s any songs that are really even below average. Vocals are passable, instrumentation is very polished, and it just sounds like they knew exactly what they wanted this to sound like. Songwriting itself is solid and definitely not a problem Unfortunately I think the ceiling’s pretty low on this one. I think every song kinda falls in that 5-7/10 range and it’s made worse by the pretty poor variety overall. There’s just nothing really that exciting about this one I wish I had more to say about this one but it left pretty much no impression on me. I know they’re capable of better especially considering how much talent they clearly have, so I’ll wait to pass judgment on the band as a whole

Very solid. Enough technicality to make it interesting, but digestible enough to make it easy. Clean production, but with some grit to it. The only sin is that it's too firmly solid; clearly good but just lacking that pizazz to take it to five stars.

R.E.M are fucking unreal. What a band. So many bangers in their catalogue.

Imagine introducing yourself to the world with Radio Free Europe? That's what R.E.M. did in 1983 and made a perfect debut album. There are no bad songs on here and this album is insanely relistenable after all these years. It has not aged poorly and should continue to be celebrated as a classic.

Hey these rem guys are pretttty good

overall a pretty good album. a couple of really good songs (e.g. Radio Free Europe).

I found this album to be extremely boring. Despite the driving drums, the actual drumming just sounds the same from song to song. The guitar is all over the place, to it's detriment, and the lyrics are right on the edge of nonsensical. The only positive aspect of the music for me was the melodic bass lines. None of the songs stood out to me, and in fact after finishing the album, it completely left my brain. Being the debut album, it makes sense they get better in their later work, but this album is easily forgotten.

7,2/10

Not really getting anything from this. Its ahead of its time, but not really in a good way. Predicted some of the trends that would make music more boring in the future. Maybe I'm being too harsh but I'm just not a fan. Spotify says that REM marked the point where post-punk became alternative rock and I agree. One or two good songs on here.

Dynamo by Soda Stereo vibes, love the harmonization here, great guitar melodies, Top Floor Still Broke vibes, this is sooooo Soda Stereo coded but with a little more slack to it, it sounds very dated to the 80s but at the same time I can see how this could be influential, the sounds are relatively tame and boring for what I'm used to (other than a few softer parts and guitar led portions) but everything works together really well, big big fan of these harmonic choruses, also one song uses that like 6th to 4th thing I'm addicted to so yeah this is a good meal.

I like it, it makes me tap my legs. I like the album overall, but I only added a few of the songs to my liked playlist. I like that little bit at the end of Shaking Through.

3 so far I like but wouldn't ever keep it in my library, good early work sets up the sound that the band continued to implement on in future singles and albums.

Liked it. Good background music.

Good 3. Groooovy! Catapult rocked me!

Easy listening - fint album

I didn't enjoy this one at all - I'm sure it was very important at the time but I don't feel it's lasted the time.

L’instrumentale est bon mais tout ce qui est vocal, paroles et maniere de chanter, est très répétitif. Certain bridge ressemble à du pink Floyd

Really really good album. Maybe a shade under a 5 for me but I loved it.

All REM sounds like the same happy upbeat depressing song. At this point I think they're just not for me.

Not as good as expected

Non i miei pezzi preferiti, ma grande figlio del suo tempo a livello musicale

My first listen to a great album, thanks!

While acknowledging a previous reviewers comments that the lyrics make no sense, I really quite enjoyed this album.

a really somber REM album. despite that tone, it stills sounds like most of their music, hmm

It’s a good album, but not quite what I was looking for on a very wet and windy walk.

Good album.

This is definitely rougher around the edges than R.E.M’s slicker future content, but was still very enjoyable. Radio Free Europe is representative of the scratchier sound we get across the album, with this one definitely having the sound of a group still working out the exact contours of their sound. But the quality is high enough that feels like much more of a deliberate choice and artistic statement to provide something more unique in the overproduced ‘80s. Having said that, they probably do sound better when they tidy up the sound.

Probably my favourite of the REM albums I've heard. There's a certain amount of punk energy on these tracks combined with memorable melodies. My main criticism of REM has always been that the tracks can be a bit samey, and this is true to an extent on this album, but it doesn't detract too much from the quality on display here. After reading Rob's review I can now no longer hear the track 'Catapult' without hearing Michael Stipe singing 'cat poo' but despite this it's still one of the best tracks on the album. Other favourites are 'Radio Free Europe', 'Talk About the Passion' and 'We Walk'.

A really strong debut album that establishes the classic R.E.M. sound of cryptic (let’s face it, at times incomprehensible) lyrics, bright/jangly guitars and melodic basslines from the very first track, with songs that stand up well alongside anything they put out later. ‘Radio Free Europe’ and ‘Talk About the Passion’ are the two best tracks, but ‘Perfect Circle’ and ‘Sitting Still’ aren’t far behind, and crucially there were no duds at all. It maybe does get a bit samey by the last three or four tracks, but not enough to significantly affect my enjoyment. Solid 4 stars.

296. nice

I hadn't realized that R.E.M. is such a great band until I started listening to their 80s run of albums on this list. Bravo!

I guess my favorite REM album? I dunno really waffled on this almost gave it a 3 but I did enjoy it. All REM kinda sounds the same to me and a little boring out of context

It’s ok

Great album, very catchy

Second R.E.M.. It has been a veeeery long time since their first album (Automatic for the People). 457 albums, to be exact. I like the style of the lead vocalist from this group, though the music wasn't quite to my liking. Very jangle poppy from what I recall, which is a genre of music I find to be a bit stiff and stale. I don't expect this album to be any different as it is the first of their included discography, though I'm hoping I'll like it all the same. Here goes. Yeah, not bad! Like I said, jangle pop isn't my speed, though I was able to get along with this album quite well. For one, the lone jangling guitars aren't the only things guiding the melodies of these songs. The punchy, yet soft drums, delicate pianos and layered guitarwork fill these songs out nicely while also having a remarkable level of focus. The jangle pop guitars are easily the highlight, however. There's a commendable level of range between their high and low notes, and they carry a rich, energetic sound which isn't normally befitting of the genre. I particularly favoured the deeper and more atmospheric uses of the guitars, both of which I found to be unique and distinctive. Also mentioned previously is the fact that I'm favourable to the vocalist of this band. It isn't as present on this album (not to say that's a bad thing), though the singer has a wearisome cadence that I think is befitting of the music and lyrics. All in all, yeah! I wasn't sold all the way on this album, though it was good and I am favourable to the idea of giving it a second chance somewhere down the line. For the time being, however, it gets a hearty thumbs-up from me. Book time. R.E.M. built an initial following from college radio and their campus live shows. Critically acclaimed, with Rolling Stone naming it Album of the Year. Wikipedia verifies that this album was beloved by critics, with it receiving perfect ratings pretty much all across the board and enduring acclaim in the years following release. It peaked at No. 36 on the US charts and No. 100 in the UK, though it doesn't appear to have charted anywhere else. Sure, this seems like a solid pick. Whether or not R.E.M. are able to run the gamut of four included albums remains to be seen, though I'm content with their presence on the list thus far. I cosign this inclusion.

Good album. Did not like it

This being my first time hearing this album, I listened to it and enjoyed what I thought was some charming 90s jangle pop. When I realized that this came out in 1983 — a year before The Smiths, a full decade before slacker-rock — my appreciation grew tenfold. Apparently fans lovably call this album “Mumble” due to the fact that nothing Michael Stipe says makes any sense (or is even intelligible), but I think that obfuscation applies to the entire record. It’s hazy in a such a timeless, psychedelic way. The sonics and instrumentation encompass the breadth of post-punk, alt rock, and hardcore, while the actual song structures embrace the heartfelt immediacy of pop. It’s rare for an album deemed revolutionary in its era to feel genuinely quirky 40 years on, and yet Murmur totally does. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and can’t wait to re-listen as soon as I finish writing this blurb. Fav Tracks: Radio Free Europe, Pilgrimage, Laughing, Moral Kiosk, Catapult, Sitting Still, Shaking Through, We Walk Least Fav: West of the Fields Score: 9

I fucking love this record, jangle pop masterpiece

A distinctive, if slightly flat in places, first effort from a legendary band.

Didn’t even know this album existed. Kinda pleased.

Perfectly fine :) I can't imagine this being someone's favorite band but hey different strokes.. I think it all sounds the same but at least it's pleasant

Listened before?: never Radio Free Europe - 5/5 Pilgrimage - 5/5 Laughing - 4/5 Talk About the Passion - 5/5 Moral Kiosk - 4/5 Perfect Circle - 4/5 Catapult - 5/5 Sitting Still - 4/5 9-9 - 4/5 Shaking Through - 4/5 We Walk - 4/5 West of the Fields - 4/5 Average score: 4.3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ now that i've finally gotten through all the R.E.M. albums that made it onto this list, i feel pretty confident that this is their best album i've heard so far. although i only gave 4 songs a 5/5 rating, everything was solid enough to at least give 4 stars for me. i can't help but admire the consistency in the quality of the tracklist in that regard. i could easily see myself coming back to listen to this album in full final verdict in order of best to worst: Murmur > Document > Green > Automatic For The People. i liked the other 3 albums just fine, but not quite to the extent that i enjoyed Murmur. perhaps my opinion will change as i listen more, only time will tell

Okej Remic, poneka se izdvoji; Pilgrimage recimo.

Just meh.

Meshed together but I liked it

meh. good lil funky beats

Ein Debüt, das wie ein geheimnisvoller Unterstrom arbeitet: Gitarren, die schimmern statt zu glänzen, Bassläufe, die treiben ohne zu drängen, und Stipe, der seine Stimme eher verhüllt als zeigt. Catapult wirft dich mit Zeilen wie “Did you never call? I waited for…” mitten in diese flirrende Unsicherheit, während 1‑1 mit seinem knappen “A long time coming…” das Gefühl eines langen, leisen Erwachens trägt. Murmur ist kein Album, das dich anschreit – es zieht dich hinein. Und wenn du drin bist, merkst du, wie vollständig und eigenständig diese Welt schon 1983 war.👍