Green

Certainly one of the albums of all time Not really sure why it’s on this list 2.5

bro what the hell is this 😭😭

Come a long way from murmur, that's for sure.

This album isn't bad, but it certainly isn't great. Not sure that this is even the best REM album. I wish I could give this 2.5 stars, but instead I will be kind and round up to 3 stars.

Not my favorite by REM. A few songs were good, but really the singer was quite whiny and nasally, even earsplitting at times. Not bad for one of their earlier albums, but they definitely came into their own on later stuff.

Solid, but not their best

honestly surprised by the inclusion of this album. it sounds indistinguishable to me from the rest of the 90s alt rock records…

aside from the opener track, which i found fun and nostalgic, this album was nearly unlistenable to me. i think i have to give it 1.5 stars. vocals are too grating, and the clashing and clanging is neither raw/gritty enough or polished/pleasant enough. i feel bad that this is my worst listening experience so far LOL sorry REM

The only REM album I had spent any time with before this project was *Out of Time*. And I have to say, I'm really glad they're represented so well here. *Document* was surprisingly strong, as is *Green*. The only song here I genuinely did not enjoy was the big single, "Stand." Which feels so dumb sitting next to the rest of these gems. I enjoy the diversity of sound here, and the clarity of the lyrics, where on *Document* they could be a little dense. As a whole, this might be my favorite REM album? FOUR STARS

This was the first REM record I bought, so I have always had a certain affection for it, though I must admit it is far from their most cohesive album. I never cared for Stand or Pop Song 89; indeed, I often found REM's choice of singles slightly perplexing. The juddering Orange Crush is a much better one, and the pedal steel paranoia of World Leader Pretend should have been another. Personally I think Green's strength lies in the mandolin songs, though I know that may not be a majority view. I used to like The Wrong Child, although I can't deny it is a little mawkish and clumsy. Hairshirt and You Are The Everything, though, are just beautiful

3.5

no

I enjoyed REMs soft rock melodies, but most other things feel short from the rhythm to the lyrics. Orange Crush will be a timeless song, but behind that, nothing stands out to me.

Orange Crush was a real nostalgia blast for me (thanks Rock Band), but other than that this album only inspired me slightly more than you're average rock album—which is to say not all that much.

Loved opening track. Found it harder and harder to distinguish songs past that.

Hey, an album that’s new to me from a band I love. Not my favorite thing I’ve heard from them by far, but I think that’s pretty expected. I’ll always love their early mumbly stuff.

Several hits but again, for me, they suffer from over-exposure (radio, MTV).

Oh, I do enjoy R.E.M.! Such good song writing.

REM has always been one of my faves!

My favorite R.E.M. album. Solid from front to back. Orange Crush slaps.

First REM I think we've had, about time. And I can only apologise for the below wall of text of my thoughts of the band before actually talking briefly about this album Criminally underrated band these days I think, especially from my experience in the UK where people tend to know like 3-4 songs, and seemingly not ones like Nightswimming and Man on the Moon which are easily 2 of their best hits. Of course this is filtered through my very specific elder Gen Z lens, but I view them a bit like U2 where they've fallen off in popularity despite a very exceptional 80s-90s alt-rock back catalogue, though where I guess U2 lost a lot of cool points with that one forced free album, REM simply aren't together any more and thus don't tour, so that can't help matters. But above all else, maybe they're just a very American band, but they surely stand among the best of them. Every time I hear an album of theirs I like and respect them a bit more. Automatic for the People probably the best in terms of immediate appeal, but their debut Murmur is really fantastic if you listen to it like 5 times to "get" it, I find it a very special album now but I don't think it lends itself well to first listeners that will get it on this list. Anyway, enough talking about my thoughts of the band and literally everything else aside from this album, I think this is great too on my first full listen. Parks and Rec fans will be familiar with the first 10 seconds of Stand (and indeed Ben's passion for the band), Orange Crush I already knew to be fantastic, and all the rest is a really easy jangly listen too. And right after this is their one-two album punch into serious mainstream success with Out Of Time and Automatic, so it's an interesting place to start with them in the list

Litt undervurdert R.E.M.-plate? Eventuelt korrekt vurdert, men litt lite omtalt? Bra er den ihvertfall, selv om den ikke når helt opp til deres aller beste. 8/10

God plate, bevares, men likevel blant de minst interessante i løpet av bandets første 20 år. Første album på stort selskap, og en slags mellomfase mellom janglete indie på 80-tallet og det som skulle bli et gigantisk stadionband utover 90-tallet. Så da skulle plata kanskje hatt 4/5? Ja, mulig det. Men spesielt "Stand" er så fæl at det må bli tommel ned. At den ble valgt ut som en av singlene er mer enn jeg kan begripe. Hallo, er det ingen hjemme?

R.E.M. - Green Ei samling låtar, men ikkje heilt eit album, dette. Meir folkete enn tidlegare og det kjennes ut som Michael Stipe tar større og større plass i lydbiletet. Stort plateselskap og sikkert eit visst press på å gi ut singlar som slo an. Tre av dei er veldig fine (“Pop Song 89”, “Get Up” og “Orange Crush”), mens gnagsåret “Stand” fucker opp ei veldig fin låtrekke, særleg i det Grand Prix-transposen kicker inn heilt mot slutten. På “Turn You Inside Out” vandrer Stipe litt i overkant nære Bono-land, men ellers mykje fint her. Elsker balladetrioen “You Are The Everything”, “World Leader Pretend” og “Hairshirt”. Ei litt merkelig plate, som er vanskelig å samanlikne med dei som kom tidlegare. Kontroversielt å påstå at den er betre enn “Document”? 7/10

Inte helt spännande album. Ingen låt som stack ut, inte dåligt men inte någon wow-känsla. Lär inte lyssna igen

Some songs a little repetitive but key songs were excellent

didn't feel like anything super special, but was still good highlights: stand orange crush untitled

It was pretty good but no outstanding tracks for me, I liked Pop Song 89, World Leader Pretend, and I Remeber California. I also liked the songs with mandolin I thought it gave the album some good variety.

Album sympa, mais pas de coup de coeur en particulier

R.E.M. — Green (1988) 7.5/10 — ★★★★☆ I've known this album very well for years and had previously rated it a 7/10. After revisiting it track by track, I'm bumping it up to a 7.5. What stands out most about Green is its consistency. There really isn't a bad song here. R.E.M. balances catchy alternative rock with quieter, more introspective material, and the variety keeps the album interesting from beginning to end. "World Leader Pretend" and "Orange Crush" are the clear highlights for me, both earning a 9/10. They're very different songs, but each showcases what R.E.M. does best. "Orange Crush" has that driving energy and urgency, while "World Leader Pretend" is more emotional and atmospheric. "I Remember California" is another standout at 8/10. I love its darker mood and slow-building arrangement. Songs like "Pop Song 89," "Get Up," and "Stand" provide plenty of catchy moments, while the mandolin-driven tracks offer a nice change of pace. Even the songs I don't love as much are still enjoyable. "You Are the Everything" was my lowest-rated track at 6.5, which says a lot about the overall quality of the album. I also appreciate that Green doesn't overstay its welcome. At eleven songs, it has enough variety to keep things moving without feeling bloated. This is an album I've enjoyed for a long time, but listening closely reminded me just how strong it is. My individual song ratings averaged 7.45, so upgrading my overall score to 7.5 feels right. A consistently good album with several excellent songs, and one that holds up remarkably well after all these years. 7.5/10 — 4 stars.

This is my first ever time listening to R.E.M. at all. I really wanted to like this album, but I can't stand the delivery and cadence of its lyrics- I feel like a rock and roll wizard is singing half deep wisdom at me and is about to drop some bars like "I went to a mountain, walked up the path. At the top I met an old man, who told me to eat my vegetables" or something. I'm sorry rem enjoyers :( But that said, wrong child was fantastic and I think I would have found a lot of comfort in that song when I was younger. The sound of it was great too. Will be saving it to main main playlist. I hope there's other R.E.M. stuff with a similar sound. On a second listen, Stand is also fine, if not a little generic sounding.

It's great but not one of the greatest.

not my type of music. like one song was good. 3/5 maybe even 2/5.

Review - A band where I've only ever really listened to the greatest hits. I enjoyed this album. Mainly the songs I already knew (Orange Crush, Stand) but there are a few interesting deep cuts too. The introduction of folk instruments like mandolins was interesting in places, but there were definitely songs were if sounded like a guitarist playing a mandolin for the first time. Score - 6.5/10 Need to listen? YES

the album cover isn’t even green..lol c

Steady album. Great vocals and captivating songwriting. Nice and own sound. Love the vocal tone

College rock…bien pero no tanto

So monotone…

I have really only appreciated this band as I’ve matured into an old man. This album is great but it’s not one of the greatest, an easy 4

One of my dad's favorite bands - I like em too! Wavering between 4 and 5

L’autre était mieux

Love the way REM sounds. The tunes on this just are all very bleary/smeary

Clean sweep of 4 star albums by R.E.M. I like all of their albums but I don't love any of them. Ranking: 1. Automatic for the People 2. Murmur 3. Document 4. Green

The thing I always remember hearing about Green is that as R.E.M.'s major-label debut, it served as a blueprint for all the alternative bands that followed. They listened to this album and realized, 'Oh wow, we can still do exactly what we want to do.' R.E.M. didn't change their core sound at all; they just put it out there and said, 'This is what we sound like, either you like it or you don't.' They were definitely still expanding their sound, but they proved you could make the jump to a major label without 'selling out'—which, of course, became the ultimate debate in the '90s. ​Take tracks like 'Stand' and 'Pop Song 89.' Michael Stipe always referred to them as his 'Fruit Loop songs' because they were full of sugary-sweet pop goodness with no real intellectual nutritional value. But honestly, sometimes you just need that sugary-sweet pop goodness, and 'Stand' is a genuinely great song. Peter Buck is awesome on guitar throughout, and this was also the era where the band started swapping instruments around, with Buck even jumping on the drums for a track. It's a great album where you can clearly hear the progression toward what was coming on their next two records. You get these lively, fun pop songs backed up against brainy, sophisticated acoustic ballads. They would hone that exact formula to absolute perfection on Automatic for the People, but Green is the crucial stepping stone that got them there.

I'm more of a 90s R.E.M. guy but this is still a great album and more accessible than Murmur was. Standouts: Orange Crush, Stand, Get Up

Its alright

Brilliant as I remember it

'Green' as an album represents an interesting point in the band's discography. After the success of the prior records, they came into their own to release a record that would be the hallmark before their major success in the 90s. However, it is found at this middle-ground between their earlier great records, 'Murmur', 'Lifes Rich Pageant' and the later ones 'Automatic for the People', 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi'. While in some circles 'Out of Time' has a lesser critical acclaim, it is more of an 'album to hear before you die' type of record so I would make that swap. 7/10 [SWAP]

couple good, not greats, and don’t think i’ll ever listen to the full album again

*1988. *Orange Crush and Stand are the singles here. *Same general vibe as their early 90s stuff, and while they use some different instruments (like mandolin and something that at least sounds like an accordion) they don't fall victim to using too much 80s electronica sound, like so many other late 80s albums. *This is listed as experimental rock, but it's really just early 90s alt, so an easy listen. *Not a perfect album, but some solid tracks here, and it shows what's to come with R.E.M. RATING - 7/10

Ничего, п5рвая половина уныловата, вторая по лучше

Uurrgh, another R.E.M. album so soon? And another I thought I liked, but this had almost no truly redeeming features at all. Maybe 3 decent tracks (Orange Crush probably the highlight? And I’m not generally a singles guy) and those came much too long after I was thoroughly sick of the album. The first half has almost variation whatsoever, and when it does come in the form of an irrepressibly major key, oh boy does it stink! Stand is the kind of track that makes me wonder how the band retained any credibility at all. At best it’s music for a toddler to bounce up and down on their seat to at a baseball game. Its catchiness is in the same malignant earworm category as local radio advert jingles, and it’s advertising a family pack of the world’s blandest cheese.

Meh. No huge on REM Top bops: You are everything Orange crush

Alright, solid 80s rock. Extra points for reminding me of mr cockburn, minus points for not being green :(

A very interestingly opinionated album but still not my style.

Even the best REM gets boring and this is not the best REM. RYM: N Saved a song: N

I don’t get R.E.M

Зелёная тоска издаёт какие-то приятные звуки

См. мой предыдущий отзыв на них, в целом все то же самое, хороший альбом

Лучшего прошлого альбома их тут. Потому что звучит по-бритоски иннит. Ставим пяяяяять.

ровный, приятный, не лучший - 4

Fairly good bit of REM there. Quite late liked it.

I just don’t like REM

I liked this alright but it did feel a bit more tepid than the previous REM album we had. Still enjoyable. 3.5

Can’t listen to Stand without hearing Weird Al. 3.5

Yep, this was an album of music. I guess I understand why REM is popular, but always fined myself whelmed at best. (2.5)

First REM album I heard. I’ve grown to like it more and more the older I get.

This is an unlikely candidate for one of the biggest selling albums of the 80s. It’s a archetypal example of the Athens, Georgia sound, with jangly guitars, Michael Stipe’s distinctive, plaintive vocals and some nice touches on some tracks with mandolins, cello and pedal steel guitar giving a touch of country/Americana. The thing that really sets this album is the utterly baffling nature of the lyrics, with gnomic allusions turned into sing along hooks. I had no idea what lines like “I’ve got my spine, I’ve got my orange crush” meant at the time and I’m still not much clearer even after reading the wikipedia page. Does it matter if it doesn’t make sense? Maybe, maybe not, but perhaps that’s where its charm lies.

Overall this is a fun listen - I never really got R.E.M. but I like this. LOL ... Stand is the song for Ben Wyatt's claymation movie.

See above.

Still haven’t finished my look through REMs discog that I started YEARS ago (i think i left off at New Adventures in Hi Fi?) but this was and is definitely a highlight. I don’t THINK Automatic for the People is on here but i’d happily take that over this even though this one has some great stuff too.

Loved this album. Stand was great. Top notch melodies

Not their best, but what a great band.

I must just not understand music. I hear a lot of praise for REM and how important/influential they are and all I hear is radio background music. Literally no song stuck out from the rest here. Bleh.

so so uninspired

With "Green", R.E.M. sought to explore some new directions. Largely abandoning their trademark jangly guitar sound, the album offers a diverse range of tracks, spanning from slower, acoustic-driven moods (featuring mandolin) to up-tempo pop-rock. That suits me just fine. The lyrics, too, are no longer the kind of completely impenetrable stream-of-consciousness found on the band's earlier releases. There aren't really any weak tracks on the album. My favorites are the excellent "Orange Crush" and the quirky, fun "Stand". The atmospheric "I Remember California" also ranks among the album's best. This may not be a life-changing masterpiece, but all in all, I think it is a damn good album.

In some ways a 2 is even worse than a 1, no?

This is one of the better REM albums I've heard, and it's still pretty mild. Not turning heads but inoffensive. 2.8/5 -> 3/5

#247 - This is a great R.E.M album, not my favorite band or album of all time though. I still owe them more listens to their catalog. I am admittedly late to the game on them, and maybe it's something my middle-aged ears will appreciate, because my teens/early 20s mind thought these guys were dull. I wasn't "smart" enough to get these guys. I probably still won't but I can at least use my life experience to understand what they are saying now. Biggest Hit - Stand Biggest Miss - I Remember California Not So Hidden Gem - Pop Song 89

good, but outdated.

I really like old school REM. However, the later stuff is a different story. This was just ok for me. Like, I don't need to hear "Stand" one more time, frfr.

I was a huge REM fan. Document was the cross over album for me. Not so much a fan of Out of Time or Automatic as they lost some of their bite. However this album saw that bite reappear.

Something about the vocals I find about annoying, however I get that it is overall good song writing, so a 3 is a must.

I grew up on early 90's alternative music. This era of REM and this whole sound in general, to me, is indicative of the bridge between the 80's bands like The Smiths towards what become the early 90's alternative sound. I can appreciate it for the significance, but it never really resonated with me.

Not particularly unpleasant but nothing specifically memorable.

Bought this album in 6th grade on the basis of Stand, and it (alternative) rocked my world, and I bought Document soon after, and I think it's safe to say I was one of the few 6th graders in town to own a copy of Document. My music world was very much hair metal (Poison and the rest) and teenybopper (Debbie Gibson) so this was all new. I think this is the best REM album and still holds up. Top ten album for me. 500 stars.

Mercy. I just do not like this band. I realize I'm the only one. Update - Oh god, having to listen to "Stand" makes me physically nauseous. I thinks that something about REM's music just triggers a chemical response in my brain, one that makes me very unhappy.

Having spent a lot of time around R.E.M. heads, I think they consider this a lesser album and the beginning of R.E.M.'s exit from the Cool Club. (Out of Time followed this, and with it, massive success.) But this the first R.E.M. album I owned, and I listened to it on repeat. It's been a long time, but each song was instantly familiar when I came back to it. And I still love it, aside from "The Wrong Child," which is just as laborious as I remember. But the highlights are numerous: "Stand" (shoutout to the opening credits of Get a Life), "Pop Song 89," "Turn You Inside Out," "You are the Everything," etc. You can have the "cool" albums. I'll rep for Green.

Crush the stand out track. Sounded a bit like nursery rhymes at times.

ive heard some of these songs a million times and some of them never before. so this is a wild mix of nostalgic and fresh. its a great album. definitely influential on alternative music. favorite tracks: Pop Song 89, Stand, Orange Crush

Album from a band I've never paid much attention to. Pop Song 89 put me off - lacklustre song, which I'm guessing is about how it's a bit hard being famous? I'll pass. Most of the following songs are uninteresting. Hairshirt got my attention, I listened to it a second time, and read the lyrics, I like it. But the album overall is rather nothingburger. (Apologies to any REM tragics reading this, I just don't get it.) I don't find any of it actually bad, so, generous spirit that I am, I'll rate it Okay, 6/10.

7.2/10

honestly i was a little hesitant going into this one cos the last rem album we rolled was murmur which was. not very good. but its ok actually cos this one fucks. guess i should've realised when i saw "orange crush" in the track list cos thats an all time banger. "orange crush" is still my favourite track on this album and its not even close. but.... theres a lot of other tracks on here i enjoyed a lot as well, including "your are the everything", "stand" and uh, the track that doesn't have a title, which makes it a bit hard to talk about it, but yeah i liked it. i guess i didnt really mention it last time but i do like michael stipe's singing voice a lot. its another of those slightly whiney voices that makes me wanna shove him in a locker, but like, playfully. yknow? ..whatever. anyway i don't think there's a single bad track on here. ive been debating over if this should be a 4 or a 5 but like. ive listened to it like 6 times now and keep finding myself humming and singing along so. gotta give it to em i guess.

There is something about Stipes vocal delivery I just don't love. It was a slow start and couldn't stop thinking that. However the second half of the album is 5/5. So giving it a solid 4

Mandolins :-) I like REM and I recognise this is a transition album for them. Stand and Orange Crush are of course the standout songs on this album. Enjoyable but not overwhelming. It feels a bit like a deliberate attempt to do something different, only partially sucessful. I still love the enigmatic lyrics and atmospheric melodies, but not their best. 3/5

What a throw back. R.E.M. I don't think I've ever listened to this album all the way through. It is just how I remember them. 4/5.

more people should listen to R.E.M., maybe the world be a better place

Great album. Stand was one of my first musical obsessions as a child.

Pretend World Leader! New favorite. This album is pretty near perfect to me. No skips. 9/10

Solid stuff here but doesn't quite crossover into great.