Maps of Music

Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)

Where the lyrics of Fables of the Reconstruction take you, and where it was really made.

The sleeve prints two titles, so it is unclear whether the album is Fables of the Reconstruction or Reconstruction of the Fables.

Key places

Recorded at Livingston Studios, London (1985)

Recording site Livingston Studios — The band flew to England to make the album and worked at Livingston Studios in Wood Green, London. A release credit places production and engineering there in March 1985. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Fables of the Reconstruction: third studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M.
• Released 10 June 1985 through I.R.S. Records
• The band's first album recorded outside the U.S.
• Sessions at Livingston Studios in London, produced by Joe Boyd
• Darker, murkier sound than the first two albums
• Lyrics draw on Southern Gothic themes and characters
• Adds string and brass arrangements and banjo to the band's instrumentation
• The packaging shows two titles, so the official name is unclear

Background

• After Murmur (1983) and Reckoning (1984), made with Don Dixon and Mitch Easter, the band chose a different producer
• Michael Stipe's first choice was Van Dyke Parks, whose album Jump! (1984) drew on Uncle Remus folk tales
• Guitarist Peter Buck wanted Joe Boyd, known for work with Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, and Richard and Linda Thompson
• The band had recorded its first two albums in North Carolina and this time flew to England
• Lodging in Mayfair meant a long commute to the studio, and London was at the end of a rough winter
• Boyd's precise attention to detail contrasted with the band's spontaneous approach on earlier records, causing tension

Recording

• Work on the album finished in early April 1985
• Boyd spent hours mixing and remixing songs
• The band felt that this process removed some of the energy and spontaneity of its performances
• Boyd later recalled that the band seemed to get along better than most groups he had worked with, despite strained relations at the time

Cover

• The sleeve has two front covers, each showing one of the two titles
• The record label follows the same split: side one is A side with the first title, side two is Another side with the second

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe, all University of Georgia students
• Released the single "Radio Free Europe" in 1981 on the independent label Hib-Tone
• Signed with I.R.S. Records in 1982

Members

• Michael Stipe (lead vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass, vocals), Bill Berry (drums) until 1997
• Bill Rieflin served as touring drummer from 2003 until his death in 2020

Career

• Breakthrough hit "The One I Love" in 1987 from Document; signed with Warner Bros. in 1988
• Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992) made them leaders of alternative rock
• Continued as a trio after Berry left in 1997
• Broke up in 2011 after selling more than 90 million albums worldwide
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2024

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone: Parke Puterbaugh gave the album four stars out of five and felt the band sounded surer than on Reckoning
• Robert Christgau: Boyd's production confirmed the band's folk rock frame of reference, and the band could defeat the stasis of folk rock
• Critical reception was generally positive, with many reviews noting the folk elements and murky tone

Reappraisal

• AllMusic: Stephen Thomas Erlewine found it less consistent than the first two albums but showing musical growth
• Pitchfork: Matthew Perpetua called it overlooked and transitional, a dark and murky set
• Drowned in Sound: Andrzej Lukowski called it a Southern Gothic masterpiece
• Slant: Jonathan Keefe found it the most thematically cohesive R.E.M. album
• The A.V. Club: Scott Gordon said the band had mastered mismatching itself from album to album

Records

• In the US, the album peaked at number 28 on the Billboard 200, one spot lower than Reckoning
• UK Albums Chart: number 35, the band's first top 40 entry there
• Canada: number 40, the band's first chart entry there
• New Zealand: number 29
• RIAA Gold certification on 24 June 1991 for sales over 500,000 copies
• Lead single Cant Get There from Here: number 14 on Top Rock Tracks, number 10 on Bubbling Under Hot 100, not on the Hot 100
• Driver 8: number 22 on Top Rock Tracks
• Wendell Gee, Europe only: number 91 on the UK Singles Chart, the first R.E.M. song there

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title and track names were intentionally printed incorrectly, and the sleeve shows the tracks in a non-standard order
• Peter Buck said of Driver 8 that he could write that kind of stuff in his sleep
• Michael Stipe once compared the album's sound to two oranges being nailed together
• Driver 8 was backed by a cover of Crazy by the Athens band Pylon on its B-side
• The brass on Cant Get There From Here was the first time R.E.M. used horns on a record

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

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