''Murmur'' is the debut studio album by American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

, released on April 12, 1983, by

I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and a ...

. The album was recorded in the winter of 1983 at Reflection Studios in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, with musicians Don Dixon and

Mitch Easter Mitchell Blake Easter (born November 15, 1954) is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontm ...

serving as producers. ''Murmur'' received critical acclaim upon release for its unconventional sound, defined by lead singer

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe was born in Metro Atlanta in January 1960. Due to his father's militar ...

's cryptic lyrics, guitarist

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.; he played the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his caree ...

's jangly playing, and melodic lines from bassist

Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., hi ...

. In 2003, the album was ranked number 197 in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's list of the "

500 Greatest Albums of All Time 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

". It retained the position in the 2012 list and was raised to number 165 in the 2020 revision.

Background and recording

R.E.M. started preparing for their debut album in December 1982. I.R.S. paired R.E.M. with producer

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine, in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...

, who had a higher profile than the band's previous producer

. 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 drummer

Bill Berry William Thomas Berry (born July 31, 1958) is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guita ...

. Hague then took the completed track to

Syncro Sound Syncro Sound was a recording studio in Boston, Massachusetts, active from 1981 through 1986. It was owned by The Cars, who recorded their fourth album, '' Shake It Up'', there. Various other musicians, both nationally known and from the local scene, ...

studios in Boston and added keyboard parts without the band's permission and to their dismay. Unsatisfied, the band members asked the label to let them record with Easter. I.R.S. agreed to a "tryout" session, allowing the band to travel to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and record the song "Pilgrimage" with Easter and producing partner Don Dixon. After hearing the track, I.R.S. permitted the group to record the album with Dixon and Easter.Buckley, p. 78 On January 6, 1983, R.E.M. entered Reflection Studios in

, 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. Berry specifically was resistant to "odd" musical suggestions, insisting that his drums be recorded in a drummer's booth, a practice that was antiquated at the time. 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 singer

to re-record a vocal if it was very substandard. "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." Due to Buck's

Fender Twin Reverb The Fender Twin and Twin Reverb are guitar amplifiers made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Twin was introduced in 1952, two years before Fender began selling Stratocaster electric guitars. The amps are known for their characterist ...

amplifier being "dead", every song except 'Pilgrimage' instead featured Easter's

Ampeg Ampeg ("amplified peg") is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers. Originally established in 1946 in Linden, New Jersey by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels as "Michael-Hull Electronic Labs," today Ampeg is part of the Yamaha Guit ...

Gemini II. Mills's

Dan Armstrong Dan Kent Armstrong (October 7, 1934 June 8, 2004) was an American guitarist, luthier, and session musician. Biography Armstrong was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He started playing the guitar at age 11, and moved to New York in the early 1 ...

bass guitar was set aside in favor of a

Rickenbacker 4001 The Rickenbacker 4001 is an bass guitar, electric bass that was manufactured by Rickenbacker as a two-Pickup (music technology), pickup "deluxe" version of their first production bass, the single-pickup model 4000. This design, created by Roger ...

owned by Easter's girlfriend. In a rare instance of R.E.M. co-writing, Stipe asked friend Neil Bogan to contribute lyrics to "West of the Fields". Recording was completed on February 23, 1983.

Composition and music

On ''Murmur'', R.E.M.'s sound is "firmly" rooted in American

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

, and

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

. According to

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, the band abandoned the "garagey

jangle pop Jangle pop is a Music subgenre, subgenre of pop rock and college rock that emphasizes jangle, jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop music, pop melodies. The "jangly" guitar sound is characterized by its clean, shimmering and Arpeggio, arpeggiated ...

" of their previous releases, instead opting for "a strangely subdued variation of their trademark sound." He explained, "Heightening the enigmatic tendencies of ''

Chronic Town ''Chronic Town'' is the debut extended play (EP) by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released on August 24, 1982, on I.R.S. Records. The five-track EP was recorded at Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in October ...

'' by de-emphasizing the

backbeat In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a pi ...

and accentuating the ambience of the ringing 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 on ''Murmur'' sound as if they've existed forever, yet they subvert

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

conventions by taking unpredictable twists and turns into melodic, evocative territory." The album's production has been described as "atmospheric." The album also incorporates

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

. R.E.M. guitarist

took stylistic cues from

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, and

the Feelies The Feelies are an American rock band from Haledon, New Jersey. They formed in 1976 and disbanded in 1992 after having released four albums. The band reunited in 2008, and released new albums in 2011 and 2017. Although not commercially suc ...

. Vocalist

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 the

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

influence associated with the style.

Artwork and packaging

The front cover features an image of a large quantity of the noxious weed

kudzu Kudzu (), also called Japanese arrowroot or Chinese arrowroot, is a group of climbing, coiling, and trailing deciduous perennial vines native to much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands. It is invasive species, invasive in ...

, which grows so rapidly that it overtakes the landscape and kills other plants by completely shading them. The trestle featured on the back cover of the original vinyl LP release, originally part of the

Georgia Railroad Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of peo ...

line into downtown Athens, has become 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. In 2012, the local government said it cannot afford to keep it and declared in 2016 that it would likely come down. Later that year, the Athens-Clarke County Commission suggested that a trail tax could fund its existence. 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. The bridge was opened to the public in April 2023. Copies of the initial tape edition (catalogue number CS 70604) list a cover of " There She Goes Again" by

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

as the final track, but it is not present. This mistake was fixed with subsequent printings. The track was rumored to be intended for ''Murmur'', but removed so that all the tracks would be original and the group would not have to take a royalty cut. The band later distanced itself from this rumor. The cover was included as a B-side to the I.R.S. issue of "

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

" instead.

Reception and legacy

''Murmur'' was released in April 1983. The record reached number 36 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' album chart.Buckley, p. 357–358 A re-recorded version of "

" was the album's lead single and reached number 78 on the ''Billboard'' singles chart that year. Despite the acclaim awarded the album, by the end of 1983 ''Murmur'' had only sold about 200,000 copies, which I.R.S.'s Jay Boberg felt was below expectations. ''Murmur'' was eventually certified gold (500,000 units shipped) by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in 1991.Search for R.E.M.: Gold and Platinum data.
RIAA.com. Retrieved on May 12, 2008. The album drew substantial critical acclaim. ''

'' called it "epochal" and gave the album four out of five stars. Reviewer Steve Pond felt the album fulfilled the promise the band showed on ''Chronic Town''. He wrote, "''Murmur'' is the record on which .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 clearly ''the'' important Athens band." Jonathan Gregg of ''Record'' described ''Murmur'' as "a splendid little

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

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. It was ''Rolling Stones Best Album of 1983, beating

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'',

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

's ''

Synchronicity Synchronicity () is a concept introduced by Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology, to describe events that coincide in time and appear meaningfully related, yet lack a discoverable causal connection. Jung held that this was a healthy fu ...

'' and U2's ''

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

''. 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. In 2016, Dan Weiss of ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is an American monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publi ...

'' wrote: "Punk never quite married

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. Rickenbacker is the first known maker of electric guitars, with a steel guitar in 1932, and produces a range of electric guitars and bass ...

arpeggios until 'Radio Free Europe' and 'Sitting Still' made it safe for bands like the dB’s." A 2023 listing of the best debut albums by ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'' included ''Murmur'' at sixth place, stating that "the way Buck’s guitar and Mike Mills’ bass busily bounced around otherwise simple choruses created something entirely new". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

gave the album a perfect score, and wrote: "R.E.M. may have made albums as good as ''Murmur'' in the years following its release, but they never again made anything that sounded quite like it." Music journalist Andrew Earles highlighted the tracks "Laughing" and "Sitting Still" in his book ''Gimme Indie Rock'', calling them "required listening for absolutely any fan of American underground rock".

Accolades

Since its release, ''Murmur'' has featured heavily in various "must have" lists compiled by the music media. In 1989, it was rated number eight on ''

'' magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. In 2003, the TV network

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

named ''Murmur'' the 92nd greatest album of all time. Some of the more prominent of these lists to feature ''Murmur'' are shown below. The album was also included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music criti ...

''.

Track listing

All songs written by

and

, except "West of the Fields" by Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe and Neil Bogan. Side one #"

" – 4:06 #"Pilgrimage" – 4:30 #"Laughing" – 3:57 #"

Talk About the Passion "Talk About the Passion" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single released from its debut album '' Murmur'' in 1983. It was released in Europe only, on 12" vinyl. This song failed to follow up on the ...

" – 3:23 #"Moral Kiosk" – 3:31 #" Perfect Circle" – 3:29 Side two #"Catapult" – 3:55 #"

Sitting Still "Sitting Still" is a song by the American rock band R.E.M. It was originally released as the B-side to the band's debut single "Radio Free Europe" on July 8, 1981. It later appeared as the eighth track on the band's 1983 debut album '' Murmur''. ...

" – 3:17 #"9–9" – 3:03 #"Shaking Through" – 4:30 #"We Walk" – 3:02 #"West of the Fields" – 3:17

Personnel

R.E.M. *

– drums, backing vocals, percussion, piano on "Perfect Circle" *

– electric and acoustic guitars *

– bass guitar, backing vocals, piano, organ, acoustic guitar,

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

on "Pilgrimage"''REM: Perfect Circle'', Tony Fletcher, Omnibus Press (p 85–86) *

– lead vocals Production and additional musicians *

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bishop ...

– mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City * Don Dixon – co-producer, additional acoustic guitars, bass guitar on "Perfect Circle" *

– co-producer, additional acoustic guitars, backwards guitar on "Perfect Circle", additional snare drum on "Radio Free Europe" *Carl Grasso – art design *Ann Kinney – art design *Sandra Lee Phipps – photography and art design

Chart performance

Singles

Certifications

Release history

''Murmur'' was bundled together with ''

'' and ''

Reckoning Reckoning may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Reckoning (Grateful Dead album), ''Reckoning'' (Grateful Dead album), 1981 live album * Reckoning (R.E.M. album), ''Reckoning'' (R.E.M. album), 1984 album * "Reckoning", a song by Aug ...

'' in the United Kingdom as ''The Originals'' in 1993. On November 25, 2008, I.R.S. Records, A&M, and

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

released a 25th anniversary edition two-disc reissue of ''Murmur''. Disc one features the standard 12-track album, digitally remastered, and disc two contains a previously unreleased live concert the band played at Larry's Hideaway in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

on July 9, 1983. This set was recorded by Blair Packham of the Jitters. In addition to ''Murmur'' songs, the set includes tunes from the ''

'' EP, a Velvet Underground cover, and early versions of songs from ''

'' and ''

Lifes Rich Pageant ''Lifes Rich Pageant'' is the fourth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on July 28, 1986, by I.R.S. Records. R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album, which was recorded at John Mellencamp's Belmont Mall Stu ...

''. 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. †I.R.S. Vintage Years edition, with bonus tracks
‡Remastered edition on 180-gram vinyl and gold Compact Disc
•Remastered Deluxe Edition, with ''Live at Larry's Hide-Away'' bonus disc

References

External links

R.E.M. HQ on ''Murmur''
* :* (I.R.S. Vintage Years edition) :* (Deluxe Edition)
A detailed explanation of the lyrics
from

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

Memories of ''Murmur'' on its 40th anniversary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murmur (Album) 1983 debut albums Albums produced by Don Dixon (musician) Albums produced by Mitch Easter I.R.S. Records albums R.E.M. albums Post-punk albums by American artists Garage rock albums by American artists