Spinner reported yesterday that on July 13th, REM is releasing a 25th anniversary re-mastered version of their classic 1984 LP, “Fables Of The Reconstruction” (aka “Reconstruction Of The Fables”). Produced in London by the legendary Joe Boyd, (Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, Pink Floyd) it may be the last vital work the band ever did. It came out of a tumultuous time as most good records do. The band had released two prior albums, and had toured almost non stop to support them. They found themselves away from home , with very little spending money and at the end of their collective ropes as far as interacting with each other. Many interviews and accounts from this time period indicate that this was a difficult period for the band and they nearly called it quits out of frustration.
The music on “Fables” reflects all of the above. This is a very dark album that was purposely recorded and mixed as murky as possible. Joe Boyd, in an interview from that time period said something to the effect that in most cases when recording an album, the individual members would chime in and ask that their parts be turned up in volume so that they can be better heard. On “Fables” he said, it was the only experience he ever had where each band member wanted their individual parts turned DOWN. It will be interesting to hear if the re-mastered version will sound brighter and if it will be better or worse than the original mix. The original vinyl still sounds great but the CD version had too much high end and not enough bass, like most of the CD’s released during the infancy of the format.
The re-mastered edition will also be issued on 180-gram vinyl LP as well as digital download. A second bonus disc titled “The Athens Demos” will contain the official release of rare fan-favorite ‘Throw Those Trolls Away,’ and an early version of ‘Hyena,’ which later surfaced on 1986’s ‘Life’s Rich Pageant.’
Here’s the full track listing-
Disc One: ‘Fables of the Reconstruction’
1. ‘Feeling Gravity’s Pull’
2. ‘Maps and Legends’
3. ‘Driver 8’
4. ‘Life and How to Live It
‘ 5. ‘Old Man Kensey’
6. ‘Can’t Get There From Here’
7. ‘Green Grow the Rushes’
8. ‘Kohoutek’
9. ‘Auctioneer (Another Engine)’
10. ‘Good Advices’
11. ‘Wendell Gee’
Disc Two: ‘The Athens Demos’
1. ‘Auctioneer (Another Engine)’
2. ‘Bandwagon’
3. ‘Can’t Get There From Here’
4. ‘Driver 8’
5. ‘Feeling Gravity’s Pull’
6. ‘Good Advices’
7. ‘Green Grow the Rushes’
8. ‘Hyena’
9. ‘Kohoutek’
10. ‘Life and How to Live It’
11. ‘Maps and Legends’
12. ‘Old Man Kensey’
13. ‘Throw Those Trolls Away’
14. ‘Wendell Gee’