REM continued their graduation from jangly indie band to alternative rock gods with 1988’s Green. The album opens with the upbeat Pop Song 89 which takes a clever riff and some seemingly disparate parts and moulds them into one song. Get Up is similarly upbeat before You Are The Everything, a gorgeous song leaning heavily on Peter Buck’s mandolin and a strong vocal from Michael Stipe. The mandolin comes out again later on the album with The Wrong Child and Hairshirt.
Of course at this stage REM were becoming adept at writing insanely catchy songs. On this album we get 2: the slightly cheesy Stand and fine rock anthem Orange Crush. They also laid the ground for what would come afterwards with the midtempo and less well known World Leader Pretend, aided and abetted by some memorable cello and steel guitar parts and a chorus of intent: “I raised the wall and I will be the one to knock it down”. Turn You Inside Out is another fine rocker and penultimate track I Remember California has a darker tone to it.
It’s hard to imagine now how rare this sort of stuff was in 1988. While it’s probably nobody’s favourite REM album, it’s one of their better ones.
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