R.E.M. - Reckoning demos & such (1983)

They may not have been a literal "household name" until the early '90s, but even R.E.M. fans who were introduced to them through Out of Time or Automatic For the People were curious enough to explore their back catalog, and in doing so likely made some posthumous but revelatory finds, specifically the five albums they cut for I.R.S. in the 1980s, and perhaps to a lesser extent 1988's Green.  The general consensus is that of their early records, Murmur was their finest and most incendiary moment, and flabbergastingly impressive for a debut (not counting the preceding Chronic Town ep and "Radio Free Europe" single).  Their third and fourth albums, 1985's Fables of the Reconstruction, and Life's Rich Pageant which followed a year later, were tremendous fan-faves (pardon the cliche) and are critically lauded to this day.  Of course, 1987's Document, took on a life of it's own, and eventually went platinum on the strength of it's attendant, bona-fide hit singles, "The One I Love" and "It's the End of the World..."  While certainly not forgotten, nor a commercial disappointment the band's follow-up to Murmur simply isn't discussed or revered nearly as much as the rest of their "indie" releases (not that I.R.S. really struck me as being indie to begin with, but I digress).  I'm talking about Reckoning, Michael Stipe & Co.'s sophomore effort.

I was a relatively late-blooming and even slightly reluctant R.E.M. follower, circa Document, which belatedly introduced me the Athens, GA quartet.  Since I didn't actually sit down with Reckoning until the very, very late '80s I don't have the benefit of hindsight to remember what people's initial response to this record was upon it's 1984 release.  I can't imagine any fan of Murmur disliking Reckoning outright, given there's little if anything to be dissatisfied with.  In fact, the only slight anyone could reasonably have against Reckoning is that it isn't the revelation the first album was.  With the exception of the lively "Pretty Persuasion" and "Second Guessing" there isn't much else here that's as combustible as what R.E.M. delivered on Murmur ("Radio Free Europe," "Sitting Still," and "Pilgrimage" immediately spring to mind).  Still, it's a fallacy to say that Reckoning was a mellower affair than it's predecessor, even though the notion often strikes me as such.  "So. Central Rain," and "Camera" are certainly ballad-esque in tone, but conversely so was Murmur's "Talk About the Passion."  In the grand scheme of things, I suppose it isn't quantifiable to determine how/why Reckoning doesn't boast the same status as some of R.E.M.'s surrounding albums. A few of you reading this might regard this as their peak album, but I don't imagine there's more than a couple folks in the audience raising their hands.

This is all leading into what I'm presenting today, which is essentially a "dry run" of the majority of the songs that would materialize into Reckoning - that and several other tunes that would be relegated as b-sides and outtakes.  Per UNCUT magazine:

"On November 9 [1983], R.E.M. demoed 24 songs at Rhythmic Studios, San Francisco, with Elliot Mazer, who'd produced Neil Young's 'Harvest'. They recorded nine songs that would eventually appear on 'Reckoning': 'So. Central Rain', 'Letter Never Sent', 'Little America', 'Camera', 'Second Guessing', 'Harborcoat', '7 Chinese Bros', 'Pretty Persuasion' and 'Time After Time (AnnElise)'.

All cut in a single day, live to two-track.  Quick and dirty you might say, but the arrangements weren't fussed over much more on the finished product than they were on these prototypes, comparatively raw and spontaneous as they are here.  There's covers too, ranging from the Tokens to the Velvets.  Additionally we're treated to an early take of "All The Right Friends," a song that wasn't released in it's fully realized form until it's inclusion on the expanded import of Dead Letter Office in 1993, and later on a much more widely available best-of.  Then there are a patch of cuts that I seem to recognize from some really early live R.E.M. bootlegs, like "That Beat" and "Just a Touch," and "Skank."  As for "Cushy Tush," the boys were just having a frivolous stab at a potential commercial jingle. 

As die-hard fans of any given innovative artist go, they tend to want to hear alternate versions, regardless of how close the similarities might be.  Luckily, R.E.M. were apparent sticklers for demoing new material - and that's very much to our benefit.  This boot is also known as the Elliot Mazer Demos. Someone other than myself went to the trouble of prepping this collection for a torrent some years ago, and even provided liner notes that you'll find in the download folder, so big props to whomever went to the effort.  By the way, if the depiction of the album sleeve above seems a bit off, I futzed with some of the colors in Photoshop.  

01. That Beat
02. Walter's Theme
03. Cushy Tush
04. Burning Down
05. All The Right Friends
06. Windout
07. Femme Fatale
08. Burning Hell
09. The Lion Sleeps Tonight
10. Skank
11. So. Central Rain
12. Letter Never Sent
13. Little America
14. Camera
15. Second Guessing
16. Second Guessing Take 2
17. Harborcoat
18. Seven Chinese Brothers
19. Just A Touch
20. Pretty Persuasion
21. Pale Blue Eyes
22. Time After Time (Annelise)

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