Listeners would struggle to find a clearer growth of sound than they do with R.E.M. and their first three albums. Fables of the Reconstruction capitalises not just on the moodier, jangle pop style of the band, but brings in a whole new layer of sentimentality. It’s that emotional register that makes all the difference for this third studio album, which from the first notes of opener Feeling Gravitys Pull, has a nastier touch. There’s a darker tone to the album that R.E.M. wouldn’t quite grasp as strongly again as they do here, but they’d use it to feed the hits, Everybody Hurts and Losing My Religion especially. Fables of the Reconstruction has far more influence on their sound than a passing listener may credit it for. Switching out producers, adding new instruments, everything is thrown up into the air with this one, and it sounds phenomenal at times. A moody opener sets the scene, Michael Stipe and the band maintain that feeling across Fables of the Reconstruction.
R.E.M. digs into the peace of nature that made up the best bits of Murmur, but includes a steely reflection which was lacking on their previous works. It doesn’t make Murmur or Reckoning any better or worse, but it does highlight Fables of the Reconstruction as a real masterstroke from the band, who sound confident and capable of adapting their sound to whatever they feel is right. In this instance, a darker tone, that isolation and trail-following feeling, the pursuit of no particular goal but a desire to move overwhelming a person, that’s what R.E.M. manages to put to song here. Maps and Legends does this very well, that promise of legend is enough to inspire someone stuck in a rut to push on, to see what comes next. Nothing may come, but that’s the risk Fables of the Reconstruction holds back, off in the distance. Driver 8 and Life and How to Live It are excellent examples of instrumental growth and that lyrical style which the band would continue to develop.
Fables of the Reconstruction stands tall next to follow-up piece, Lifes Rich Pageant, and the quality across these early R.E.M. records is nothing short of remarkable. As complete a sound as you could want from the band, truly. Complete confidence in the instrumental direction, well-layered and often independent of the other instruments, as is Stipe’s staggering vocal work. It all comes together, though, with the camaraderie expected of a band whose expectations for their work were growing, their sound keeping up with that high bar of quality. Old Man Kensey is a phenomenal piece of work, as perfect a song as you can want from the band during this jangle pop period. Can’t Get There from Here is another masterclass, one of the coolest songs R.E.M. has put out. Sincerely brilliant instrumentals and a lightning bolt of energy from Stipe, whose vocal range is on full show here. Mesmerising bits like that are frequent on Fables of the Reconstruction.
Towards the end is where things get a little sluggish. Nothing to derail what is an essential listen, one of the best pieces of work R.E.M. put out before their hits parade period in the 1990s, but Kohoutek and Auctioneer (Another Engine) pale in comparison to what precedes and follows. Ending strongly with Good Advices and Wendell Gee is a tremendous end to an incredibly solid piece of work. You can hear the band grow in confidence and skill track by track, even those pieces that cannot reach the lofty heights of Feeling Gravitys Pull and Can’t Get There from Here. Those two songs are essentials in R.E.M.’s discography, and also in that fascinating blend of jangle pop and folk tones the group had mastered by this point. Three albums into their career and that desire to continue changing their sound, to keep growing as a band irrespective of success or impact, is what keeps them special. It’s what makes Fables of the Reconstruction unique.
