Craig Rosen

This book is an album-by-album exploration of the stories behind each R.E.M. recording, from the original Radio Free Europe single to New Adventures In Hi-fi, in which the author basically compiled the relevant sections from various radio, TV, and print interviews and arranged them by their respective songs. It's certainly an interesting read, but the back cover gives one the impression that it's about the meaning of each song, which is definitely not the case (and probably for the best, all things considered). I also found it interesting that the author's impressions were often the opposite of my own: that Document was the "political" album, or that the social commentary of Lifes Rich Pageant was opaque. The author also has a tendency to resort to trite phrases or "clever" asides, which is rather annoying. Still, this book is a valuable source of material on R.E.M. recordings and discographies, especially little-known b-sides and side projects.… (mer)