Fables 25th Anniversary

Mark your calendars again!  R.E.M. will be releasing an expanded 25th Anniversary 2CD and digital edition of their 1985 album, Fables Of The Reconstruction on July 13th.  The package features the digitally remastered original album, plus 14 previously unreleased demo recordings, including a track I have never even heard of.  Hard to believe, I know!  I don't know how this track has eluded me for all these years.  The song is called "Throw Those Trolls Away" and I am really excited about hearing it for the first time.

The reissue of Fables Of The Reconstruction is a bit of a departure from the anniversary editions of Murmur and Reckoning because is does not include a live concert from time the album was origically released.  I am a bit bummed because the concerts from the Reconstruction tour are my favorite.  I'm sure the demos will be a lot of fun to listen to though, and I have enough unofficial recordings of the 1985 concerts to keep me happy.  I was just anticipating having a crisp clean sounding concert from that era.

Fables Of The Reconstruction is my favorite R.E.M. album from the I.R.S. years.  Peter Buck best decribes the songs on the album by calling them "character filled and vibey."  The album evokes many images and colloquialisms from the south, and most of the songs have a storytelling feel to them.  My favorite song from the album is "Good Advices" and it defines what an R.E.M. song is to me.  Take a listen...



When you greet a stranger look at his shoes
Keep your money in your shoes put your trouble behind
When you greet a stranger look at her hands
Keep your money in your hands put your travel behind
Who are you going to call for, what do you have to say
Keep your hat on your head home is a long way away
At the end of the day, I'll forget your name
I'd like it here if I could leave and see you from a long way away

When you greet a stranger, look at her shoes
Keep you memories in your shoes, put your travel behind
Who are you going to call for, what do you have to say
Keep your hat on your head
Home is a long way away
At the end of the day, when there are no friends
When there are no lovers, who are you going to call for
What do you have to change

A familiar face a foreign place I forget your name
I'd like it here if I could leave and see you from a long way away
Who are you going to call for, what do you have to say
Keep your hat on your head
Home is a long way away