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R.E.M.: Michael Stipe (vocals); Mike Mills (vocals, bass); Bill Berry (vocals, drums); Peter Buck (guitar). Recorded at Reflection Sound, Charlotte, North Carolina. Personnel: Bill Berry (vocals, drums, percussion); Michael Stipe, Mike Mills (vocals); Peter Buck (guitar). Audio Mixer: Mitch Easter. Recording information: Reflection Sound Studios, Charlotte, NC. Photographers: Ed Colver; Mike Cameron. Unknown Contributor Role: Howard Finster. The murmuring continued with this, R.E.M.'s second album, recorded in only two weeks, and yet critical acclaim and a growing fanbase had not made the music any less elusive. From the cover depiction of a winding river/snake, the jangly music within was similarly ambiguous, drenched in alternately murky, then dazzlingly clear, images. The water theme predominates throughout side one's five-song suite, with talk of harbours, oceans and water towers, crowned by the sublime lament of "So. Central Rain." Later, the melancholic eulogy of "Camera" sits comfortably beside th... |