Fables is beautiful; dark, deep, lush... (kinda like kudzu) it's easy to get lost in Michael's stories of the South, while simultaneously being hypnotized by Peter Buck's jangling Rickenbocker-picking sound. Buck's playing takes the listener for a Byrd's-esque train ride on Driver 8, the album's standout track. This is the song that would influence everything I'd listen to for the next ten years-- it was THE point of comparison.

Michael Stipe is at his peak vocally on this album, and Peter Buck would never sound this good again. Not to mention Mike Mills' harmonies and Bill Berry's solid drumming--
If you're new to REM, you REALLY owe it to yourself to listen to this one.

Before they changed their sound in 1988, they were the best band in the world. Check 'em out.

R.E.M.'s third album was a misstep
FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION was R.E.M.'s third album and their first and worst stumble. Even the band themselves were not content about its recording and the final product.

Meant as a sort of theme album on life in the South and its eccentricities, FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION draws heavily on the band's roots in Athens, Georgia and the strange characters Michael Stipe knew there. The songwriting on this album is among the best of any R.E.M. release. "Life and How to Live It" tells of a mentally-ill resident of Athens whose house, so it was discovered after his death, was divided by a wall into two parts, each the opposite of the other. In "Green Grow the Rushes" Stipe took his first step towards condemning American covert operations in Central and South America, an outcry that would mature over two songs from later albums, "The Flowers of Guatemala" and "Welcome to the Occupation." The album's best known song, "Driver 8" is Stipe's take on the lonely occupation of working on the railroad.

While the songwriting is wonderful, the album is deeply flawed for two main reasons. One is the murkiness of its production. The album was not mixed well and the end result was a quagmire of sound that is difficult to listen to. The other flaw is the total lack of enthusiasm in the instrumentation. Bill Berry's drumming is lackluster, and Buck and Mills do not add any flourish to the guitar and bass playing.

This import edition contains two extra tracks, "Driver 8 (live)" and "Maps and Legends (live)." However, these live songs do not really add anything to the listening experience. You're probably better off with just the domestic edition.

FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION is certainly the weakest of all R.E.M. albums. Before buying it, I would suggest exploring R.E.M.'s other albums, including their fourth, the brilliant, unabashedly political masterpiece LIFES RICH PAGEANT.

Such an excellent album
Maybe I'm just not getting it but 'Fables' is my favourite REM album behind 'Automatic' and 'Life's Rich Pageant'.

Fans were obviously influenced by bandmembers hasty statements pertaining to their view that this was their least favourite album. You've got to remember this album was made in a period of time when relations were strained between bandmembers, so antagonism and bad memories towards the album would have to be expected.

The music doesn't suffer though. This album has many magical moments. 'Maps and Legends' is simply brilliant with Michael and Mike singing a beautiful harmony together. 'Green grow the Rushes' is a slow, jangly guitar ballad which always hits the spot and 'Kohoutek' is a typical REM sounding track, which makes it great of course!

In fact there is only one real poor song on the album and that is 'Burning Hell', which is terrible. It's so untypical of REM, in a bad way. They are not even experimenting, it's just a very bad song.

Don't believe the bad hype this album has got. If you like REM, you'll like this. You'll probably grow to like it more than other REM albums, which I did.

Try it!
I'm shocked that I'm writing the first review for this CD! If you're an REM fan and you like their older stuff, you'll love this CD. Good and raw, it's REM before the politics and fluff. Solid from top to bottom.
Mid-priced reissue of the foreign edition of their 1985 top 30 album with five bonus tracks added, their cover of Pylon's 'Crazy', 'Burning Hell', 'Bandwagon', 'Driver 8' (Live) and 'Maps And Legends' (Live). 16 tracks total, also featuring the college radio staples 'Can't Get There From Here', 'Driver 8', 'Feeling Gravity's Pull' & 'Maps And Legends'. 1992 release.
The Regular Album is Augmented with Crazy / Burning Hell / Bandwagon / Driver Eight (Live) / Maps and Legends (Live).