Album
Murmur
Murmur is the debut studio album by R.E.M., released on 12 April 1983 on I.R.S. Records. The American band recorded it over the winter of 1983 at Reflection Sound Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Don Dixon and Mitch Easter producing. It opens the run of studio albums that would take them from Reckoning in 1984 through to Collapse Into Now in 2011.
What marked it out was its unusual sound. Michael Stipe's cryptic lyrics sit alongside Peter Buck's jangly guitar and Mike Mills' melodic basslines, giving the record a feel that draws on jangle pop, post-punk and folk rock all at once. Critics praised it on release, and Rolling Stone placed it at number 197 in its 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums, keeping that spot in 2012 before lifting it to 165 in 2020. It is a fine place to hear the band at the very beginning.
Murmur: tracklist and credits
12 tracks · 44:12Tracklist
- 1Radio Free EuropeBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:06
- 2PilgrimageBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:30
- 3LaughingBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:59
- 4Talk About the PassionBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:24
- 5Moral KioskBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:32
- 6Perfect CircleBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:31
- 7CatapultBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:57
- 8Sitting StillBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:18
- 99–9Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:05
- 10Shaking ThroughBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:30
- 11We WalkBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:02
- 12West of the FieldsBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe, Bogan3:19
- Produced by
- Don Dixon, Mitch Easter, R.E.M.
- Recorded at
- Reflection Sound Studios, Reflection Sound (Charlotte, North Carolina, US), Drive-In (Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US)
- Recorded
- 6 January – 23 February 1983
- Mixed by
- Mitch Easter
- Engineered by
- Don Dixon, Mitch Easter
- Labels
- I.R.S. Records, I.R.S.
- Length
- 44:12
Line-up
- Bill Berry · drums (drum set) · guest
- Peter Buck · guitar · guest
- Mike Mills · bass, vibraphone · guest
- Michael Stipe · vocals · guest
Singles
- “Radio Free Europe” · 8 June 1983
- “Talk About the Passion” · November 1983
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
73.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
4.9k
ListenBrainz listeners
131k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
1.9k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 12 April
Every year →
More from R.E.M.
Full discography →
Chronic Town
1982
Reckoning
1984
Fables of the Reconstruction
1985
Lifes Rich Pageant
1986
Dead Letter Office
1987
Document
1987
Eponymous
1988
Green
1988
Out of Time
1991
The Best of R.E.M.
1991
Automatic for the People
1992
The Automatic Box
1993
Singles Collected
1994
Monster
1994
New Adventures in Hi‐Fi
1996
Essential R.E.M.: R.E.M. in the Attic (Alternative Recordings 1985–89)
1997
Up
1998
Reveal
2001
R.E.M. Vancouver Rehearsal Tapes - May 10, 2003 2003
Vancouver Rehearsal Tapes - May 10, 2003
2003
In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003
2003
Around the Sun
2004
iTunes Originals: R.E.M.
2004
And I Feel Fine… The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987
2006
Live
2007
Accelerate
2008
Reckoning Spotify Sampler
2009
Live at the Olympia
2009
Collapse Into Now Sampler
2011
Collapse Into Now
2011
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982–2011
2011
Live in Greensboro
2013
Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions
2014
Complete Warner Bros. Rarities 1988–2011
2014
Complete Rarities – I.R.S. 1982–1987
2014
R.E.M. at the BBC
2018
Live at the Borderline 1991
2019
Radio Free Europe 2025
2025
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Pink Floyd · 1983
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Iron Maiden Lo mejor de Iron Maiden 1983
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Iron Maiden · 1983
Pyromania
Def Leppard · 1983
Eliminator
ZZ Top · 1983
Show No Mercy
Slayer · 1983
Undercover
The Rolling Stones · 1983
More on I.R.S. Records
The label →Document
R.E.M. · 1987
Lifes Rich Pageant
R.E.M. · 1986
Fables of the Reconstruction
R.E.M. · 1985
Headless Cross
Black Sabbath · 1989
Reckoning
R.E.M. · 1984
The Best of R.E.M.
R.E.M. · 1991
TYR
Black Sabbath · 1990
Forbidden
Black Sabbath · 1995
Cross Purposes
Black Sabbath · 1994
Eponymous
R.E.M. · 1988
The Sabbath Stones
Black Sabbath · 1996
Cross Purposes – Live
Black Sabbath · 1995
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1983-04-12; musicbrainz + wikidata 1983-04-11 (1 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 11 April 1983 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 12 April 1983 | |
| Wikidata | 11 April 1983 | |
| US release | 11 April 1983 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 29 August 1983 | earliest UK or European date |
29 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | A&M Records | 044797001420 | other |
| — | CA | A&M Records | 00602517882881 | deluxe |
| — | CA | A&M Records | 00044797001420 | other |
| — | XE | I.R.S. Records | 077771315824 | other |
| — | CA | — | other | |
| — | CA | — | other | |
| 1983 | US | I.R.S. Records | 044797001420 | other |
| 1983 | GB | I.R.S. Records | 0082839719520 | other |
| 11 April 1983 | US | I.R.S. Records | 044797001420 | original |
| 12 April 1983 | US | I.R.S. Records | other | |
| 29 August 1983 | GB | I.R.S. Records | 082839001410 | other |
| 29 August 1983 | GB | I.R.S. Records | 082839701426 | other |
| 1984 | US | — | 044797001413 | other |
| 1988 | US | I.R.S. Records | 044797001420 | other |
| 1988 | — | I.R.S. Records | 5099746537821 | other |
| 1992 | US | I.R.S. Records | 044797001420 | other |
| 1992 | XE | EMI | 077771315824 | other |
| 17 October 1994 | XE | A&M Records | 0082839701426 | other |
| 1995 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 015775123113 | other |
| 12 September 1995 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 015775164222 | other |
| 2002 | IT | Sorrisi e Canzoni TV | other | |
| 2008 | XE | Universal Music | 602517882881 | other |
| 2008 | XE | Capitol Records | 5099964607924 | deluxe |
| 25 November 2008 | US | I.R.S. Records | 602517882881 | deluxe |
| 16 February 2009 | XW | Universal UMC | deluxe | |
| 2012 | US | A&M Records | 602537150182 | other |
| 22 April 2014 | JP | A&M Records | 602537822805 | other |
| 15 January 2021 | JP | A&M Records | 602435670058 | other |
| — | — | I.R.S. Records | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| coverartarchive | 2842×2801 | cropped |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |