New REM Rickenbacker goodness!

[brianeharmonjr]

Man, that stuff sounds killer. Can't wait to hear it all together.

[electrofaro]

http://www.recordstoreday.com/NewsItem/2371

Right click on the video to see if HD is on, then go Fullscreen - amazing!

[indianation65]

I always preferred a full band, and not x number of original members and a session guy continually sitting in. Bill Rieflin should just be made a real member and start appearing in REM photos, etc., unless he has stated he prefers his current status. Bill 1 was/is great, but Bill 2 suits me, and apparently REM, just fine! REM, my favorite band of all time; passing Kiss was an achievement...

...wisdom

[jdawe]

I agree, and ditto for Scott McCaughey.

[electrofaro]

It makes me wonder why they show so much of Bill R. and so little of Scott in the videos. Both Bill R. and Scott have said they like the way their employers, R.E.M., pay them even when they don't play for them, so they can do all these extra things.

On the new album there's a first for a song with Buck/Mills/Stipe/McCaughey credits, on the german single b-side even Bill R is credited.
Maybe we'll see more of these credits in the future, I sure wouldn't mind.

[rkbsound]

I always preferred a full band, and not x number of original members and a session guy continually sitting in. Bill Rieflin should just be made a real member and start appearing in REM photos, etc., unless he has stated he prefers his current status. Bill 1 was/is great, but Bill 2 suits me, and apparently REM, just fine! REM, my favorite band of all time; passing Kiss was an achievement...

...wisdom

I really like Bill R's drumming on everything since Bill B left. But Bill R does not do justice to Bill B's style, and I find myself wincing when I hear older tunes played live by Bill R and the drum parts just sound awkward. Fills in spots they shouldn't be, etc... I don't mind hearing a different style, but the song is the song...

[electrofaro]

I think Bill R's version of "Orange Crush" is great.

He's not Bill, he's Bill R. and he improved a lot of songs from Up and Reveal live imo...

[sasquatchgeoff]

I see Scott emerging more as a lead player to PB's "rhythm" - but that's just my take on things. Scott's style has certainly evolved throughout his appearances. However, I always liked the instrumental part of the band as a "power-trio" and never fully understood some of the lineup choices the band has made over the years.

[electrofaro]

never fully understood some of the lineup choices the band has made over the years.

Interesting, could you elaborate - do you mean the extra guitarmen, like Peter Holsapple?
Or the guys joining during and since Monster tour (Nathan December, Ken "Strings" Stringfellow, Joey Waronker)?

I get why they had the extra guitar player - they provide the extra sound Peter might've done as overdub.

I totally agree on Scott doing a lot of "lead" in recent years. First time I actually noticed it was Dublin 2007.
My guess is they divided it to do both what they are best at.

[sasquatchgeoff]

With the lineup(s) maybe Peter has as a matured musician, "evolved" into slightly more of a production role, and he is looking for more meat to the guitar sound, i.e. "wall of guitar" that like you say, is what we hear in studio material. I am just venturing a guess.

However the appearance of Scott in this video clip, which purports to be a "moment in the studio" with Scott contributing a nicely-done, grisly hard-edged sound has me pondering Scott's role as a more permanent member - studio or live. I imagine that Scott in the clip is just another iteration of a "live" lineup, and indeed PB plays all the guitar parts on the album. But I still find it curious.

Also, I think that PB has personal relationships, particularly with Scott and Ken and that he values what that chemistry adds to the overall REM sound. Myself, I am a diehard pre-Green fan, with subsequent material having appealed more to my kids than with myself, which in the grand scheme of things makes perfect sense for a full-on rock band thing as a smart business venture - keep the young folks buying records.

I own Collapse Into Now and happen to like it a lot - so much, that I am revisiting previous works post-Life's Rich Pageant and reconsidering my love for the band's complete body of material, and in that sense, I think PB has accomplished what he intended with the new record.

[electrofaro]

Geoff, I think, with 99% certainty, Scott can be heard all over "Collapse into Now". On some "Up" tracks there is more Scott than Mike Mills even!

Peter once said that, beginning with "NAiHF" he liked having a 2nd guitar player in the studio to play both parts together as much as possible and get recordings done as soon as possible.

Peter does seem to have gone from pure player to being a bit more like an orchestra leader who doesn't mind someone else playing the part he has in mind. And the Peter vs. Scott vibe works well if you ask me. Seeing them perform live is like a well oiled machine.

Scott might not be a full member but he's brought something to the sound of the band, I think.

My least favourite album is, and will possibly always be, "Reveal". "Around the Sun" got a lot of beating, but is really not as bad as some "fans" claim it is, the 2nd half of the album's better than the first half, but that 2nd half is some seriously great studio material!

[electrofaro]

too bad Mike Mills won't "go back"

Don't bet on that.

Hmm, I'm liking the thought of this!

Did anyone catch the Baseball Project live recently... with Mike Mills on Ric bass?

[jdawe]

Here's video proof: Mike Mills playing a Rick with the Baseball Project about a week ago on "Don't Go Back to Rockville".

[Folkie]

Thanks, Jonathan, that was really cool! Any other footage from the Baseball Project?

Robert

[Low End Lover]

So nice to see Mike with the bass that so suits his style of playing. And it is also nice to see that some things don't change, i.e. it's a Jetglo!

LEL (Jason)