Side 2 of an R.E.M. mixtape, recorded by my friend Stuart on 31st December 1991.
When I posted Side 1 in January 2022, in reply to a comment from Martin (creator of the excellent New Amusements blog), I said that "Maybe I should get to Side 2 sooner rather than later, it's a corker." Well, if by "sooner" I meant 2 seasons, 31 weeks and 216 posts later, then I've smashed it.
There's a footnote on my handmade cassette cover that states the compilation was re-recorded 7th and 8th April 1992. I've a vague recollection that the original tape may not have survived for long. I was at college as a "mature student" (age 21!), having dropped out first time around in my late teens. I had a part-time job which just about enabled me to keep a car on the road, buy study materials and eke out a social life.
The car was functional but strictly no frills, with an ancient (even for 1991) cassette player that had been jury rigged by the previous owner. When it was good, it was very good. However, it had a habit of either randomly and irreparably chewing up tape and/or violently ejecting the cassette. The latter led to the demise of a DIY compilation of The Doors, which sailed through an unfortunately open passenger door (I must stress the car was parked at the time, I'm not Vin Diesel) and smashed to pieces on the kerbside.
I think Gardening At Night was one of many mangled mixtapes, leading to a request to borrow Stu's vinyl R.E.M. albums and recreate the lost compilation. Meddling sod that I am, I suspect that I may have also taken the liberty of swapping out one of the tracks on Side 2, though I no longer remember what the offending song or it's replacement was.
This selection again draws from all of the R.E.M. albums up to the then-current Out Of Time. The selection closes with another B-side, though unlike the previous inclusion of Forty Second Song, I don't think this one was intended as a space filler. Ghost Rider by Suicide originally featured as the flipside of the Orange Crush 7" in the UK, mis-titled Ghost Riders. It's Stipe at his monotone, seemingly indifferent and lethargic best and the band counter this with a galloping, rollicking tempo. I love it.
1) I Believe (Album Version) (1986)
2) World Leader Pretend (Album Version) (1988)
3) Disturbance At The Heron House (Album Version) (1987)
4) 7 Chinese Bros. (Album Version) (1984)
5) So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry) (Album Version) (1984)
6) Losing My Religion (Album Version) (1991)
7) Driver 8 (Album Version) (1985)
8) Pilgrimage (Album Version) (1983)
9) The One I Love (Album Version) (1987)
10) Country Feedback (Album Version)M (1991)
11) Get Up (Album Version) (1988)
12) Ghost Rider (Cover of Suicide) (1988)
Side One here
Thanks for this. I miss early REM. I miss any of those bands that when you found out they had an album out in the music press it was beyond exciting and the journey into town to get it was tantalising. I was living in N London when Green came out and i bought the LP in Tower Records Piccadilly. One i got it home it kept jumping (remember that sensation!) and i took it back the next weekend. The guy behind the counter looked at me dubiously, did that spin of the record and said 'no obvious scratches'. Now I'm the sort of bloke who would have just sulked away into the night but i guess the guy could see from my face i wasn't leaving until a new copy was in my hands.
ReplyDeleteAll of that story is something i don't feel any more - the looking in the music press, the travelling to the centre of town for the album, the anticipation of putting it on the turntable (BTW also the trawling around shops to see who had the album at £4.99 or £5.99.) Oh well them were the days..
Thanks for sharing, Mike. Yes, I remember using BluTak &/or a halfpenny on the stylus head to try and ride out the vinyl skips and jumps! As for the record shop trawl to get the best deal on the new releases...seems like a byegone age! Notwithstanding that I'm out in the sticks these days, is even the idea of half a dozen record shops all within short walking distance realistic now? I used to spend a whole day doing that back in the day!
DeleteI'd listened quite a lot to R.E.M. but it was receiving the "Gardening At Night" compilation and then borrowing the albums from my friend Stuart that really unlocked them for me. I love lots of what came after but for me this period is untouchable.
Excellent stuff Khayem. I love that cover of Ghost Rider too- a really good example of the trails that bands used to send you down with their B-sides.
ReplyDeleteR.E.M. B-sides/cover versions were always a bit hit and miss but Ghost Rider was a winner for me from the first listen. On a related note, I've really enjoyed JC's impromptu B-sides posts over at TVV.
Deletethanks it is always good to be reminded just how good REM were for those first 5 albums
ReplyDeleteWeren't they just? I've played this compilation tape so many times over the years that I barely needed to look at the track listing to sequence this selection, it's so ingrained in my memory. Hard to believe that, back in 1991 when I received the tape, I was hearing the likes of 7 Chinese Bros. and Driver 8 for the very first time.
Deletethat's leading me down a mix tape train of thought, how if I hear a certain song I expect the next song to be the one from a mixtape/CD I had listened to many times previously and always feel slightly deflated when it isn't, this is especially true of gigs
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. As mentioned when I posted Side 1 of this very compilation, my definitive version of (Don't Go Back To) Rockville includes the reprise from Camera as the intro and anything else now sounds like an edit!
DeleteAh! Better late than never! Thanks for this, it is indeed a corker.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know where the time goes, Martin!
DeleteSuperb!! Downloaded and added to the i-pod in the section headed up 'Extended Compilations' (actually, you've a few efforts in there, but this is the first occasion I've taken the time to properlly say thanks).
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, JC. Yes, my phone is similarly choc-a-bloc with playlists and mixes offered up by blogosphere legends, including yourself!
DeleteJust come in from a couple of pints with an old friend, stuck this on and am transported.
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Adam, I really appreciate it. Given the constant flow of Dubhed selections, catching up with other blogs, and listening to new music, most of my mixes come off of my personal playlist after a week or so but R.E.M.'s still there, nearly a month later. It's inadvertently ended up being a bit of a later summer soundtrack for me.
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