Then We Danced The Dance 'Til The Menace Got Out

Harborcoat by R.E.M. is a song that I haven't heard in a looong time. In fact, I haven't listened to Reckoning in a long time, either.

Harborcoat is the opening song on the album and is an absolute joy. Sadly, in 1984, I wasn't listening to R.E.M. - that came a few years later - so I was already a fan of their music when i came to Reckoning via my friend Stu's recently acquired pile of their back catalogue.

I wanted to post a live version of Harborcoat, but found myself torn between two. The first is a contemporary version, recorded at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey on 9th June 1984. 

Michael Stipe is all tousled long hair and an air of trepidation at the mike, but the voice sounds incredible, like it's coming from a different place, let alone a different person. 

Sixteen months later, and R.E.M. perform at Die Zeche in Bochum, Germany on 2nd October 1985, and the evolution of the lead singer is incredible. Who is this cropped, bleached haired front person, shimmying around the microphone in an oversized suit?

The voice of course can only be one person, and it's one of the steps to the megaphone wielding, make up wearing Stipe that drew stadium-sized audiences before the 1980s were out.

The transformation is infectious: as Stipe's hair got shorter, Peter Buck's got longer, and he's leaping about and adopting rock star poses without artifice or pretension. The energy of the band as a whole has also lifted even higher.

So, the upshot is that I couldn't choose between the two live versions, and here they are. If you need reminding how great the studio version is, you can find it here.

Reckoning has been added to my playlist and will be tracking my commute to work as Storm Austen bludgeons and rains down on my poor old car.

 

 

They crowded up to Lenin with their noses worn off
A handshake is worthy if it's all that you've got
Metal shivs on wood push through our back
There's a splinter in your eye and it reads, "React"

They shifted the statues for harboring ghosts
Reddened their necks, collared their clothes
Then we danced the dance 'til the menace got out
She gathered the corners and called it her gown
She said

Oh, please, find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it
Find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it

They crowded up to Lenin with their noses worn off
A handshake is worthy if it's all that you've got
Metal shivs on wood push through our back
There's a splinter in your eye and it reads, "React"
R-E-A-C-T

Oh, please, find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it
Find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it

They shifted the statues for harboring ghosts
Reddened their necks and collared their clothes
Then we danced the dance 'til the menace got out
She gathered the corners and called it her gown
She said

Oh, please, find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it
Find my harborcoat
Can't go outside without it