MUSIC
Chris Bilheimer
R.E.M. band members, from left to right: guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, drummer Bill Berry, singer Michael Stipe.
N.C. SESSIONS R.E.M.’s early days in the Old North State by DAVID MENCONI
R
.E.M. was one of the most heralded American bands of the late-20th century. Hailing from Athens, Georgia, they had number-one albums through the 1990s, won a few Grammy Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility (2007). Yet for all that commercial success, the R.E.M. song that is archived in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry of “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important” records is one they recorded in a garage in nearby WinstonSalem, 40 years ago. “Radio Free Europe” was the very first single R.E.M. ever released, way back in 1981 on Hib-Tone Records, a small independent label. The group would reprise that song two years later
in a new version as the first track on their full-length debut album Murmur. But the recording that’s in the registry is the rougher, rawer, and much, much faster 1981 version, which was reissued this past summer in honor of its 40-year anniversary. “The version I prefer is the imaginary one between the two, faster like the old version but with the posher high-fi sound of Murmur,” says Mitch Easter, who recorded both. “That faster version and punky spirit is definitely what they were like back then. It’s a true garage record with a teenage vibe that I will forever like.” That garage was at Easter’s parents’ house in Winston-Salem, where he ran the aptly named Drive-In Recording for about 20 years. R.E.M. was his breakthrough client. He oversaw their earliest recordings at the Drive-In, and then co-produced
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