Green could be the most unassuming major-label debut ever.
R.E.M.'s cachet had grown with each successive album, peaking in 1987 with "The One I Love" and the superb Document. Both the tiny I.R.S. label and the band knew it was time to part ways, and it stood to reason that R.E.M. would release a superb album beloved by many because of the newfound success.
Instead, in typical R.E.M. style, they released an album that retreats a bit from the flat-out rock of Document but with the same level of stylistic differences that further expand the band's sound. More so than most bands of their generation, R.E.M. evolved and grew with each release while retaining a signature sound, and though Green isn't as immediate as Document, it has enough charms to make it a mostly-successful outing.
But it doesn't sound like a band ready to make a major-label splash. "Stand" is perhaps the band's dumbest song to date (discounting anything on Dead Letter Office, of course), a three-chord straight-up alternative pop song unlike most in the band's catalog; it's still a fun, if disposable, listen. The opening "Pop Song '89" has a similar sound but a more sarcastic vibe in the lyrics, calling on The Doors for inspiration in "Hello, I'm sorry I lost myself / I think I thought you were someone else / Shouldn't talk about the weather / Shouldn't talk about the government." Oblique as ever, that Michael Stipe.
The highlight is "Orange Crush," written from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran (the title is a slang for Agent Orange). An insistent drum beat and some of Peter Buck's best power chords propel the story: "I've had my fun but now it's time to / Serve your conscience overseas," Stipe sings, until his multitracked voices sing rings around each other in the chorus. One of the band's shining moments.
There is a stronger pastoral vibe in much of the music, matching the muted yellows and greens of the cover. "World Leader Pretend" features a country twang and light strings, both of which enhance the song without overshadowing it. "The Wrong Child" and "You Are the Everything" are closer to folk, albeit a moody, near-spiritual folk music not suited to the coffeeshop. Of special note is "I Remember California," a psychedelic track driven by the slow burn of the background guitar and some great Mike Mills bass work. Not all of these are especially memorable (especially "Hairshirt,") but they add to the vibe of the album.
But the band still rocks as it did on Document, especially on "Orange Crush," the solid "Get Up" and the buzzsaw guitars of "Turn You Inside Out," a dry run for Monster.
Green has none of the sensibility that one would expect from a band making its major-label debut in the late 80s, which is part of the reason the band was so beloved by college fans and the underground set, one of the first truly alternative bands. The album sounds like little else at the time, and while not every song meets the high standard set by the band to date, enough works to make this worth hearing.