Release date: 1992 | Length: 2:21 | Release: Reckoning (1992 reissue) | SuE: #177

I’m crossing you in style someday

The year was 1992. R.E.M. had just become one of the biggest bands on the planet thanks to Out of Time, so it’s forgiving that this triggered a number of reissues of their hitherto ‘obscure’ IRS albums. Reckoning was fleshed out with five (5!) extra tracks, including a cover of one of the most well-known songs of all time, Moon River.

Originally the product of composer Henry Mancini and writer Johnny Mercer in the early 1960s, it’s been replicated by all sorts of artists including Frank Ocean, Barbara Streisand, and The Killers, in addition to the early favourites of Audrey Hepburn and Andy Williams.

The studio version for R.E.M.’s take is slightly comparable to Nightswimming, their gentle opus on Automatic for the People. Michael Stipe’s voice sounds weary and often drifts out of reach to the listeners, though that was par for the course in R.E.M.’s premature days. It’s tastefully done, and there’s no bombast to it, though it does conclude with a retro flurry of synthesizers not unlike something from the second half of David Bowie’s Low album. If anything it’ll make you furrow your brow.

What is interesting is that this was a live staple for the band during the mid-80s, and typically performed a cappella, with Mike Mills adding the harmonies. You can see a segment of this on the BBC’s classic Old Grey Whistle Test. It didn’t last long, but you’d often be able to hear a pin drop as the group abandoned their usual ramshackle energy for a minute or two.