Vinyl Reports

Athens, Georgia’s legendary indie rock band R.E.M. burst on the scene in the early 1980s in a manner that sent a shockwave to the music world. Somehow, this four-piece band took the best elements of the so-called new wave and punk movements and mashed them up with a classic 1960s American and British Invasion folk-rock aesthetic for an utterly distinctive — or, dare I say, unique — sound that was simultaneously familiar and future facing. The band’s back-to-back initial releases on I.R.S. — August 1982’s five-song Chronic Town EP, and April 1983’s full-length album debut Murmur — are now featured together in a Definitive Sound Series (DSS) One-Step 180g 2LP set from Interscope/Capitol.

From prior announcements, we know that much care goes into the creation of these DSS releases: “Featuring the original album artwork, each 180g high-definition vinyl album is packaged in a tip-on gatefold jacket, crafted to the highest archival standards, housed in a custom-designed Definitive Sound Series slipcase that showcases the album art, tracklisting, and the One-Step process details. Each copy comes with a certificate of authenticity, giving the owner a guarantee of mastering, plating, and pressing details.”

For those new to the One-Step vinyl process, it looks to eliminate stages in the traditional LP production process, effectively creating records direct from first-generation production parts. Reducing steps is said to reduce the opportunity for signal loss (as happens in many analog procedures), delivering a physical vinyl disc technically closer to the master recording.

The official Certificate of Authenticity included in the package (shown above) spells out the importance of key production elements that result in the DSS vinyl experience: “This DSS One-Step record was pressed using the finest vinyl compound available, Neotech VR900, on legendary SMT Presses. D2 vinyl is known for its ultra low surface noise and revealing as close as possible what was created in the studio. It was manufactured under strict quality control measures to ensure the definitive listening experience.”

While preparing this review, I learned a nifty detail I’d overlooked during previous DSS listening/reviewing sessions: the Neotech vinyl may appear black under normal conditions, but if you hold it up to the light you’ll find it is translucent. My copy appeared either green or gray, depending upon what type of light I put it up against. (See what you think in the photo below.) This reminds me of the popular Quiex vinyl from the 1980s that could appear purple under certain lights. Anyhow, this is a fun aside worth noting!

Back to the stats. The One-Step manufacturing process for the Chronic Town / Murmur DSS 180g 2LP set was supervised by Dorin Sauerbier at RTI. Disc lacquer mastering was done by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, and the entire project was overseen by producer Tom “grover” Biery for Interscope/Capitol.

Interscope’s official site offers some additional insights into the level of care that went into making the R.E.M. One-Step edition: “We were fortunate to have [original co-producer] Mitch Easter be part of the DSS One-Step process — giving us his input and recalling the magic that happened all those years ago. The fact that he was blown away with our DSS test pressings gave us the confidence we were not just hyping ourselves as we listened back but have accomplished the goal of creating the definitive sounding versions of these iconic albums.”

The DSS 1802 2LP edition of Chronic Town / Murmur, was initially released on December 10, 2025, in a limited-edition pressing of 3,000 numbered copies, and each disc in the set comes housed in audiophile-grade plastic-lined inner sleeves. The SRP for this collection is $124.98 (relatively standard for multidisc DSS releases). Availability appears to be limited as of this posting, so go here to see about ordering your own copy. (Footnote 1)

For many of us, Chronic Town bubbled under the radar — though not for AP editor Mike Mettler (Footnote 2) — but Murmur delivered an immediate impact that resonated strongly with audiences. Personally, I first heard it in college via my housemate’s cassette — we played that tape to death! — so Murmur became very much a big part of the final soundtrack to my last semester there. It was also among the music I listened to most after graduation, trying to make sense of what the future held for me. Murmur is that kind of “life soundtrack” album.

I just couldn’t get enough of hearing this music, because somehow it reminded me of The Byrds, The Turtles, The Cowsills, Jefferson Airplane, and The Lovin’ Spoonful, as well as numerous Brill Building pop singles — and yet, it sounded like none of them! R.E.M. also embraced the dark angularity of newer bands like Talking Heads, Television, Gang of Four, and even Joy Division. It played well alongside Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, The Cure, The Bongos, and later, The Smiths. Suddenly, four-piece rock bands were cool again.

Like some alternate-universe Bob Dylan, R.E.M.’s mysterious out-of-time music forced you to turn up the volume on your amplifier way loud to try to understand what was going on lyrically, as vocalist Michael Stipe’s impressionistic phrases leapt out of the speakers and into our psyche. That was part of the band’s early charm, an aesthetic which more or less changed on later recordings once they became international superstars.

I’m super-pleased with this new DSS edition of Chronic Town / Murmur. Sound-quality-wise, the discs are pretty incredible! The vinyl is very quiet and, most importantly for LP2, Murmur, perfectly centered. I can’t tell you how many copies of this album I’ve gone through where inevitably off-center discs result in that just annoying enough wavering that sends songs like “Moral Kiosk” and “Perfect Circle” in and out of tune. Fortunately, over the years, I’ve also owned CD copies of Murmur to get around this issue. That said, it’s really, really nice to get a modern vinyl edition of Murmur that sounds amazing start to finish.

As far as sonics go, there’s no contest that this new DSS edition is better than my original pressing (which is still in its shrink wrap with the original hype sticker on it!). These recordings were actually quite good to begin with and are very well produced. However, the new mastering and One-Step manufacturing process allows us to hear much more of the fine detailing that was ultimately masked in the original pressings.

From the opening, the sproingy sounds that signal the start of R.E.M.’s signature first hit “Radio Free Europe” (LP2, Side 1, Track 1), the new DSS edition of Murmur erupts with renewed presence and dynamics. (Footnote 3) Bill Berry’s driving drums and cymbal splashes spread widescreen, as do the little clangs during the bridge section. Stipe’s haunting multitracked vocal choruses feel much more three-dimensional and forward on the stereo soundstage. Mike Mills’ propulsive Rickenbacker bass lines bounce around like some mad pied piper leading fans through the back alleys of Athens Georgia. At times, his playing reminds me of The Move’s Ace Kefford and Roy Wood, who often plucked aggressive lead bass lines on their classic recordings from the late 1960s. This all perfectly complements Peter Buck’s sparkling electric guitar picking.

“Pilgrimage” (LP2, Side 1, Track 2) — which apparently was the first song recorded with producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon — certainly captured the potential of the band in the studio. R.E.M. sounded like nothing else that was going on at the time yet somehow they recall that fascinating transitional moment in musical time around 1966-67 where folk, pop, and rock sounds morphed into something new alongside the underground psychedelic movement.

The simple, understated beauty of production on tracks like “Laughing” (LP2, Side 1, Track 3) is in full flower here, from the opening drum hits to the gorgeously rich acoustic guitars. I especially love how seamlessly the electric guitars and piano blend in as the song progresses yet appearing much more distinct on this new DSS pressing of Murmur. That final chord is lush and mesmerizing.

Listen for those gorgeous chiming electric and acoustic guitars on “Talk About the Passion” (LP2, Side 1, Track 4), which sound like a sprinkling of stars across a balmy summer’s nights as the cello at the bridge soars by like an owl swooping down from a nearby tree.

Special-effects moments such as those clangs (beer bottles?) set in a deep echo chamber are now tremendously resonant on “Catapult” (LP2, Side 2, Track 1). And, once again, Bill Berry’s drums sound positively huge on the album closer “West of the Fields” (LP2, Side 2, Track 6), especially those bombs he drops in it periodically. And, at risk of sounding like a (if you’ll pardon the avoidable bad pun) broken record, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of a well-centered album on sections like that final organ chord.

I think you get the sense that I really like this new DSS version of Chronic Town / Murmur. My only nits to pick are that I wish the cover of Murmur was a little brighter/warmer-hued like the original, and a bit glossier (like the back cover is, as seen above), and not a pure flat matte finish. And, just as I’ve wanted with other DSS releases, I would have appreciated some new liner notes explaining the making of both the EP and the album, and how this reissue combo came together.

That aside, I’m happy to give the music a solid 10 overall. (Murmur would be an 11 on its own, while Chronic Town is a solid 9.) Likewise, I think both albums are great listening experiences, and thus they warrant an easy 10 for the Sound rating on this new DSS edition. (Footnote 4)

If you love R.E.M. and their earliest recordings, you should snap up one of the new DSS limited editions of Chronic Town / Murmur sooner than later. Now, I can only hope that the powers that be at Interscope/Capitol deign to put out a DSS of the band’s second full-length I.R.S. album, April 1984’s Reckoning next, which is my favorite R.E.M. recording. Can’t wait!

Author bio: Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for eCoustics, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.

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Footnote 1: AP editor Mike Mettler adds: Alas, as you’re reading this, the R.E.M. DSS edition of Chronic Town / Murmur may indeed be sold out at the link provided via R.E.M. HQ and Interscope that appears in the first half of Mark’s review text — and, if so, you should sign up to be notified about any potential repressing to come, because Chronic Town / Murmur is totally worth having. That said, if price is no object for you, I should note that, as of this posting, three copies are listed on Discogs that run between $300-$500 (sans shipping costs), while over on eBay, there are three additional copies listed there that are going for between $280-$380. Luckily for me, I was able to get the “Maxwell Smart” copy (see photo above).

Footnote 2: I can still remember, quite vividly, buying the Chronic Town EP (I.R.S. SP 70502) in the fall of 1982 at Record Swap in downtown Homewood, Illinois, not long after I heard something from it being played on WXRT, Chicago’s leading indie/alternative FM radio station — probably “Gardening at Night” (Side A, Track 2), if memory semi-serves. And then, as soon as Murmur came out in April 1983 (I.R.S. SP 70604), I bought that LP too — and I still have both of my lovingly played (and played) I.R.S. originals. Both releases sounded like nothing else I had ever heard before, an amalgamation of the sounds and vibes Mark aptly noted in his part of the review, done in a wholly original style all its own. It’s not often you get to enter the ground floor of something new and exciting like this. Chronic Town and Murmur embodied that aesthetic, and I still marvel at how “new” it all felt then, and how “established” it feels now when listening to these two records some 40-plus years on.

I’ve since bought multiple backup copies of both Chronic Town and Murmur, and when CT came out in August 2022 as a 45rpm picture disc (shown above), I got that too — and I even bought the reissued cassette, just because. That all said, what I’m hearing of Chronic Town on LP1 in the new DSS set is pure magic — akin to a sonic windshield wiper clearing away even the slightest remnants of any unnecessary aural sediment. The clarity and breadth of the soundstage itself on Side A is fuller and wider upon the needle drop on “Wolves, Lower” (Track 1), while Mike Mills’ bass line is throatier and Michael Stipe’s wails in the background are more hauntingly ethereal toward the end of “Gardening at Night” (Track 2), and the jet propulsion of Peter Buck’s lead jangle on “Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)” (Track 3) sits back in the track with the right amount of presence rather than overwhelming the proceedings (as other lead guitarists of this era often did), and the song’s slow fade left me wanting more.

Luckily, I got more over on Side B, thanks to the intuitive interplay between Buck and Berry landing in the right spots in support of Stipe’s vocals on “1,000,000” (Track 1) and the gearshift pacing shifts in “Stumble” (Track 2) perfectly fitting the thrust of the song title itself — not to mention the mid-song break that features Berry’s insistent percussive accents and Stipe’s swirling soliloquy.

I pulled out my bought-in-1982 CT EP for direct comparison — duly cleaned, of course, with only some, shall I say, charming surface noise evident between the grooves — and none of the grit and charm of the original 1982 EP is lost or compromised. The DSS Chronic Town is just that much better and, ultimately, more enjoyable.

Ditto re what I heard with the DSS Murmur, if not more so as compared to my 1983 original. Mark beautifully covered exactly how truly great this DSS’er is in his review text, so I’ll only add here that I continue to admire the space allowed on the verses of “Pilgrimage” (Side A, Track 2) with Buck’s guitar only coming in on the choruses, the tender piano lines of “Perfect Circle” (Side A, Track 6), the stop-start snarls and snags of “9–9” (Side B, Track 3), and the playful interstitial interlude between “Shaking Through” (Side B, Track 4) and “We Walk” (Side B, Track 5). “Did we miss anything?”

Footnote 3: Speaking of “Radio Free Europe,” my very first weekly New Wax Wednesday column covered R.E.M.’s Radio Free Europe 2025 limited-edition 10-inch orange-vinyl five-track EP that was released via Craft Recordings on September 12, 2025, and you can read all about it here, in the maiden voyage of NWW, which posted on May 7, 2025.

Footnote 4: My ratings for R.E.M.’s Chronic Town / Murmur DSS 2LP set almost mirror Mark’s, with just a few upticks overall. The Music rates an 11 for the content of both Chronic Town and Murmur (hell, I’d even take them both up to 12 if I could), and I give the Sound a 10.5, as these 2LPs are as close to perfect one could expect from such originally modest, but still quite formidable, sources.

Footnote Addendum: Want more R.E.M.? We got you (re)covered.

For our combo review of Craft Recordings’ most excellent 180g 1LP reissues of May 2001’s Reveal and April 2008’s Accelerate, go here, which posted on September 8, 2023.

For our combo review of Craft Recordings’ also quite excellent 180g 1LP reissues of October 2004’s Around the Sun and March 2011’s Collapse Into Now, go here, which posted on July 28, 2023.

R.E.M.
CHRONIC TOWN / MURMUR
180g 2LP (Interscope/A&M/I.R.S.)
MUSIC: 10
SOUND: 10

Original album produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon
Vinyl Mastering: Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering
One-Step Process: Dorin Sauerbier at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI)
Vinyl Pressing: RTI
Reissue produced by Tom “grover” Biery for Interscope/Capitol

CHRONIC TOWN

LP1, Side A
1. Wolves, Lower
2. Gardening At Night
3. Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)

LP1, Side B
1. 1,000,000
2. Stumble

MURMUR

LP2, Side A
1. Radio Free Europe
2. Pilgrimage
3. Laughing
4. Talk About The Passion
5. Moral Kiosk
6. Perfect Circle

LP2, Side B
1. Catapult
2. Sitting Still
3. 9–9
4. Shaking Through
5. We Walk
6. West Of The Fields