West Of The Fields

It was through covering this song that I began to appreciate it more. I've always considered it a bit of a lost song on Murmur, a less than spectacular ending to a classic debut album. But it's actually got a really dark energy. I've always been struck by the sense of foreboding as the final chord fades away accompanied by the eerie organs.

It's also quite a tour de force instrumentally, showcasing Berry, Buck and Mills at their best: An inventive, ever-changing drum performance from Bill Berry, a lively bass line from Mike Mills and choppy, energetic chords from Peter Buck.

Consequently, I've walked away from this cover now thinking that it's an under-rated moment of quiet brilliance on Murmur and a cover I'm really proud of for capturing all the elements I've come to admire.

Fall On Me

It was the Athens demo that inspired me to cover this. In re-visiting the song I discovered I've been playing the wrong chords all these years, I was playing the intro guitar part wrong and had been using the wrong chords for the bridge as well! So, once on the right track, it all kind of fell together quite nicely.

I've always liked the very simple technique employed by Don Gehman of panning the electric guitar left and acoustic right – simple but effective. I wasn't going to add organs but felt the song was lacking without them.

Michael Stipe announced this as his favourite R.E.M. song when they played it live for MTV Unplugged in 1991 and I believe it to be a bit of a fan favourite too. At no point in their career has it not appeared in their live set. It's the archetypical R.E.M. song in a sense, a guitar intro that is instantly recognisable, a minor key arpeggiated chord sequence and an emotive, strong vocal from Stipe.