Near Wild Heaven

If Near Wild Heaven is to be thrown in with Stand and Shiny Happy People as one of the band's bubblegum pop songs then it may be my favourite in the category, certainly at the moment. No song makes me smile when it comes on the radio more than Near Wild Heaven, it’s instantly recognised as an R.E.M. song with its double tracked Rickenbacker guitar riff that weaves in and around the beat in Peter Buck’s signature style and gorgeous Beach Boys-style vocal harmonies.

One of two Mike Mills solo vocals on Out Of Time. But where Texarkana is purely Mike Mills for the most part Near Wild Heaven is predominantly a duel vocal between Mills and Stipe. This I think helps rescue the vocal as, let’s be honest, one gets the impression Mike Mills isn’t a naturally gifted singer. I remember watching Mike sing a piano rendition of Don’t Go Back To Rockville on VH1 Storytellers and it really wasn’t great!

My incentive to cover the song was my love for the guitar riff and determination to learn it and play it just right. In covering the song I discovered the bass parts are really interesting too. I added an acoustic guitar doing the same as the electric just to bring out the definition of the notes.