R.E.M.: Behind the Mask

by Jim Greer

A compelling and lavishly ilustrated biography of the band that created "alternative rock," Behind the Mask presents the definitive chronicle of R.E.M.'s a history of the group, interviews with its members, a detailed chronology of recording sessions and concerts, and more. 150 color photos.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. There are MUCH better books about R.E.M. out there. This one didn't offer anything new, didn't offer any new insights or revelations from the band, didn't offer any pictures we haven't seen a hundred times before, and the tone at times was snarky, smart-ass, and judgemental. In some "descriptions" of songs, the author seems more like he's all-out trashing the songs, rather than describing or explaining them. The captions also were a let down--rather than explain what/when/where a picture was from, the captions just rehashed a chunk of the text from the book. I hate when books do that.

It only took me two days to read this, since it was mostly pictures (that are everywhere out there, so there's nothing new), and the text was rarely anything that we haven't read in other books, so it was easy to skim through. And a huge disappointment, too. Maybe in 1991 this was revolutionary and revelatory, but in 2011, it's old news.

I think the *only* moment of grand insight is when the author says, "It's interesting that after nearly ten years of solid touring-recording-touring, the one album R.E.M. decides not to tour behind [Out of Time, 1991] goes ballistic, spawning heavy-rotation videos for 'Losing My Religion' and 'Shiny Happy People.' Does this mean that big rock bands no longer need to tour if they make good videos?" (p. 86)

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Superficial treatment of one of the most important bands to emerge in the last 25 years. The problem with books written by journalists who kinda-sorta know the band is that a.) they try too hard to impress on the reader that they're hipper than thou because they interviewed the group a couple of times and b.) they are usually afraid to delve into their subject too deeply, for fear they'll be kicked off the band's gravy train.

I'm giving this 2 stars only because I love R.E.M. so much and was interested enough in them to at least finish the book. If I rated it based on its merit, it would get 1 star.

Meh.

[Kifflie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yep, you may ask why I bothered reading this 20-year-old biography of R.E.M. Well, I was curious about the band, since I'm slowly making my way through their music. The writing in this book isn't exactly brilliant, but it's adequate and it does sort of let you know what the band's first ten years were like. The photos are cool. I'll probably try something a little more up-to-date and less "magaziney" down the road.

[Nóinín · Rating 2 out of 5]

A _very_ concise and less-than-knowledgeable outline of some of the band's feats until 1992, from an author who obviously never met the guys, let alone conducted an original interview.
I recommend Marcus Gray's much better “R.E.M. companion“ that incidentally came out in the same year. 2 stars for the photos and the list of tour dates (yes, I'm aware that today you can find them everywhere on the net, but for those who remember: that was not so back in the early 90s!)

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A re-read before I donate to my Friends of the Library book sale. I first read it, at the time of its publishing in 1992. Then there weren't many books written about REM and this has more depth than those others at the time, and a wealth of pictures. It's very out of date now, of course, but 20 years ago it was one of the better resources covering the history of the band.

[Ted · Rating 1 out of 5]

What you'd expect a book written by a guy that used to write for Spin Magazine to come off like. Worth it for the pictures, but that's about it.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

high school...

[John Cowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great behind the scenes of my favorite rock band!

[Kieran Healy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was written in 1992 by some sycophant. So... dated. I like R.E.M. but jeez... not everything they did was GENIUS!!!!! Between this and "Beasts of the Southern Wild" I'm totally striking out today.