Reckoning  by R.E.M.

R.E.M. with their second album Reckoning from 1984 continue to impress and steadily build the foundation of a loyal young American audience that seems excited by the music and songs of this quartet from Athens, Georgia.

Reckoning took a little over a month to record as its recording started on December 8, 1983, and was completed on January 16, 1984. In reality, the recording days were fourteen as the studio canceled two weeks of recording sessions. The producers of the album were Don Dixon and Mitch Easter. R.E.M. on Reckoning present a record of ten songs that battle between jangle pop, alternative rock, and post-punk. The combination of all these along with lyrics characterized by introspection and questioning would lead to what would later be called college rock. The album cover was based on a design by Michael Stipe, which was perfected by artist Howard Finster.

This particular album is now considered the first small masterpiece of R.E.M. Reckoning reached No.27 in the U.S., while No.91 in the United Kingdom was not at all negligible for a completely unknown American band.