Green is the sixth studio album by American rock band R.E.M., released in the United States on November 8, 1988, by Warner Bros. Records and the following day in the UK and Europe.
The second album to be produced by the band and Scott Litt, it continued to explore political issues both in its lyrics and packaging.
To promote Green, the band embarked on an 11-month world tour and released four singles from the album: "Orange Crush", "Stand", "Pop Song 89", and "Get Up".
[5] In light of its move to a major label, the band became defensive in interviews against accusations from some fans who claimed it was selling out.
Bill Berry, Peter Buck and Mike Mills recorded the basic tracks in two configurations: (1) drums, guitar, and bass, and (2) percussion, mandolin, and accordion.
The demos were mixed by Robbie Collins, Buren Fowler (guitar tech for Peter Buck and later member of Drivin N Cryin), and David LaBruyere (later bassist for Vic Varney, Michelle Malone, and John Mayer) and presented to R.E.M.
Green marks the departure of the jangle pop and college rock styling of the band's previous albums.
Bassist Mike Mills argued that Green was an experimental record, resulting in an album that was "haphazard, a little scattershot".
Band biographer David Buckley wrote, "[S]onically, Green is all over the place, the result being a fascinatingly eclectic album rather than a unified artistic move forward".
David Buckley highlighted three main musical strands on Green: "ironic pop songs" like "Stand" and "Pop Song 89", harder-hitting tracks such as "Orange Crush" and "Turn You Inside-Out", and "pastoral acoustic numbers" that had Peter Buck playing mandolin, with track 11 singled out as an anomaly.
would swap instruments among members, and on Green the group also incorporated accordion, cello, and lap steel guitar.
Promotional copies of the album were housed in a mauve, cloth-covered Digipack, with the title and artist debossed and a number "4" embossed over both of the "R"s. The color and texture are made to imitate tree bark.
The original pressings of the album and cassette tape covers had the number 4 spot varnished over the R in both "Green" and "R.E.M."
"What I love about it is the immensely unlikely lyrics," remarked Neil Hannon, frontman of The Divine Comedy, "and, in the mandolin on 'You Are The Everything' and 'The Wrong Child', it's got a bit of what comes later but in a much purer way.
supported the album with its biggest and most visually developed tour to date, featuring back-projections and art films playing on the stage.
This was especially true in venues outside of the United States due to Warner Bros. Records' ability to market the band overseas.
After the Green tour, the band members unofficially decided to take the following year off, the first extended break in the group's career.
Similarly, the band began playing versions of "Low" and "Belong" in the later part of the Green Tour, both of which would appear on their next album Out of Time.
[citation needed] All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe.