The hidden world of R.E.M. #5

After the positive reaction to their debut EP, R.E.M. were keen to repeat the chemistry they had with producer Mitch Easter for their first album. The record label however had other ideas. They wanted an up-and-coming producer called Stephen Hague to do the job. And so it was that, in December 1982, the band went into the studio with Hague and cut the first track of the session - Catapult. It was to be the only track of the session. The band were unhappy with Hague's techniques, particularly Bill Berry who hated having to record his drum track over and over. Hague also took the tapes away and added synths. Synths!

The band expressed their dissatisfaction to the label who then agreed to allow a session with Easter and his partner Don Dixon. Whichever session the label felt yielded the best results would be the course of the album. Pilgrimage was chosen as the track to record. Easter and Dixon's hands-off approach allowed the band to record more organically. The resulting demo was, wisely, chosen as the better of the two by the label and so work on what would become 'Murmur' continued with Easter and Dixon.

When you hear the two tracks together, it's really not difficult to understand why that decision was made. Hague's Catapult is, quite simply, terrible. If this had been the R.E.M. sound, it is unlikely they would have made it out of the 80s. Instead, 'Murmur' has become a classic of epic proportions, a record revered by fans and critics alike. It's in my top 3 R.E.M. albums, without a doubt.

• Catapult [Stephen Hague demo] - R.E.M.
• Pilgrimage [Mitch Easter demo] - R.E.M.