And so we move on to part two of the "John reviews stuff that Rich Bunnell sent him in 2001" series. It's very likely that I would have gotten around to reviewing this band at some point anyway (I did, after all, end up buying most of those albums), but my gratitude to Rich for removing this particular hole from my music collection was sufficient that I felt it best to put the band higher in the queue than I would have normally. See, you have to understand something - I've never been really big on "alternative" rock (or college rock, whatever), the genre for which R.E.M. did so much both in terms of development and popularization. Before '95 and '96, when I made the amazing discovery that music had been made in the past that would actually be worth my while to listen to, a large part of the reason that I had no interest in popular music was that much of what I'd heard when around others consisted of songs and sounds that largely bored the crap out of me. Looking back, I know now that the main problem was that most of these songs (if you're confused, I'm referring to 90's alterna-rock in general, definitely not R.E.M. in particular), despite ostensibly being pop songs, had almost nothing in terms of elements that could make them into what my ears consider catchy. Instead, my ears were lulled into a stooper with go-nowhere chord sequences and mumbled, kinda hoarse "emotional" vocals that completely eschewed any concept of "hooks." Yes, I know that many people grew up on this kind of music, and I'm largely insulting the average tastes of the kind of person who'd be likely to be reading a page on R.E.M., but that's just how I feel about the majority of that breed of rock.
But just because I don't have fond feelings towards the kind of music R.E.M. inspired a legion of under-talented followers to create doesn't mean I can't really like R.E.M.. R.E.M., for years and years, managed to serve as one of the best evidences used by those who would argue that the rumors of rock's demise were greatly exaggerated, simply by making a ridiculous number of good songs. And it's not as if they stayed in a stylistic rut, endlessly milking the same style on album after album; to the contrary, they had a period where they almost turned into a hard rock band (emphasis on the "almost"), then a period when they seemed to embrace their advancing years well ... and then an inconsistent period that even hardcore fans are mixed on (but dang, I like Up). Ah well.
Of course, R.E.M.'s greatest strength wasn't (and isn't) its songwriting abilities; quite a good number of R.E.M. songs basically go *droning mumble mumble mumble* *CHORUS* *mumble mumble mumble*, and sometimes they don't even bother to throw in a chorus. Sure, they've written their fair share of cute and interesting melodies, particularly in relation to the vocals, but in the hands of another band, quite a few of their songs would totally pass me by. No, if there's anything that keeps me wanting to listen to this band, it's the voice of Michael Stipe. I really can't figure out exactly what it is about it that's so delightfully haunting, but whatever it is, it's enough to keep me coming back. It is absolutely amazing to me that somebody who sticks so many phrases into any given song that don't even match atmospherically, and likewise has so few lyrics that I actually know (except for the occasional memorable chorus) can largely carry a band by the power of his voice, but so it is. Whatever may be, a great R.E.M. song is an emotional experience not to be forgotten.
For all the positives, though, I'm not anywhere near a huge fan of the group, unlike the many many people I know who largely hold up R.E.M. as an 80's equivalent of the Beatles. The downside of the band so often hitching its wagon to Stipes' ability to pull out an emotional gutbuster is that, pretty often (in my opinion, though please note that I did not say "always" or "almost always"), that potential strength is the only thing making a particular song good. Now, one may easily say that it doesn't really matter what it is that's making a song good as long as it's good, and I would basically agree, but for me, an entire album of mostly relying on a single strength can be very difficult for me to sit through without my mind starting to drift. An unfortunate result of this, for me, is that only a couple of the band's albums register in my mind as 'major' classics; a good number of others approach this status, but that just means that the band put out quite a few of what my mind considers "good" albums. "Great" R.E.M. albums, for me, are not as common an occurence to my ears as are, say, "great" Beatles albums or "great" Stones albums or "great" Yes albums. So sue me.
All that said, though, the band easily gets *** out of ***** from me, which means I quite like the group, even if I don't worship them. If I could only listen to R.E.M. for the rest of my life, I'd probably be pretty unhappy, but it would take me a while to get completely sick of Peter Buck's jangly guitar, Mike Mills' effective keyboards and bass playing, Bill Berry's interesting (for what the band's doing, anyway) drumming and Stipes' vocal groanings, so it wouldn't be the worst fate in the world. Onto the albums!
Jeremiah Methven (jmethven.uni.uiuc.edu) (8/24/04)
Hi John,
I was thinking about writing up an entire R.E.M. page for my own review
site this summer, since I wound up with all of their albums, but in
between my sporadic reviews of their catalog, you started your own take on
the band, and I've appreciated your insights a lot more than bothering to
write my own, mostly because I agree with your ratings almost exactly, and
since everyone else in the WRC seems to be in no agreement at all about
the placement of their records, I enjoy this circumstance.
I feel like I worship R.E.M. more than you do, judging by your commentary,
but I still wouldn't give them more than three stars on your scale,
either. I just don't see where they've made any 14-worthy albums, you
know. I heartily agree with tabbing Murmur and Pageant as 13's though,
and I might give one to Automatic myself, but it'd be an awfully weak 13,
so your grade of 12 is probably about right.
I was eager for your Monster review, because I figured if you gave it a 7,
our R.E.M. tastes would really line up, as I had already mentally rated it
as such on your scale. And sure enough you did. I read a quote from
Peter Buck in a book which said that Monster was their attempt to make a
heavy metal album without ever having heard heavy metal. Although that
probably is an exaggeration, like when Michael Stipe said the group was
more influenced by the Archies than the Beatles, it sure would explain a
lot.
My only disagreements with you are minor; I would give Fables a 12, but I
certainly see your case for an 11. Me, I think it's beautiful and I
secretly prefer it to Reckoning. The lack of melodies doesn't bother me
for some reason. Also I might be tempted to give NAHF an 11, for although
the bulk of it appears 10-worthy to me, I think "E-Bow the Letter" and
"Leave" are worth raising it a point.
Also, I actually have skimmed through your personal info, and I couldn't
help noticing that you've attended IMSA and the U of I. Well, I live in
Savoy, and I'm going to be a senior at Uni High in Urbana, which you've
probably heard of; it's the U of I's lab school. I know a girl who's
going to be starting her first year at IMSA soon, as well. Good to see
Central Illinois being well-represented in the WRC!
-Jeremiah Methven
Pedro Andino (pedroandino.msn.com) (04/16/05)
if you want to know about alterna rock then jump in to 2 bands:
r.e.m. and sonic youth. fuck death metal, fuck rap, fuck everything
else! anyway the collage albums like murmur and rekoning may be
unkown to some but hey they great songs like 7 chinese bros. and
radio free europe. fables is underrated pagent has superman! document
is the first hit! it's the end of the world as we know it and I feelfine!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!! green is a pop album! stand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! out of
time is sweet pop! shiny happy people ! automatic is lovely!
nightswimming is the most ethereal song I ever heard In my life!!!
the last part turned me into a sobbing wreck!
monster is distorted! frequency is the best guitar jam! e bow is
lovely! up is more cosmic and low key. daysleeper is sweet pop!
sounds like spongebob squarepants! reveal is sunny! all the way to
reno is so ethereal! like 1973! man how did this band create sweet
music? that and billy corgan! r.e.m. gets a 5!
Chris Schahfer (chrischahfer.yahoo.com) (12/02/07)
What do I think of 'em? Love the first five, and after that's where
things start getting shaky. I like about half of Green, Automatic for
the People (if you ask me "Everybody Hurts" is a much better song
than a lot of critics would care to admit), and Monster; bits of Out
of Time, and "At My Most Beautiful". Outside of that... well, Around
the Sun is one of the most boring albums I've ever heard, and
Reveal and New Adventures in Hi-Fi aren't much better. At their peak,
though, they were one hell of a band, one of the most sincere groups
I've ever heard.
Best song: Wolves, Lower
Overall, then, I can't see why any R.E.M. fan wouldn't want to get ahold of this in the worst way. Plus, if you get bored with the relatively relaxed sound of Murmur (though you really shouldn't), you'll definitely want this as a sign that very early R.E.M. really could have some "real" energy. It only gets an A because it's just an EP, but that's really the only major problem.
Trfesok.aol.com (03/30/07)
Pretty basic, and not very well recorded, but I do have to agree that
this first release is a lot of fun. The songs are so catchy! Weird
lyrics abound. I'd probably pick "Carnival of Sorts" as my favorite,
but it's a good listen from start to finish.
The Eponymous collection contains an alternate version of "Gardening
at Night" with Stipe singing in his normal (or should I say,
"usual"?) voice. You can understand what the lyrics are much better,
but what they're actually about is still as confusing as ever.
Best song: Perfect Circle, but ask ten other people, you might get ten other answers
Now, I have to admit something that may surprise many who consider R.E.M. one of the catchiest bands ever; it's probably just a character flaw of mine, but it is only after many many listens over the years that I've been able to start to separate all of the songs here from one another in my mind. Don't get me wrong, I've really liked the sound of the album from the very first time I heard it, and some individual songs definitely stuck with me almost from the beginning ("Perfect Circle" especially, which is probably the main reason I'm calling it the album's best track), but for whatever reason, I simply could not, for the longest time, remember even vaguely how most of these songs went. Now, to be clear, I'm much more condemning myself for this than the album, but it does kinda help explain why I only really really like this album, instead of worshipping it like many do; I guess I'm just not meant to be 100% compatible with post-punk rock music. Believe you me, I am fully aware that I'd be a lot cooler if my main musical leanings were towards this sort of thing instead of classic rock and British art-rock, and I do sometimes wish my psyche were wired in that way, but it's apparently not meant to be. Ah well.
Now that I've exerted enough effort to be able to have clear thoughts about most of the songs on the album, though, I just have to say "wow." I still have to play "Laughing," "Sitting Still" and "9-9" for a few seconds each if I want to remember at least a bit of how they go, but they rule when they're on; given that I'd probably peg them as the "worst" (ha) tracks on the album, that should give you an idea what I think about the other tracks. I'll probably NEVER get the chorus to "Radio Free Europe" out of my head, but the verses are just as impressive, in no small part due to the steady, subtle (yet still pounding) power of the drums and the pulsating bass. "Pilgramage," even if it had nothing else (which isn't the case) would still stand out thanks to that distant, echoey vocal introduction that ends up as the chorus. "Talk About the Passion" is ... no, wait, I'm not gonna do the song-by-song thing here, because there's only so many ways to describe incredibly well-done pop-rock songs that are more or less in the same style (even if, individually, they might all deserve it). Actually, that's probably another reason I like "Perfect Circle" so much - the mystical piano lines and occasional soft guitar noise provide a nice little diversion form the sound of the rest, not to mention that it's really the only true "ballad" on here.
That said, I want to say one other thing about one of the songs on here: "We Walk" rules. RULES, I tell you; I see this song slagged all over the place, with people saying it's too silly or nursery-rhyme style to belong on this "impressionistic masterpiece," and that just drives me nuts. This has one of the most perfect "cute" melodies I've ever heard, and if anything provides a nice rest and diversion from the "serious" atmosphere of the rest. Maybe people think Stipe's lyrics are too straightforward here or something, but as somebody who, outside of the choruses, knows maybe 20 words from this entire album, I don't really care one way or the other about that.
Overall, then, this is an awesome album, with plenty of treasures I didn't even bother to namecheck (ok, I'll namecheck "Catapult," seeing as it's kinda one of the greatest songs R.E.M. ever did) but that are treasures nonetheless. It isn't difficult at all for me to see how this made such a splash back in '83, nor why so many fans of the band treasure this so greatly. One thing I would note, though, is that R.E.M. never again really made an album like this, style-wise or quality-wise, so while I'd recommend it first for somebody looking for the best of the band, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it first for somebody getting into the band overall. That, however, is just picking nits.
Trfesok.aol.com (03/30/07)
My first R.E.M. purchase was LRP, so I had to work my way backwards
to here. What amazed me is that I actually had heard a number of the
songs on the radio, before I know who the group was. I'm glad you
decided to mention "Catapult," which was actually the first R.E.M.
song that I ever heard, on college radio. I remember the moment
quite clearly -- the song instantly grabbed my attention. "Radio Free
Europe," "Talk About the Passion," and "Perfect Circle" were also
instantly familiar. I really like the combination of accessible
melodies with weird, "nonlinear" (as Stipe puts it) lyrics, although
I don't get why R.E.M. gets away with it while prog groups are called
"pretentious" when they do it. Anyway, a lot of the other songs are
nice -- "Moral Kiosk" is another winner (I just like that phrase,
even if it means nothing). People who blasted the group for "Shiny
Happy People" obviously never heard "We Walk," which is just as
whimsical.
The album is indeed a classic pop album. However, I just find it a
little too underproduced for me to call it their best.
The Eponymous collection contains the original indie single version
of "Radio Free Europe," which has a slightly higher vocal and a bit
faster tempo. Stipe supposedly liked that version better.
timharrington12.gmail.com (10/13/13)
I have a similar experience as you with Murmur. I can't remember which song is which, either. When you picked Perfect Circle as
your favorite, I thought l know that song but then couldn't remember which one it is.
Great sounding record. Especially, Radio Free Europe, Talking About The Passion, and the last song on side one on the cassette
version. Can't remember the name of the song.
Best song: So. Central Rain
Still, albums don't have to be absolutely amazing to be very enjoyable, and Reckoning certainly qualifies for the latter. It certainly helps that the first side is extraordinarily great, a fine collection of pop-rock that falters in my mind only when I make the mistake of trying to hold it to the Murmur standard. "Harborcoat" is immediately notable for being much louder than anything on the previous album, but this notoriety is quickly swallowed up by the more deserved notoriety of more nice guitar lines and a fabulous chorus of vocals weaving around each other (well what would you call it?). "7 Chinese Bros" is built around an absolutely fascinating (even by R.E.M. standards) repeated guitar line, but also has a slight twist in the middle of going into a totally unexpected somber part. My favorite of the lot, "So. Central Rain," stands out in my mind most for the emotive "I'm sorry" chorus, but the verse melody is certainly up to snuff as well, so it's not as if this is a pick based around just one or two of the same moment.
The side closes out with "Pretty Persuasion," which opens with an AWESOME layering of jangly guitars and eventually winds its way to a great anthemic chorus that includes the line, "Goddamn, pure confusion" (thanks Mike, I've sure been there), and with a gorgeous, slightly downbeat ballad ("Time After Time") that could have fit onto Murmur better than anything else here. Unfortunately, the first three tracks of side two kinda grind the album to a halt for me. "Second Guessing," despite its nice (relative) blast of energy, doesn't quite rub my sensitive emotional spots the way I like R.E.M. to; the same can be said for the slightly more downbeat "Letter Never Sent," and especially for "Camera," a ballad that doesn't show any of the catchiness (Yes, I mean it) or idiosyncracy that makes me care about this band at all.
Ah well, at least they follow "Camera" with a great upbeat (ironic, considering how pessimistic the lyrics are) number, the piano-laden, countryish "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville." I guess this fills the "fun, infectious singalong" slot first established by "We Walk," and I'm glad it does - I like it when R.E.M. gets singalongy, it makes it easier for Stipe's singing to grab me. I also like it when R.E.M. gets fast, like in the closing "Little America," where Stipe sings some vaguely political lyrics that repeatedly climax in him singing what seems like the same note over just a couple of chord changes in the chorus. Amazingly enough, this manages to rule - there's an interesting tension that builds up (to my ears, anyway) as Stipe stays on that note, after all.
Uneven as it may be, Reckoning is still incredibly worthwhile for any decent R.E.M. fan. In fact, I can see where big fans of Chronic Town might like this even more than Murmur, as this is definitely more in the line of that release than of Murmur. Personally, I'm a little disappointed, but only a pinch, so take that as you will.
Trfesok.aol.com (03/30/07)
Well, I don't think it's quite as big a downturn from the last album
as you do. Buck's guitar arrangements are getting more elaborate --
he frequently double-tracks interweaving parts on songs like "Pretty
Persuasion." There's nothing quite like the Indian-sounding "Time
After Time" (which loses that sound when performed live,
unfortunately) on the previous two releases, either. My
interpretation of "Little America" is frustration with touring -- I
think the line "Jefferson, I am lost" is addressed to manager
Jefferson Holt. Anyway, I think these first two albums run neck and
neck in quality.
Dead Letter Office has a couple of interesting B-sides from the
sessions. "Voice of Harold" has Stipe singing/chanting the liner
notes of a gospel album over the backing track of "Seven Chinese
Brothers." Hilarious. There's also a crude, but moving version of the
Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes."
Best song: Feeling Gravity's Pull
It says something to me about R.E.M.'s talent, then, that I still quite like this album. It doesn't work very well as a collection of individual songs, but as a forty-minute mood piece, with Stipe mumbling over the jingle-jangle, it's pretty nice. Besides, I don't mean to imply that there aren't individual songs that stand out, because that's just not so. The opening track, "Feeling Gravity's Pull," is much darker than anything yet done by the band, thanks both to the discordant guitar lines and to the dreary strings that pop up in the last parts of the songs, and thus makes quite an impression in my mind. Later on, "Driver 8" stands out a bit from the rest because it's actually up-tempo, but also has very effective backing vocals from Mills. It's a little annoying that there's really no clear division between the verses and the "chorus," but hey, that's just a flaw you have to learn to live with on this album. Elsewhere, lessee, there's the oft-bashed "Old Man Kensey," which I like just fine (stupid lyrics and all), with a menacing bass-line and almost "heavy" feel. I'm also fond of "Can't Get There From Here," with Stipe clearly removing all doubts that he's from Georgia in his amusing vocal delivery, and the "ugly" "Auctioneer (Another Engine)," which has the sudden switch to discordant for the chorus as quite an effective hook (to my ears, anyway).
There's the matter of the other tracks to address, though. The thing is this; it is entirely possible, were I to review this album a week later, that the tracks I haven't mentioned yet would get individual namechecks, and the ones that I already namechecked (except for "Feeling Gravity's Pull," of course) would get ignored. Moodwise, almost everything is exactly the same, and it's not as if there's a lot of variety in the arrangements and the individual song styles to compensate. Well, ok, the closing "Wendell Gee" has a banjo in the background, but that's the exception. This album is exactly what I was talking about in the overall introduction when I talked about the band relying solely on Stipe's vocals and their accompanying emotional power to get to the listener. Fables, for the most part, offers almost nothing else to the listener. I still give it a very good rating because I happen to enjoy that aspect of the album plenty, but I do so with a total understanding of why many R.E.M. fans regard this as sort of a black sheep. The band had to do something different and quickly, or they risked pushing themselves into a niche that wouldn't be appreciated anywhere near as much as they deserved to be.
Trfesok.aol.com (04/10/07)
The production is pretty murky (the band recorded it in London under
tough circumstances, so it sounds sort of foggy!), which undercuts it
quite a bit. I like the upbeat songs a lot, though, particularly
"Driver 8" -- that's a fun chord sequence to play. I also like the
weird guitar on "Feeling Gravity's Pull", although it sounds a lot
better live. The ballads though, sound quite dreary with this
production, which is too bad.
Dead Letter Office has a couple of not-so-serious B-Sides from the
sessions which might have added a bit more diversity and relieved the
downbeat tone of much of the album. "Bandwagon" is a goofy, organ
driven singalong, while the rocker "Burning Hell" sounds like they
were trying to parody Black Sabbath or something. R.E.M. did have a
sense of humor, even at this point.
Best song: Begin The Begin or These Days
It certainly doesn't hurt that this album packs one of the best opening 1-2 punches I've come across in a long time. "Begin the Begin" debuts the new R.E.M. punch in all its glorious splendor, as the underlying rhythm guitar work and the pounding drums are produced in the exact perfect way for the sound the band is trying to achieve. Stipe's lyrics are as loony as ever, and delivered with the same emotional conviction as ever, but even he improves on his technique by (for what seems like the first time) phrasing his lines in perfect conjunction with the punchy rhythm section. And, of course, do not forget that great little guitar line that bridges the adjacent parts of the verse melody; that guitar line may be the best part of the whole song.
Following that is the ultra-anthemic "These Days," which would be worth it if only for the great line, "We are young despite the years." This is a particularly great example of taking the "basic" R.E.M. sound and improving it - despite avoiding guitar riffs like the plague, just like in the band's previous albums, the aggressive jingle-jangle guitars manage to rock like almost nothing else in 1986. Who could have guessed such a thing would be possible after Fables?
Up next is "Fall on Me," the band's first minor hit and, probably, one of the best pop songs of 1986. I tell you, in addition to the GORGEOUS vocal intertwinings in the chorus, there is just something unbelievably hypnotic about Stipe singing, "Buy the sky and sell the sky and bleed the sky and tell the sky" that makes my inner wuss choke up and cry. Much the same can be said on "Cuyahoga," which is ostensibly a political environmentalist anthem, but instead strikes me as one of the lovliest nostalgia songs I can imagine. I mean, who doesn't feel happy memories in hearing Stipe sing, "This is where we walked. This is where we swam." and later "This is where we walked, swam, hunted, danced and sang"? That said, I don't want to minimize its power as a political anthem; along with Peter Gabriel's "San Jacinto," this makes the best case in song (that I'm aware of) for preserving the lands and past of American Indians.
I'm not as totally in love with the rest of the album as I am with those four songs, but I like most of the songs nonetheless. "Hyena" is a very nice guitar-rock piece with Stipe singing fascinating political lines like "The only thing to fear is fearlessness. The bigger the weapon the greater the fear," but as tends to happen in R.E.M. songs like this, my favorite part is the piano textures in the background. After the amusing, Spanishy, minute-and-a-half "Underneath the Bunker," we have "Flowers of Guatemala" (a little sleepier than I like from the band, but still pretty), a LOVELY up-tempo number in "I Believe" (sounds just like something from the good half of Reckoning), and the slightly boring "What If We Gave it Away," which is only notable to me for when Stipe sings, "IIIIIIIII tryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ... ." These are all nice, of course, but they sure let down the initial momentum of the album a bit.
Fortunately, just as I'm starting to droop a bit, in comes a great pop-punk cover (or at least I thought it was a cover for the longest time, for reasons that totally escape me) in "Just a Touch," with Buck knocking the crap out of his guitar in all the right places, Mills adding the exact perfect amount of piano and organ, and the band just seemingly having the time of its life. Then, as an interesting bit of contrast, we come to the acoustic "Swan Swan H," with Stipe singing something that makes no sense but seems lovely and romantic nonetheless.
All in all, then, when you factor all of that in, and add in the AWESOME dorky pop-punk cover of "I Am Superman" (sung by Mills) that closes things out, you have what must be considered one of the best albums of the 1980's. I will probably never like it more than Murmur, but I nonetheless consider this just as essential for any decent 80's rock collection as that brilliant album was. Buy this the instant you see it next time you're in a music store. And to the person who sold the copy that I eventually bought used from Amoeba Music: shame on you for selling this. But thanks!
Trfesok.aol.com (07/19/07)
My first, and still my absolute favorite of all their albums. Don
Gehman, I agree, deserves a ton of credit by pushing everything --
but ESPECIALLY the drums -- much farther forward in the mix.
(Although, of course, Stipe's lyrics are as inscrutable as ever).
This is the first REM album with POWER, which, as good as the earlier
stuff is, it simply lacks. There's not much experimentation going on
otherwise, but who needs that with such a great set of songs?
"Underneath the Bunker" is a throwaway, but the rest are great. My
favorites are the three social commentary ballads "(Don't) Fall On
Me", "Cuyahoga" (especially) and, as of late, "The Flowers of
Guatemala", which is about the tragic story of human rights
violations there, unleashed by CIA interference. The track that
pushed me to a purchase, though, was actually "Superman", which I
heard on the radio ("It sounds like an old song, but those drums
don't sound like it.."). My curiosity was well rewarded, indeed.
R.E.M. have come close a few times, but they never surpassed this one
as far as I'm concerned.
Chris Schahfer (chrischahfer.yahoo.com) (09/29/07)
Great album. R.E.M.'s first five are all stellar, but this,
Murmur and Document are my favorites.
nickrj.aol.com (02/13/09)
Fall on me is one of the best songs of 1986? You mean Madonna's Live
To Tell doesn't count?
Anyways this is another great album from REM. Not quite as good as
Murmur but still great. Best songs are Begin the Begin, Fall On Me,
What If We Give It Away and Hyena. 9(12)
David Komjathy (dkomjath.comcast.net) (08/13/11)
Hey.
I was just reading yours and another site's opinions on best/worst albums and trax by the boys. Both you and the other (anonymous)
site listed "What If We Give it Away?" as a little boring, and then one of the ten worst IRS-era songs! Couldn't believe it!
Just wanted to let you know that I'm a dedicated, dedicated fan, especially back when ...Pageant came out (as a teenager for me).
There are many beautiful, provocative songs on this one. I mean, how can Swan Swan H not be among their very, very best. Anyway, I
wrote this short mail to let you know that then, as is now, ...Give it Away?" is my FAVORITE cut on the album! Nothing pops and
roils like this track. LIsten to it again, if you have to. The repeatiing, trebly triplet guitar part, making jangly commentary
after every (almost...) vocal line; the GORGEOUS 12 string overdubs PB puts around "Overlooking, with a hollow eye..." Those little
overdub arpeggios are just classic, clean tone REM. If someone naive to the band were to ask for an instrumental sample, I'd
probably play that part of this song: it's just so demonstrative (. least in that era) of their sound and their sonic approach.
Listen to it in the autumn one day. That's a very autumnal album for me, and that song is the pinnacle!!
Sorry to take your time!
Best song: Nah
Seeing as I covered most of the album (the rest is pleasant background but didn't stand out much for better worse to me) in a couple of sentences, there's really no point in making this review much longer. I will say that it's awfully nice to hear that R.E.M., at this stage, have the ability to be so laid back for once while still sounding competent. This release is spotty and lightweight, but it's still something that hardcore R.E.M. fans should be all over. Plus, as mentioned elsewhere, it's the easiest place to find the Chronic Town EP, so take that into consideration when deciding whether to spend $4 on this (and I'm quite sure you'll be able to find this used for that much).
trfesok.aol.com (10/13/09)
This album's a riot. R.E.M. loosening up and having some fun. "Crazy" might
be an exception -- the group does capture a jittery, unsettling feeling with
this one. The three VU covers prompted me to investigate that group more.
"White Tornado" shows Buck pretending to be a surf guitarist for the first
time, and he does pull it off. The only bad track is "King of the Road" --
this was too embarrassing and unprofessional to have been released, even as
a throwaway B-side. The rest is indeed great for R.E.M. fans, showing a side
of the early band that wasn't all that apparent on their "real" albums.
Best song: It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Since this is R.E.M. that we're talking about, it doesn't ultimately surprise me that the band often achieves such accessible power here in spite of approaches to songwriting that, in the hands of another band, might make me kinda fidget. The best example of what I'm talking about comes from the opening track, "Finest Worksong." Not only does it latch onto minimalism that even the Ramones would tend to avoid (the main 'riff' is just ONE CHORD hit again and again in rhythmic fashion), it also has the audacity to crawl at a snail's tempo, a combination which should render its power moot. So naturally it's an amazingly anthemic track, one that doesn't quite make it to Begin the Begin level (I miss the crunchy guitar sound) but nonetheless comes very close. And while we're at it, let's talk about the obvious standout, the immortal "It's The End of the World ...," which is basically Stipe singing a verse melody with three distinct notes (and ending with him hammering on one), with only a slight chord change before the chorus to add any contrast, before it goes into the chorus that everybody knows. Once again, R.E.M. gives me a song that would probably sound absolutely ridiculous in the hands of anybody else, and sounds incredibly brilliant coming from them. After all, could anybody else sing these lyrics and sound convincing? I'd venture not, its karaoke popularity notwithstanding.
The other major standout of the album has nothing to do with politics, but it's still a nice bit of lyrical finesse. "The One I Love" managed to fool a whole lot of people into thinking that it was a regular old love song (even managing to become a prom song!), even though it's actually a vicious putdown of the singer's former love. Man, I can just imagine a legion of braindead teenagers slowdancing to this, the guy moving in for a smooch just as Stipe's singing "A simple prop to occupy my time," and the girl being dumb enough to let him at what was, objectively, one of the worst possible moments to do so.
Anyway, the rest of the album kinda blends together moodwise, as R.E.M. albums tend to do, but that's not exactly a bad thing. It just so happens that, well, they had a style, and they knew how to exploit it well. Naturally, some of the songs have strong political tones ("Welcome to the Occupation" and "Disturbance at the Heron House" are major highlights to my ears, while "Exhuming McCarthey" probably would be if it didn't have those silly synths in the chorus), but some just kinda fall back on familiar strengths. The southern hickishness makes an amusing comeback in "Lightning Hopkins," the aggressive energy pops up in a cover of Wire's "Strange," the darkness comes in with the closing "Oddfellows Local 15," etc.
In short, if you're a huge R.E.M. fan, chances are pretty good you're going to just about worship this album. Personally, I get a little tired listening to it after a while, but I still enjoy it plenty, and I can't see why anybody else wouldn't either.
jsalgado.uiuc.edu (8/07/04)
This was pretty much my official introduction to the world
of R.E.M.; when thinking back to this album, I could
remember seven out of the eleven songs off of the top of my
head, but after a quick listen, I remembered they weren't
bad songs - the others had just stuck out for me. Anyways, I
enjoy pretty much every song here. One of my favorites is
Fireplace, what with the sweeping 6/8 time and the sax solo
rounding up the latter half.
I'd always been suspicious of The One I Love, but I
originally heard it as "a simple thought," so the transfer
from thought to prop cinched the deal.
Trfesok.aol.com (04/10/07)
It sounds like they were trying to combine the big sound of the last
album with the weirdness of what came earlier. Unfortunately, they
sacrificed some of the catchy melodicism as a result, with lumpy
songs like "Lightning Hopkins", "King of Birds" and "Oddfellows".
There is lots of good stuff here, though I also think it's a downturn
from the last album. And, depressing at it sounds, "Exhuming
McCarthy" and "Welcome to the Occupation" are even more pertinent
today than when they were written.
There weres no new original songs on the B-sides this time around,
but still some fun things - a live, acoustic version of "Maps and
Legends" that's works better than the studio version; a cover of
"Last Date", an easy listening instrumental from 1960; and a lengthy
live medley which included "Time After Time", "So.Central Rain" and
Peter Gabriel's' "Red Rain". The single mix of "Finest Worksong"
(from Eponymous) also has a horn section that makes the song sound
even more anthemic.
Best song: Orange Crush
Now, to be fair, the band pleases me quite a bit in that regard on this album, so things aren't a complete disaster. "Pop Song '89" may be kinda bubblegummy (yeah yeah, I know, it's supposed to be a parody of bubblegum pop, I'm still not totally convinced), but it also has an extremely intricate guitar riff to its credit, so it gets a definite thumbs-up from me. Likewise, "Get Up" and the infamous "Stand" find the band coming up with some nice original melodies, so even if on a certain level they could be found annoying (though frankly, I'm becoming less and less convinced that "annoying" in and of itself is a worthy reason to put down a song or album), they're nonetheless novel and fun, which is enough for me. There's also a few nice softer numbers ("You are the Everything" is the standout among these, though "Hairshirt" and "The Wrong Child" deserve namechecks as well), so there's a decent balance in the soft-"hard" spectrum on the album.
But still, I don't listen to R.E.M. for fun melodies (unless it's something really charming and unexpected like "We Walk," of course), I listen to R.E.M. for songs like "World Leader Pretend" and "Orange Crush." The former is the first instance of the band putting lyrics in its liner notes, and they chose a really good time to do so, because these lyrics are impressive. Honestly, it's kinda hard for me to tell exactly why they are impressive; I guess the best way to put it is that they manage to combine both disarming simplicity and a "mature" set of metaphors, and that's always something I like. Plus, the melody is quite nice, albeit a little rambling. "Orange Crush," on the other hand, just manages to rock like mad (at least, in an R.E.M. way, of course), as it covers the Agent Orange situation from the Vietnam war, and in the process manages to become one of the most impressive Vietnam-based anti-war anthems I could possibly imagine being made so many years after the end of the conflict. Besides, it doesn't hurt at all the Mike provides outstanding backing vocals that match the angry mood perfectly.
Aside from these two songs, though, it's kinda tough to tell (to my ears, anyway) that this is supposed to be an album by one of the more brilliant groups of the 80's. It's nice and pleasant, but holy cow I just don't feel that satisfied when it's over. If you're looking to build an 80's R.E.M. collection, get this last.
Trfesok.aol.com (05/03/07)
This one strikes me as being halfway between the previous two albums
-- weirder than LRP, but more accessible than Document. I like it
better than the last one for that reason -- a few fun oddball pop
songs like "Stand" and "The Eleventh Untitled Song" (which is how
it's actually titled on the 12 inch single!) and a bunch of big, in
your face rockers. "Turn You Inside Out" annoys me because it sounds
like a direct ripoff of "Finest Worksong" musically, but I like the
aggressive, nasty lyrics. "The Wrong Child" is a brilliant piece,
with Stipe taking on the persona of a recovering burn victim
perfectly. Except for that 11th song, none of the pieces sound like
throwaways. So, I say buy this one ahead of the last one.
The B-sides are a interesting bunch this time around: a version of
"Pop Song '89" played entirely on acoustic guitars; a
live-in-the-studio cover of Iggy Pop's "Funtime" that's so crudely
recorded that the single label actually reads "Not Produced"; and
"Memphis Train Blues", the only blues instrumental that I know of
that's played on mandolins.
Best song: Losing My Religion or Country Feedback
There are a few other significant factors that make this different from previous R.E.M. albums. The first of these is that Stipe decided to abandon his lyrical commentary on the world's political and environmental issues, and to move on to more personal and emotional subjects. The second is that the arrangements are much fuller than on previous albums, regularly making use of strings, horns, mandolins and all that rot; in other words, the band largely decided to leave its previous guitar-rock persona behind. And third, there are significant appearances by guest musicians; both Kate Pierson of the B-52's and the rapper KRS-One make large contributions to some of the songs on here. All of these factors have been mentioned by various fans of the band as to why this album is subpar, but I'm personally thrilled, and am glad that the buying public was good enough to be so too.
Of course, the extreme success of the album might have also had something to do with the big hit, the infamous "Losing My Religion." As you likely have read elsewhere, the song actually has *nothing* to do with religion (the title is a Southern expression for losing one's mind), but the band had to know that only a very small number of potential buyers would know that, and as such millions would latch onto it as some sort of anthem of rebelling against their parents' church beliefs and all that. Oh well, ignorance or not, it's an absolutely terrific song, one of the best of the band's career.
Truth be told, though, the rest of the first two-thirds of the album is kinda uneven. One the plus side, I'm a big fan of the opening "Radio Song" (which has the KRS guest appearance), which combines significant rap elements (even in Stipe's delivery) with a completely lovely (albeit simple) guitar line and a vocal performance filled with emotion in all the right places (I looove how Stipe sings, "I tried to turn it off to say goodbye"). I'm also a big fan of the Mike-sung "Near Wild Heaven," which incorporates a slight dose of piano with a kinda countryish, quite poppy melody that has some lovely falsetto backing vocals at times and Mike singing silly, simple lines like "Whenever we hold each other, we hold each other." On the other hand, the mellow, somber "Low" is a little too, well, low key for my tastes, especially for being the longest track on the album (it's not bad, though). The countryish near-instrumental "Endgame" is quite pleasant to listen to, but is hardly stunning (though the lone horn sounds nice), and "Belong," with its spoken verses (albeit with a nice instrumental track), is hardly going to grab anybody and make an R.E.M. fan out of nothing. In other words, the first seven tracks on here range from just ok to excellent, and while that's certainly nothing to be ashamed of, these tracks don't exactly justify a rating as high as C).
The last four tracks, however, do. Mark Prindle once commented that these were four of the best songs R.E.M. ever did, and while I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about the first couple of times I listened to this album, further listens showed me that he damned well knew what he was talking about here. "Half a World Away" is the weakest of the quartet, but still a hoot and a half, as it sounds exactly like an average mandolin-driven number from Green, but better (to my ears) for some reason that somewhat escapes me. "Texarkana," which follows, is an AWESOME Mike-sung uptempo pop song, highlighted by a massive bassline hook following each iteration of the chorus, but also excellent in the way it mixes guitars and strings, not to mention the incredible (and simple as usual, but I don't care) vocal melody.
For some reason, though, the following "Country Feedback" stands out most for me among this foursome. It's slow, dirgey and countryish, which I guess could drive some away, but man, when I'm listening, all of this is trumped by the way Stipe sings, "You wear me out, you wear me out." It's not just that line, though; the whole song just hits my ears in a way that it seems like the band (and Stipe in particular) is carrying the weight of all the sadness and burdens of the entire world on its shoulders, and that's something that I can't help but admire and love.
Naturally, the band follows up this incredible, lethargic emotional experience with an incredible up-tempo countryish pop song with "Me in Honey," the other song featuring Kate Pierson on backing vocals. The weird thing is, it almost kinda strikes me as the kind of song a generic nu-country pop-with-slide-guitars artist would do, but while the style might not be something I'd love coming from most artists, it definitely works in this context and in the hands of this band. Besides, I can't turn down such a self-effacing line like "It seems a shame you waste your time on me, it seems a lot to waste your time on me."
Put it all together, and you have what is easily one of my favorite R.E.M. albums. It may have helped bring the underground into the mainstream, but what's more important to me is that it does the underground proud by being such a good album. If you're not pretentious and against anything that the mainstream likes just because of that fact, swoop this up next chance.
Trfesok.aol.com (05/03/07)
This album reminds me, in a sense, of Pet Sounds. Not that it sounds
like the Beach Boys' record, but the approach. Where I could imagine
the band bashing out previous songs as a band live and then recording
the, here the songs seem like studio constructs.
Not that that's bad -- the album sounds great. "Low" sounds like it
was inspired by the droning tracks on David Bowie's album of the same
name. "Country Feedback" captures a dysfunctional relationship
perfectly -- Michael's so fed up with his girlfriend that he had to
break up with her, but wants her back desperately anyway. Its' not my
favorite on the album, but I can see why you'd pick it. I also
thought "Losing My Religion" was about losing something you worship
so much that it seems like a religion -- in this case, again, a
relationship. I guess everyone though they took whimsicality a bit
too far with "Shiny Happy People", but I like it well enough. "Near
Wild Heaven" isn't that far behind in the whimsy department, after
all. "Belong" and "End Game" are great mood setters. My favorite
song, though, has to be "Texarkana". I'd be curious on why they
picked that title. Ever notice how much it resembles the Moody Blues'
"The Voice"? Great tunes, both, but I bet R.E.M. wouldn't be
flattered by the comparison.
More instrumentals and covers for the B-sides. "Rotary 11" is a 40's
like jazzy thing, a sequel to "Rotary 10" (from the LRP sessions). A
nice them called "40 Second Song" should actually be titled "40
Second Song repeated twice, since it's actually 80 seconds long. A
live radio performance produced an excellent, all acoustic version
of "Losing My Religion", which proves these songs work live.
Unfortunately, the same show also produced a cover of the Troggs'
"Love is All Around", which Mike Mills makes even wimpier than the
original.
Best song: Man On The Moon
The opening "Drive," for instance, sounds (as mentioned by everybody else) a lot more like late-period Pink Floyd than like anything R.E.M. had done to that point. While I like The Division Bell quite a bit, the only Gilmour-Floyd album at the time of recording this album was A Momentary Lapse of Reason, which isn't exactly the best album in the world to go ripping off. Fortunately, the melody here ends up beating the snot out of the more somber material from that album, and the backing strings play through grungey guitar chords in a way that gives this an edge that that album almost never even approached.
Quite a few other songs also fall into the category of "I never thought I'd hear R.E.M. doing a song like this," and they're kinda mixed. The infamous "Everybody Hurts," from my observations, tends to move a lot of people either to cry or to vomit, and while I find the song nice enough to help me avoid the second category, the banality of the lyrics (come on, admit it) is also enough to keep me from the first as well. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight," on the other hand, is so hokey that it turns out to entertain the hell out of me (what can I say, I love that fast-sung chorus). Similarly, the only true "rocker" on the album, the great conservative-bash-a-thon "Ignoreland," is so early 80's tough (in, as Mark Prindle brilliantly pointed out, a 90125 sorta way), so out-of-place and so addictive that I can't help but just LOVE it.
Standing above all for me, though, is the Andy Kaufman tribute that is "Man on the Moon." It's as if, in the midst of the sessions for this album, the band just one day decided that they needed to make the perfect early 90's pop anthem, and actually had the ability to do it. What can I say, I adore the melody, I adore the efficient guitar work in the breaks, I adore the "Hey Baby" done as an Elvis impersonation, I just adore everything about this song. If every song on the album grabbed me as firmly as does this one, then I'd have no problem seeing this as the awesome accomplishment so many others view it as.
Unfortunately, that's not really the case. "Try Not to Breathe" and "Monty Got a Raw Deal" are both fine additions to the "generic late 80's-early 90's R.E.M." canon, yes, and the infamous "Nightswimming" is a good enough piano ballad (though to be honest, it doesn't really accomplish much moodwise and emotionwise that wasn't achieved with "Gardening at Night," in my opinion). However, I'm not exactly sold on the idea of R.E.M. doing instrumentals ("New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" is pleasant enough when on, but it doesn't really go beyond that), and I'm definitely not sold on "Star Me Kitten," which is one of the least interesting things I've ever heard R.E.M. do.
There's a couple of other songs, and they're ok enough, I suppose. In the end, though, they're not enough to significantly drive up this album in my eyes. Actually, truth be told, when looking at this review, I'm not even really sure why it is I'm giving this as high a grade as I am. On the other hand, though, the album is *extremely* easy to listen to (and not completely in a bad way) when you're not listening extremely closely, and there's quite a few excellent songs, and the maturity is completely sincere and effective ... Yeah, it's a really good album. An excellent album, even. Maybe I'd love it more if I had grown up with the band, who knows.
PS: There's a badly needed addendum required here, years after the original review was written. I failed to mention "Find the River" in the original review, as it never had really jumped out at me. However, it's a major, MAJOR grower, and I now consider it one of the best songs on the album. Plus, when I had to do the mother-son dance at my wedding reception, it was the song I chose for the occasion.
Awake600.aol.com (8/07/04)
I think you pretty much nailed it - this might have been among the first
albums I ever bought in '94 (if not THE first), and while I liked it a
lot I could never really understand why so many fans and critics
considered it the ultimate R.E.M. masterpiece. Maybe it was the lighter
adult-oriented sound that put me off, I guess. I still think it's
somewhat overrated, but quite an excellent and emotional record
nonetheless, and I agree with the 12. A couple things, though:
1) I'm somewhat biased towards "Everybody Hurts", because the first
several times I heard the song I saw the video for it (with the people on
the highway getting out of their cars and such) and it always really
affected me. I agree the lyrics are somewhat banal and sappy, but I
think it really gets to me a lot more in the whole ATMOSPHERE and vocal
melody than the actual sentiment of the lyrics, so I can't really join
the bashers of it. It's still one of my favorites!
2) "Find The River" has REALLY grown on me in recent months as
an incredibly gorgeous reflective song, and now I consider it one of the
highlights of the album. Damn you for not namechecking it!! And if
Robert Grazer saw that you didn't namecheck "Sweetness Follows" either,
he'd kill you. :)
Otherwise, I agree with the whole review, right down to "Man On The Moon"
and "Ignoreland" ruling to "Star Me Kitten" being really lame (I continue
to hate it to this day - it's still my least favorite R.E.M. song ever).
Well, okay, I've never been able to see THAT much resemblance between
"Drive" and Momentary Lapse Of Reason or "Ignoreland" and 90125 either,
but maybe that's because I heard Automatic well before I got to those
albums, or even Pink Floyd and Yes at all, for that matter.
Rob da mailman (RobertoV.webtv.net) (02/12/05)
I guess that I'm one of the many that think AFTP is REM's best album. It
certainly garners the most passionate opinions of REM fans. Easily their
most ambitious and moody album, it's an album that does take some
getting used to. While Man on the Moon and Everybody Hurts are the
"hits" from the album, the best song to me is Find the River. I sort of
ignored it at first but I became enthralled by it the more that I
listened to it, especially after seeing REM play it live. (It's become a
staple of their live shows.) Certainly, REM's later albums have paled in
comparison to AFTP. AFTP will be considered REM's version of the
Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper" meaning that while it'll be considered their
masterpiece, many will debate that other albums were better.
Trfesok.aol.com (05/03/07)
When I first heard "Drive", my first thought was, "oh, more of the
same" -- a retread from the last album. Well, the rest of the songs
prove that isn't quite so. A lot of the songs are even darker, and I
think the meticulous studio production isn't here, either. But there
are still a lot of standouts. "Drive" is still good, even if it is a
repeat. "Everybody Hurts", even if it's incredibly simply both
musically and lyrically for a R.E.M. song, moves me anyway. The
energy level is up a bit on some of the songs. I don't know why
Montgomery Clift holds fascination for rock bands (the Clash also
wrote a song about him), but it's interesting. "Ignoreland" is
another one of their songs that's even more relevant now than back
then (unfortunately) and I love "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight" ,
after my brother gave me his take on the lyrics. It's about a person
in a permanent coma, hooked on a machine (that "can only swallow
money"), with the "sidewinder" referring to the fetal position coma
patients eventually end up in. Another weird choice for a single,
though. "Man on the Moon", "Find the River" and "Nightswimming" are
really good ballads, I agree. The only duds are "Star Me Kitten"
(despite being a obvious reference to the Stones, that song drags)
and "New Orleans Instrumental #1", a pointless electric piano noodle
-- "End Game" was tons better. Still, the album's a goodie that
continues their good streak.
A lot of instrumentals on the B-sides this time around. "Winged
Mammal Theme" is acoustic piano with real strings, a funny takeoff on
"Batman." "New Orleans Instrumental #2" is a bit more upbeat than
"1", but still pointless. "Mandolin Strum" is exactly that, over a
track that also includes organ and acoustic guitars. It was cute for
them to put a cover of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" on the other side
of "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", and it's actually a GOOD example
of Stipe singing falsetto - unlike the next album.
Best song: What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
Well, I was wrong. No, it's not one of the worst albums I've ever heard in my life, but it is one of the least enjoyable listening experiences I've had in a good while. As you probably know, after going so mellow in the last two albums, the band (particularly Buck) decided they wanted to "get back to their rock roots" on their next album, which is somewhat odd given that they were never much of a 'rock' band (aside from "Begin the Begin" and a couple of others; for my money, Ignoreland rocked a zillion times harder than anything on this album). Predictably, Monster showed that the band, at this point, had no idea what was actually required for a band to rock. Like, say, a strong rhythm section, which had once been one of the band's major strengths. This album has virtually none of the mobile, driving power in the rhythm section that was so crucial to making me like Murmur and Pageant as much as I did. No, all of the "rock" aspects come from Buck and Stipe, and they don't really work. Buck is actually more or less the de facto star of the album, but this isn't because he came up with a lot of good riffs. Instead, it's just because he seemingly discovered all the unused knobs and switches on his guitar, and a few pedals lying around, and decided to abuse them into the ground on this album. If you like a lot of grunge posturing surrounded by a lot of chorus in the guitar sound, this is the album for you.
As for Stipe, well ... he decided he wanted to be a punk (see: "Bang and Blame," a song that I vaguely remembered from when I was younger but didn't realize was R.E.M. until I heard it here. I wanted to cry, it was such a rotten "Losing My Religion" ripoff). And a glam rocker (see: "Crush with Eyeliner"). And a bunch of other things he doesn't do well either. Yes, I know that the falsetto vocals (the whole song!) of "Tongue" are because Michael is singing as an abused woman, but that doesn't change that he sounds TERRIBLE singing falsetto! "I Don't Sleep, I Dream" may be reasonably ok in the verses, but when it hits the chorus with that plinky keyboards and Michael singing the title in falsetto, I have to fight to keep myself from skipping the track.
Anyway, I don't want to get into a track-by-track deal with this album, because it simply doesn't deserve it. The opening "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" has a nice anthemic set of riffage, and "Star 69" is interesting because it's so fast and has so many vocals on top of each other. Besides those two, and possibly the enjoyably Kinkish simplicity of "Circus Envy," though, I can't say I like any songs on this album. I like parts of some of them, and there's only a few tracks that I actively despise, but that's as far as my praises go. This gets a low 5, and if I weren't such an idiotic stickler about keeping my albums no matter how lame they are, this would get sold for the same $1 that I was able to get it off the internet.
Trfesok.aol.com (07/19/07)
I guess that the general consensus is that this is R.E.M.'s worst
album. I have to agree, although I like it a bit more than you do.
The group evidently decided they were somehow going to combine the
sounds of Murmur and Green. The problem is that some of the songs
are sunk by either Buck's overdoing it with his noisy, obnoxious
guitar effects, or Stipe's failed attempts to experiment with his
voice. "King of Comedy" is ruined by Stipe's barking, for example.
"Circus Envy" is a catchy enough rocker, but they go back to the old
trick of making Stipe's vocals almost inaudible. A couple of the
songs are sort of admirable for what they try to do -- the ultra fast
tempo of "Star 69" and orchestrating "Let Me In" with guitar rather
than synths or strings -- but they don't really succeed as songs. You
complain about "Bang and Blame" being a "Losing My Religion" rip-off.
That isn't so bad (you could make the same case for "Drive"), but
having a rip off ("I Took Your Name") of another song from the very
same album ("Crush With Eyeliner") is less excusable. And as for
"Tongue" -- that is just a really, really bad song. I loathe it -- it
gets my vote for worst R.E.M. album track, ever. Bad vocals, bad
music, bad lyrics, bad everything. The B-side of the single is a live
version, and it wasn't improved in the least on stage.
Still, a few of the songs - "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", "Bang
and Blame", "Crush With Eyeliner" - have really catchy hooks that
aren't undermined buy the production or the vocals. And "Strange
Currencies" is a lovely Automatic style ballad that's given a more
electric arrangement. I really like the quivery Mellotron line, in
particular, and it's the only song on the album that resonates
emotionally ("I need a first chance, a second chance, a third chance,
a fourth chance" -- yes, don't we all?). Still, that's only four good
songs out of 12, a depressingly low total for R.E.M. I guess they
figured this out, since they haven't tried to replicate this sound
again.
Trung Doan (trungtamdoan.gmail.com) (01/13/12)
Now it is certainly not controversial to say Monster is the worst album of REM career as it was critically panned (although fans tend to think this album got an unfairly bad reputation which I concur). However what I found strange and jarring was that reading your review, there was no mention of Let Me In and Strange currencies. Generally the consensus from the critics was that Monster suck and the Monster tour was mediocre but "Let Me In: was one of the best song of the album (and was considered the live highlight of the tour) along with What's the frequency kenneth and Strange Currencies and Tongue (yep people liked that song. I wonder what is exactly so bad about Stipe's falsetto because I don't see anything wrong with it).
The reason why "Let Me In" is a highly regarded song because it was a tribute to the late Kurt Cobain who Stipe was friends with. Michael had sent plane tickets to get Kurt to come and visit him to see if he could help before he died. The guitar played by Mike Mills (that's not a mistake, Peter buck was on keys with that song) was actually Kurt Cobain guitar given to the band by Courtney Love. I personally find this as a really touching tribute. Stipe sings about the inability of people in handling fame (stars dripped down like butter) and despite the initial allure of fame how the pressure from your fans and the public can sucked the life out you. When Stipe sings "hey, let me in". It's really a emotional plead wishing your friend to let you into their world so they can help them out instead of isolating yourself from the world. Throughout the last verse Stipe goes through the guilt and shame of wishing he did more to help him. I think the lyrics did a good job at expressing the guilt and regret you feel when your friend has committed suicide and you wish you could do more. The music was also masterful as well. The whole mushy atmospheric guitar playing by Mike Mills gave the song this eery gloomy sensation and the cheesy keys part by Peter Buck (he just played the keys with one finger on each hand) in the context of the song gave it a funeral atmosphere. It was brilliant work by the band to accurately create the wake of a funeral atmosphere. It's to no surprise that during the Monster tour, the highlight of the concert was "Let Me In" which was a wake to those that have gone and then directly followed by "Everybody Hurts" the hymn for those that were left behind. Check out the Road Movie DVD to see it for yourself. I really think you should listen to this song again with the song context in your mind and hopefully it may change your opinion on the song
Strange Currencies was described by Thom Yorke as the type of song that when you hear it on the radio, you would stop the car so you can concentrate on the song. Although I wouldn't go that far, I do agree that it is a great pop song . It's a song about the naive desperation of the person who believes that his words can convince his ex-lover to return to him (of course the person is unsuccessful). I like the way the lyrics portrayed the characters helplessly trying to figure his lover out and believe that desperation could convince the lover and I was always amused with the lyrics "with love comes strange currencies" as the character has no idea of what the currencies involved in love. I know you don't really rate REM that highly in terms of hooks but I do believe this song is chock full of them. I also like the little bits of pieces to add atmosphere to the song such as the opening feedback of the guitar and the picking at the bridge of the guitar during the 2nd verse.
I also love 'You' and I think it's strange that hardly anyone ever points out this song in the review of this album. I consider this song to be a logical conclusion to the obsessive love song that was present in Losing My Religion and continued on with Strange currencies where the obsessive love has turn into insanity. I just love the atmosphere in this song especially during the chorus.I love the fact that he sings "I love you crazy, just keep on I love you madly, just keep watch You wipe my lips, You turn me on" in a monotone and dissonant way that gives a creepy vibe but then stipe sings "My attentions are turned to you" with the word "turned to you" returned to pleasing melodic singing. It's a great transition from dissonance to melodic and it's clever songwriting.
I think Tongue is a pretty decent song and I just don't get your hatred of his vocals or his falsetto and I think it's beautiful and I love the organ and the piano playing in this song. It tells an interesting story about a girl who hates being a 'last ditch lay' and wants to have the self-respect to stop it but doesn't due to loneliness.
My general opinion of Monster is that Let Me In, Strange Currencies, What's The Frequency Kenneth and You (I think Stipe did an excellent job at playing the role of a creepy obsessive lover there) are great songs and amongst REM top 20-30 songs. Tongue, Blame and Blame,and I Don't Sleep I Dream (my opinion of that song is opposite to you, the verses are boring but the falsetto from michael stipe is the most interesting about the song and salvage it for me. what's your problem with his falsetto?). The rest of the album range from mediocre to plain bad due to murky guitars and songs devoid of hooks. It's probably give it a 9 for me as it is an uneven album but I don't accept it is a bad one. I don't think I'll change your mind on this album but I just hope that you give at the very least "Let Me In" a second chance
(author's note): When I saw R.E.M. in 2008 they actually did a piano version of "Let Me In" that I found kinda lovely and moving. It prompted me to go back and listen to the original, and, meh, I didn't like it. I REALLY REALLY don't like the sound of this album, you see, and while "Let Me In" has some differences in approach from other mediocre material on the album, I feel like it makes its own mistakes.
Best song: Leave
The main reason this album gets a lower grade than any R.E.M. album to this point (barring Monster), though, is not for lack of polish, but for a shortage of songs that I like. Note, though, that I said shortage and not lack (which would be pretty close to the truth on Monster). The song I love the most is also the longest, the seven-minute "Leave," which combines a wonderfully somber guitar melody with a nonstop blaring car alarm in the background to wonderful effect, with Stipe throwing in an awesome vocal melody for good measure. The three tracks coming after this are all quite nice as well: "Departure" is a terrific grungey rocker (miles above most of Monster), "Bittersweet Me" does a good job of combining the mature sound of Automatic with the aforementioned grunge elements, and "Be Mine" is a quality song-of-longing with amusing lyrics like "I want to be your Easter Bunny, I want to be your Christmas tree."
So that's 4 songs. A fifth is "The Wake-Up Bomb," which does the gritty glam-rock thing much better than any of the Monster attempts (I just love the chord sequence in the chorus, not to mention the well-placed organ), and a sixth is the closing "Electrolite," a beautiful piano-based ballad in the Automatic style. And a seventh ... no, wait, my count stopped at six. The rest of the album, to my ears, ranges from unnoticable background noise to stuff that wants to sound modern and "experimental" but falls totally flat. The biggest offender opens the album, unfortunately, in the form of "How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us," which sounds to me less like R.E.M. and more like a solo Mick Jagger attempt at sounding like Beck (especially when Stipe is trying to sound quiet and mysterious at the beginning). In other words, totally ridiculous.
Most of the rest more or less falls into the other category. "New Test Leper" is probably the most promising of all of these, but were I to go back in time and somehow get a piece of the band's creative control, I'd make it a 3-minute song instead of a 5-minute one. Otherwise, I'm just not that interested in stuff like the ugliness of "Undertow," or the Patti Smith cameo in "E-Bow the Letter," or in an instrumental like "Zither" that doesn't showcase R.E.M.'s beauty talents well at all, or ... whatever.
Basically, the problem comes down to a usual one for albums made in the CD-age; thinking that just because you *can* put more music on a disc means that you *should*. A version of this album with 10 or so tracks, with some of the lengths cut down a bit (all the songs, boring and not, tend to go on longer than they probably should), would get a much higher grade. As is, I'm disappointed.
Trfesok.aol.com (05/12/07)
Well, these adventures aren't all that new, really. It's another
compromise album, trying to find the middle ground between the last
two albums -- guitar rockers like those on the last one, and mellower
stuff like the one before. But this time, this results in their most
disjointed, unfocused album. Not that the songs are bad, just that
the overall feel isn't very cohesive. Probably because of the way
the songs were recorded. Still, those in the first category are a
big improvement. Buck, fortunately, had shut off the obnoxious noise
boxes on his guitars, and Stipe has pretty much stopped trying to
experiment with his voice. The rockers remind me more of Green. I
suppose my favorite of these is "Undertow", with that hook that
reminds me of the Velvet Underground, for some reason. I tend to
like the more acoustic stuff better. I think "How the West Was Won.."
is pretty good, with that jittery piano part. "Electrolite" is a
nice cruising song, a good choice for a single. The only disagreement
is over "Leave" - -I don't get why you pick it as the best song -- I
think it's the low point! That synth sounds too much like a car
alarm -- someone else's that accidentally goes off outside of your
house, and that the owner isn't around to shut off! It really ruins
the song.
Nonetheless, there aren't any real classics, and I agree that the
album goes on way too long. In the LP days, an instrumental like
"Zither" would have been relegated to a B-side, although I'm glad
it's here. It reminds me of the instrumentals Danny Kirwan and Peter
Green did with the early Fleetwood Mac. Anyway, listenable, but not
for the unseasoned fan.
Trung Doan (trungtamdoan.gmail.com) (01/13/12)
I mostly agree with your general assessment of R.E.M, Generally the ratings of the album are pretty similar to how I would rate it
with a ± 1 rating difference, I agree that Murmur is their best album (although I would probably give it a E but I account the
difference in opinion due to the fact that I grew up listening to REM and have some nostalgic fondness to them whilst you listen to
the band later on), I agree that Automatic for the people is overrated (although I would swapped the score with Out Of TIme) and Up
is underrated.
However there are 3 albums where I have major difference in the rating. I really don't rate Collapse Into Now. Maybe it's just me
but I have a hard time hearing any type of hooks and melodies in those song (apart from Discoverer) and it makes me think that
Stipe lost his ability to create memorable melodies (I would consider that as their weakest album, even inferior to Around the
Sun). Although maybe I just haven't listen to it enough for the melodies to stick out yet.
However the albums that I have the most differing opinion are Monster and New Adventures In Hi Fi. Now I'm not saying this as a
criticism but it's pretty clear reading your reviews that you don't really know the REM fan base and how they generally rate their
albums unlike your Yes, Genesis and Moody Blues review. Which is fine because you don't really have to if you are writing reviews
of a band and If I ever did a review of the moody blues, I would have no idea what the fan consensus on what are the best and worst
albums of those bands would be.
However it kind of jarring reading you reveiw NAIHF and give it a mediocre rating without even realising that it's generally
considered a "fan favourite". you wrote it like it was no big deal that you consider NAIHF to be medicore album as most people
don't really rate it that highly. When you did a review of Winds and Wuthering, you gave a very detailed reason why you thought the
album to be mediocre and you were quiet aware that you were essentially slaying a sacred cow and therefore tread carefully and were
more detailed in the criticism and why your opinion of the album is different to the common consensus. With the NAIHF review you
were essentially nonchalantly slaying a sacred cow without even realising it.
Here is the evidence from a fan vote on the best REM album from a fan site
http://www.murmurs.com/topic/117796-all-albums-best-to-worst/page__fromsearch__1
1. Automatic for the People (524 points)
If you really believe that NAIHF is only worth a 7 then perhaps you should consider changing the most overrated album to NAIHF
instead of AFTP..
My view of New Adventure is that it is a great REM album and I would award it as their quintessential album. It kind of summarise
and combine the whole rocking Document/Monster/Life Rich Pageant side of REM and mixes with some of the acoustic work from Out Of
Time/AFTP and even a smidgeon of some of their earlier work. It's there most diverse album by far. Some call it non-cohesive, I
call it encyclopaedic.
I have to say that despite the diversity I mention, there is a formula to the album especially the rock song. Whilst the early REM
song folllowed the formula murmur, murmur, murmur and then an anthemic chorus (sometimes minus the anthemic chorus). The rock
songs in this album follows the formula of Michael Stipe half speaking and half singing the lines and then an anthemic chorus.
whether you like this album or not really depends on whether you buy into that. However from my perspective, there isn't a better
vocalist at doing the semi speaking/singing voice than Mr. Stipe (I don't particularly rate Lou Reed vocals and as much as I love
Dylan's voice, I love it when he is singing and not half-speaking). So this formula suits REM to the tee and Stipe throughout the
album did a great job of sort of speaking these lines in a really cool voice with a bit of attitude whilst at the same time
hitting the notes and singing the excellent melodies of the song. I guess this goes through what you were talking about in the
introduction that this album relies alot on the strength of Stipe as a vocalist. Speaking about the melodies, I do think that this
was REM's peak in terms of melodies. Every anthemic chorus I mention in the formula is a winner for me.
I know people complain about the lengths of the song being too long and although I partly agree with it as there is undeniably
pacing issues in this album. I think the pacing issues stopped this album from being an all-time classic rather than stopping it
becoming an excellent album. Also I don't think the pacing issues are that bad as REM demonstated throughout this album is that
they put subtle variation in arrangement or melodies in different verses to ensure that the songs doesn't get too repetitive.
Generally the last verse there is some changes there to partly justify the longer length of the songs
Track by Track Analysis
How The West Has Won: One of REM best song. To me I find this song to be hypnotic and groovy with the juttery keyboard and the
syncopated bass line and the computer noise buzz throughout the verse (it's less annoying that what I've written I swear). When the
chorus come, I 'm captivated by the "aah" backing vocals by Mike Mills and the organ and I'm impress by the singing by Stipe that
sounds soulful. I always thought the disjointed keyboard instrumental break sounds cool as well. Also note the changes in melodies
in "I point my nose to the northern star" the final verse that prevented the song from being too repetitive. Sure it's not a huge
change but these small changes keep me interested instead and overlook the song length.
Wake up Bomb - A pretty funny song for me. Although Michael Stipe denies it, I have always thought of the song as a parody of Oasis
and their arrogant demeanour. Stuff like "I had to teach the world to sing by the age of 21" which was the song Oasis ripped off
with the song "shakermaker" which apparently Stipe "threw up when I saw what I done" sort of implying that Oasis should have felt a
bit shameful for blatent plagiarism and stuff like "atomic, supersonic, what a joke, I’m dumb" referring to Oasis's supersonic
song. Nevertheless I think it's a pretty solid rocker and I think it's a clear step up to the rockers in Monster as the guitar
sounds more crisp rather than murky and the presence of the organ/keyboard sound gives it more fuller arrangement and I love that
tone. Isn't "ooh, wake up bomb": such a good hook?
New Test Leper: This is a song about Stipe reaction to watching Jerry Springer. He was shocked about people airing their dirty
laundry in public and willingly be a freak show to the public hence "call me a leper". It's also criticised the public who watch
the show so they can feel judgemental on the people on the show. I think it's a beautiful song with top melodies and don't you love
the ascending appegriated guitar line by Peter Buck during the chorus? It's very cute guitar fill. I do admit it is a bit too long
but I believe it is only one verse too long. I would have cut the second verse in half and the last verse in half. However, there
was enough variation to justify a 4 and a half minute + song and I do believe you are exaggerating a bit when you suggest it should
be condensed to a 3 minute song. The first verse starts with a stripped down arrangement and then the bass kicks up half way in the
first verse to create variation and add a bit of dynamic changes. The last verse starts with some feedback leftover from the
instrumental break and no drumming and this continued to the chorus riff been played to a more stripped down arrangement before the
drums kick in at the end. Little arrangement changes like this does justify a longer running length but I do concur that it could
have been a little bit shorter.
Undertow: You call it ugliness. I call it groovy and atmospheric. The bass line that drives the song is funky enough for me and the
feedback noise from Buck was pretty cool at the beginning and I do like the guitar riff when he kicks in. Like all the songs in
this album, I found the chorus to the song to be singalong and catchy. I particularly like the ending with the guitar picking by
Peter Buck combined by some feedback noise. I admit though that this song should have been 1 minute shorter though.
E-Bow The Letter: I love this song and it's probably in my top 20 REM songs. I think the e-bow sound by Peter buck to be absolutely
gorgeous. Michael Stipe semi-speaking/singing is at it's peak, he sort of projects this wise narrator feel from me in this song.
Again people may complain about song length but I'm not buying it for this song. First verse had Stipe more speaking than singing,
the 2nd verse had stipe start singing and becoming more emotionally involve in the song ( i do believe there are hooks there as
well). The last verse begins with a stripped down arrangement with just the guitar strumming. Towards end of the song when Patti
Smith starts singing "hold as near, taste like fear". Isn't that one of the most beautiful thing you ever heard. Such a majestic
vocal performance
Leave: I agree this is the best song on the album. however this is not just the best song on an REM album, this is one of the best
song REM has ever written. It's an all time classic and I think it's only 2nd to Losing My Religion as my favourite REM song. I
love the guitar riff at the beginning of the song complementing by the organ. It's truly beautiful riff and to me it's genious
(although simple) example of arrangement when the drum kick in and the feedback is blaring and the same rift was played again with
distortion. We have a rift that simultaneously is beautiful and kick arse. I also have to say that REM has not written a better
chorus that we hear in this song. The sound of the guitar kicking in with some power chords and Michael Stipe giving in one of his
best vocal performance and when he sings "leave, leave it, leave it all behind", it must be one of the most emotional hooks Stipe
has ever sang.
Departure: it's a bit fillarish song that probably follows the whole semi-speaking formula a bit too much but the guitar riffing
from peter buck is pretty cool and there is a catchy chorus, I particularly like Stipe screaming "back" for some weird reason and I
do find the chord transition to the bridge to be pleasing with Stipe singing really simplistic lyrics like "go, go, go yeah" to be
somewhat charming in a dumb fun way. A throw away song but enjoyable nevertheless and it has the extra bonus of being fairly short.
Bittersweet Me: i like the opening riff to the song and I think the verse is kind of a throwback to the early jangly IRS period
with the riff that is pretty similar to the so central rain and the acoustic guitar strumming. However the song becomes a classic
due to the melodies in the pre-chorus and the chorus and I love it when Stipe sings increased his volume and sings loudly "it's
bittersweet me" then followed by the chorus. Unfortunately there's really only so many ways I can write about good melodies and I
can't really articulate how good this song is.
Be Mine: I also agree with you that this is a highlight of the album. However this song is an all time classic and one of the best
love songs of all time. Probably my 3rd favourite REM song. From a musical perspective (ignoring the lyrics) it's even superior
than Losing My Religion. The reason why I love this song is that Peter Buck is at his peak here as a guitarist in terms of
composing. Isn't the guitar line in the intro one of the most beautiful lines you ever hear in your life. The chorus may just be
chord strumming but it's one of the most pleasing chord progression I have ever heard and I don't believe I'm being hyperbolic
there. Simple strumming (although it's not that simple as a fellow guitarist myserlf) never sounded so good. The melodies are just
pure gorgeous in this song. I love the way the song builds up. The song just starts with Stipe singing and the electric guitar.
Then some shakers and keyboards come in and then a basic rock beat. Then the e-bow comes in during the chorus and the songs builds
up to the final chorus that seems celebratory.
Binky The Doormat: Nice guitar riff at the beginning of the song, really really catchy chorus. However I admit the semi-speaking
formula is wearing a bit thin at this point and the instrumental break which is basically Buck strumming a different basic chord
progression to be lazy songwriting. This song could be a bit shorter as well as it has pacing issues.
Zither - I agree that this is basic filler, REM don't do instrumentals very well. in any case it's only 2 and a half minutes so I'm
not that upset with it
So Fast, So Numb: A strong song despite following the semi-speaking formula and a justifiable live favourite. I think this song
distinguish itself from all the other semi-speaking songs by having the acoustic guitar strumming along with Peter buck, as well as
Mike Mills piano playing in the song that gives it a nicer arrangement. I especially like the piano during the chorus. I also like
it when Stipe sang "that was then. that was that. that is gone. that is past." section in the 2nd and 3rd verse which changes
things up and prevents repetition and I really enjoyed the way he sings it. I love the transition from the instrumental break back
to the song where it's just the acoustic guitar strumming. Also during the final chorus there was a section where the electric
guitarist suddenly stopped playing leaving just the acoustic guitar and piano playing before rejoining the song leaving the final
chorus to have a more dramatic feel to it. I really appreciate these little arrangement changes that REM does to prevent repetition
in the song. It goes without saying that the chorus is incredibly catchy as well.
Low Desert: A pretty suitable title as the song certainly creates an atmosphere of being in a desert and it probably the song that
represent the cover art of the album. I like this song due to excellent slide guitar playing and the kind of mixture of
grungey/bluesy/couintry guitar playing throughout the song as well as the funky bass. I admit that the melodies aren't as strong in
this song but I can enjoy this song just listening to the guitar playing.
Electrolite: This song is a farewell song of the 20th century 5 years before it was over and it sort of evokes feelings of a car
cruising out of the city (past) into the 21st century with optimism for the future. I really dig the violin instrumental break of
the song. Although I have to say that this song sounds better live where during the instrumental break, there's this sort of mini
banjo solo in there as well which was omittedi n the album version. The hooks isn't up to the usual standard set in this album and
I think Stipe vocal performance isn't that great and lacks emotion, but the song carries by the atmosphere and the cheerful vibe of
the music.
Overall, this is a very strong album and I give it a D. Every chorus in this album is catchy and melodic which is a good start for
a pop album. There is also 2 all time classics in Leave and Be Mine and 4 REM standard classic with How the west has won, E-Bow The
Letter, Bittersweet Me and So Fast, So numb. The rest of the album apart of Zither are pretty solid pop songs. From a music
perspective, it's quite diverse with a mixture of the folkish acoustic period of Out of time and Automatic for the people mixed
with the rock songs of Document and Monster. Stipe also shows he is one of the best semi-speaking singer there is and I find his
effort with that style of vocals to be more listenable than some of Lou reeds effort. The weakness is that there are pacing issues
and some of the songs are too long but I do think that problem is a bit exaggerated by some people. Also I think that Stipe
probably used the semi-speaking style a bit too much in this album even though I think he did a great job doing that. This prevents
me from calling it a all time classic but I think it's a great album and it is my 2nd favorite REM album and it was the album that
convince me that there was something special about this band (I got into Murmur a lot later).
I don't think I can convince you to change your mind on this album but I hope that you at least consider writing a bit more
detailed review as I think it's enough of a fan favourite album to warrant a more detailed dissenting opinion.
(author's note): The thing about Wind and Wuthering is that I can see the rationale for rating it as one of Genesis' best; it's just that I think that rationale has some significant problems and deserves a lengthy rebuttal. Rating New Adventures as one of R.E.M.'s five best, let alone in the top two, strikes me as so baffling and wrongheaded that I don't even know where to begin a rebuttal. I still quite like the songs I mentioned enjoying, but the rest? I just don't see why they would be part of the top 50% of R.E.M. songs (R.E.M. has enough good songs that I shouldn't have to force feed myself ones that I don't care for).
Best song: I have absolutely no idea
And guess what? Despite my initial expectations to find it just kinda decently good (based on a lot of reviews I'd read for it), I love this album. Yes, it gets boring in spots, as most R.E.M. albums tend to at some point or another, and yes, it definitely solidifies R.E.M.'s position of having become creative followers rather than creative leaders (in other words, I can see why some are kinda down on it). But dang it, there are SO MANY songs on here that I like that I end up being able to largely forgive the band for those two flaws. Furthermore, I don't find myself at all bothered by the relatively heavy use of electronica elements on this album; maybe my ears have just gotten used to those things over the years and aren't as immediately bugged by them, but I really never find myself going "grr, I wish they'd do this song more 'naturally'," and that's quite an accomplishment with me. Hence, stuff like the opening "Airportman" and especially the later "Suspicion," which heavily emphasize moody, atmospheric textures (with quiet vocals and low-key guitars), sound friggin' GREAT to my ears; I especially like the way Stipe sings the sultry line, "You're so funny, you're so fine; you're so perfect, you're so mine" in the latter. I can see why longtime fans of the band would be pissed at songs like this, and had I been one of those fans back in '98, I'd probably feel the same way; as is, with Kid A firmly entrenched as my favorite Radiohead album, I dig 'em.
Frankly, though, I don't want to find myself focusing on new stylistic aspects or whatever when I'm assessing this album; I want to focus on the songs, which are great. If there's any significant weakness, it's that the ballads that try to get by on a "traditional" sense of loveliness tend not to jump out at me melodywise, and kinda blend together moodwise. As nice as it is, "At My Most Beautiful" is still just a nice attempt at aping Pet Sounds soundwise, but one that I cannot easily recall when over. "You're in the Air" and "Diminished" (which is novel for having a little ditty called "I'm Not Over You" tacked onto the end, kinda like the random interludes in the band's first two full-length albums) are moody and enjoyable, but they show the band falling back onto the power of Stipe's voice to save them. Similarly, "Why Not Smile" never really (to my ears) lives up to the moody first few seconds, as it kinda turns into a relatively normal rambling ballad, albeit one underpinned by a harpsichord and eventually containing some guitar noise to fill it out.
Everything else, though, is very good to great. Yes, this means that I even like the "ugly" rocker "Lotus," where old-timey electric piano and occasional discordant guitar lines meet one of the most twisted vocal melodies to hit the mainstream in the late 90's. I hated it at first, of course, but I wouldn't think of it now. As for tracks that I never hated, but liked from the start, exhibit #1 is "Hope," which arguably has the greatest lyrics in the entire R.E.M. catalogue. Yeah, the melody sounds like it's been copped from more than a few sources, but when I'm singing along to Stipe's longing to "cross (his) DNA, to cross (his) DNA with something reptile" and other strange turns of phrase, I just cannot care. Few R.E.M. songs leave me feeling happier in their wake, and that matters a lot to me. "The Apologist," on the other hand, leaves me feeling more creeped out and guilty than anything in the R.E.M. catalogue, and that's an accomplishment as well. Yes, its main lyrical hook is based off the "I'm sorry" line in "So. Central Rain," but it's delivered with so much earnest emotional conviction that the pleas make me like this far more than that great Reckoning track. Besides, the "I'm sorry" pleadings aren't the only attraction here; I'm in particular thinking of treatments like the electric sitar over glum distortion, calling up comparisons to various Velvet Underground moments.
Sad Professor, which follows "The Apologist," functions as the album's major downbeat anthem piece, featuring a soaring, distorted chorus of guitars, with Stipe singing lyrics that are only half-discernable yet punch me in the emotional gut. On the flipside, "Walk Unafraid" functions as the album's major upbeat anthem piece, as it builds into one of the best chorus melodies the band ever conjured up. And ... blast, here I am in formula-writing territory again. I'd better stop, even though there's still a bunch of other songs I like.
In short, Up is almost enough to make me completely forgive the band for Monster. Up shows the band as relevant again, yet without dumbing themselves down in an attempt to pander to a wider audience. If you're looking to get into post-AFTP R.E.M. but are (justifiably) afraid of what you might encounter, this is the place to start.
Trfesok.aol.com (05/27/07)
Sorry, I'm not nearly in love with this as much as you are, although
it's definitely a lot more listenable than Monster and certainly more
cohesive than the last one. Ironically, this is the album where they
really go on some "new adventures in hi-fi."
However, it doesn't quite work for me. For one thing, despite all the
problems with Monster, I've always thought of R.E.M. as pretty much
a guitar band. Occasionally, Buck gets a nice psychedelic tone in
(like on "Suspicion"), but guess I don't really like the fact that
the sound is almost totally dominated by Mills' new acquired 70's
analog keyboards. Whether acoustic or electric, I always really
liked the folky influences that they just about toss out here.
The other thing is that the tracks sound unfinished to me. It's like
they had all these demos worked up on their ARPs and Oberheims, but
that they needed more time and work to flesh them out into really
good, full-fledged songs. Maybe they did spend a lot of time on them,
but they still sound sort of half-assed both lyrically and musically
to me.
Still, I don't really hate it. It's pleasant enough mood music. "At
My Most Beautiful", to me sounds like an attempt to ape both Pet
Sounds (copping Hal Blaine's drum part from "God Only Knows") and
Smile (those droning piano chords), like a High Llamas track.
"Lotus" has some very cool, weird lyrics, with its references to
Eastern mysticism. And "Walls to Climb" is a gorgeous, hymnlike
closer. Still, while I'm all in favor of bands experimenting, I wish
the band had completed the experimentation before actually recording
the album.
Fidel Juárez Guzmán (fidelsjuarezg.hotmail.com) (07/13/18)
Salutations. One song I never get tired of is "Diminished." (Tremendous lyrics.) "Fall to Climb" also. (Nice 'water' sounds.) This album made me happy, while I was going through a weird time in my life. Your review is very polite and admirable. Thanks.
(It's kind of strange that twenty years happened after its release. I've been going through an R.E.M. binge recently. They were something special.)
Best song: The Lifting
One difference that really stands out for me between this and Up is that this album actually has a track I can definitely call my favorite. The opener, "The Lifting," is arguably one of the best anthemic tracks of the band's career (which says a lot, you know), with a rich set of melodies that all benefit greatly from the various production flourishes. My favorite parts, in order of appearance, are (a) the opening sounds before the singing, (b) the melody to the "you've said the air was singing ..." chunk and (c) the way Michael sings "never, never, never ...," but hey, everything else in the song is great too. It even has a nice, low-key guitar solo in the middle (notable here, as Buck doesn't really get to do that much on this album).
None of the other songs jump out quite so strongly, but they all (except, again, "Imitation of Life") have something that I like a lot. "I've Been High" is about as adult-contemporary as I could possibly imagine R.E.M. getting (at least it was before I heard Around the Sun), especially because of the boring keyboard backing, but doggone it, this melody is waaay more developed and elaborate than 99% of what, I dunno, solo Phil Collins could conjure up. "All the Way to Reno" would be great if it only had that part where Stipe sings, "You're gonna be a staaaaaaaaaar," but it has lots of other things going for it too (not least of all the high-quality, low-key guitar work). "She Just Wants To Be" sounds like what a high-quality Hi-fi-style number would sound like if it had adequate production (in other words, it's gorgeous), "Saturn Return" ends up sounding like a cross of the best aspects of Fables, Time and Up (amazing but true) ... the list goes on.
Like with Up, I don't want to namecheck every track, both because it's hard to come up with innovative ways to say "this is a neat pop song" 10 times, and because I want to leave some surprises for the reader who hasn't yet heard this album. I do just want to say, though, that I'm really shocked that R.E.M. could put out two albums that I'd enjoy this much this late in its career. No, these albums will never live up to Murmur and Pageant in my eyes, but after sitting through Monster and Hi-fi, these albums are just about the best present I could have gotten from the band.
trfesok.aol.com (09/13/09)
Actually, I like this one better than the last one. On that album, they seemed
intent on messing with electronics at the expense of the songs. Here, they've paid
as much attention to the songwriting as to the production. The proof is that the
songs can work well on their own, which isn't necessarily true of some of Up's
tracks. Live, they couldn't use all of their tricks, so they had to rely more on
the songs, and it worked. For example, there's a live version of "I've Been High" on
The Bridge Collection, a benefit album for Neil Young's pet charity. Backed by only
piano, synth and acoustic guitar, Stipe's voice brings a yearning, spiritual quality
to his lyrics and vocals which are undermined by the overly busy drum machines on
the studio version. Similarly, the demo to "Beat A Drum" (piano, acoustic guitar,
voice) has an intimacy that is lost a bit on the album. "Imitation of Life" rocks
more live (a version has been released from the tour stop in London), with a more
energy and a rawer vocal.
So, my beef is more with the unnecessarily overdone production than the actual
songs, which all all pretty good. Interestingly, songs like "Disappear", "I'll Take
the Rain" and "She Just Wants to Be" seem to have a heavier folk influence (which
I'd bet was Buck's doing), but then the electronics turn them into something else
entirely. As has been pointed out elsewhere, Mills once again shows his infatuation
with Pet Sounds/Smile era Brian Wilson, most obviously on the lush, languid
"Beachball", but also in the droning piano chords of "Beat a Drum." "Summer Turns
to High" is a bit of a snoozer, but I may be a bit prejudiced against it because the
next album sounds like that song stretched out to an hour. Nobody needed 13 more
variations on it, guys. Anyway, this one is much better, with catchy melodies and
interesting lyrics throughout, even if all those synths and programming weren't
needed.
Besides the previously mentioned tracks, some other very cool B-sides came out of
the sessions. The "demo version" of "The Lifting" is actually a pretty full
production, with electric and acoustic guitars, orchestrated synth, bass, drums and
a tabla (!) moving the track along. However, the tempo is a lot slower, giving a
very different character to the song than the anthemic feel of the final version.
Mike Mills pulls out another relatively obscure oldie with "Yellow River", by 1970
one hit wonders Christie. Very enthusiastically done. The band's Beach Boys
connection comes through again in two instrumentals. Buck does his surf guitar thing
again with "165 Hillcrest." "2JM", on the other hand, sounds amazingly like an
alternate version of the title track to Pet Sounds, down to the bongos, timpani,
sleigh bells and processed guitar. This one alone is worth finding.
Best song: Leaving New York
At a glance, Sun is the band continuing down the generic, Adult-Contemporary path they established with Reveal, and as such it would be somewhat hypocritical of me to bash this while praising Reveal, but I really think the situation is more complicated than that. Except for "Imitation of Life," every song on Reveal had something that really jumped out at me, that made me want to listen to the song and the album again. Sometimes it was a plain ole quality pop hook, sometimes it was a really nice production flourish, sometimes it was an intriguing mix of styles, and sometimes it was a mood or vibe that really sucked me in. It says something to me that, a few months after writing the review for it, I enjoyed the album just as much as I did when I reviewed it, especially since I was really wondering if I had maybe overreacted to songs that wouldn't actually have any staying power with me (they did, happily enough). On Sun, though, the word of the day is bland; everything is so smoothed over, so devoid of rough edges and so aggravatingly "inoffensive" that it drives me nuts.
I should note, though, that there are a decent number of songs on here that I like quite a bit despite the album's overall sound. "Leaving New York" is a very lovely ballad, one where the standard minor-key verses/major-key chorus formula works exceedingly well, just the way I would hope a late-period R.E.M. ballad would sound. "Final Straw" has a noticable low-key anger throughout that pleases me quite a bit, "Boy in the Well" sounds like it would have made a decent inclusion to AFTP, "Aftermath" has enough upbeat energy (in a subtle way, like something on Out of Time) to make it a nice contrast to the rest of the album, and the closing title track sounds just like a slightly anthemic album closer should. "There's also High Speed Train," which sounds extremely out of place (in a good way); there's actually a bit of abrasion and discomfort that come from listening to this, and that's definitely a nice change of pace.
Unfortunately, this leaves 7 songs, more than half of the album. There are only a couple of really obvious low points ("The Outsiders," which tries to milk the "Radio Song" rap-guest-star formula but fails; "The Ascent of Man," which is actually ok until Stipe brings out his "YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH" blarings), but that's not really a compliment. After many a listen, I still cannot remember what happens in these other four songs, the result of everything basically sounding the same. I mean, yes, Up and Reveal each had a pretty samey sound, but there were frequent and noticable changes in mood at least. Meh.
So there's the latest disappointing R.E.M. release as viewed through my eyes and ears. It's actually grown on me a bit lately (I was going to give it a 6), as the songs I mentioned as highlights have really made a decently positive impression on me, but it simply cannot go any higher. Samey is one thing, bland is another.
Tommy Eason (jt_eason.yahoo.com) (01/30/07)
I've been an R.E.M. fan since "Reckoning" and I have to say, this is
the laziest record they have ever made. Here is my formula for
cementing their legacy: Get Bill Berry back for one good ROCK album,
tour for like two years with it, then QUIT!!
I love them, but hate seeing what they have become.
Trfesok.aol.com (07/19/07)
"Diverse" is certainly not the adjective to apply to this album. It's
not particularly exciting, and the songs aren't all that memorable.
Out of everything, I can only remember the choruses to "Leaving New
York" and the title track when the album's not on, despite numerous
listens. Sort of sad from when coming from a band with so many catchy
songs. Stipe doesn't seem to be trying as hard with the lyrics,
either. "Make it All Okay" is the biggest surprise, and not in a good
way. ANYBODY could have written those lyrics.
Still, I don't mind it at all when it's playing. None of the songs
make me go "Yuck." I'm surprised you rated it so low, since the
sound, to me, is like a more polished version of Up. Again, way too
keyboard oriented. "Final Straw" is nice, because you at least some
folky guitar instead of those endless piano and synth chords. While
none of the songs jump out at you, (like U2's two latest albums,
although those have more tracks with hooks), I actually enjoy the
overall mellower vibe. Maybe that has to do with me turning into an
old codger. However, the whole thing does make me wonder if the band
has run out of ideas (and the album sold abysmally by their
standards). Hopefully, something more creative is coming from them
soon.
Best song: Living Well's The Best Revenge or Accelerate
The psychological effect of listening to the opener, "Living Well's the Best Revenge," cannot be understated. I don't demand a guitar-heavy sound from R.E.M. all the time, but when listening to this track, I find myself thinking that this is how the band should have sounded all along for the last two decades. The guitar sound is spectacular, calling up all of the best aspects of Life's Rich Pageant, and Peter pulls out a whole bunch of solid riffs to go with it. Stipe's vocal part doesn't start out having much of a melody, but it has a level of aggression and power that I didn't know he had left in him, and once he actually starts singing something with a discernable melody, the song turns into a stone-cold anthemic classic.
I'm also extremely fond of the title track, a great piece of dark aggression with a good mix of Stipe's straight-forward and engimatic lyrical styles. Call me dumb, but if "I've got to fall in another direction/accelerate" isn't one of the band's strongest and most effective hooks in years, then I just don't get music at all. The rest of the album, then, doesn't have quite the impact of these two tracks, but it's mostly very good. It definitely shows the band falling back into a "generic R.E.M." sound, yet I definitely prefer this kind of manifestation of that sound to something like "Imitation of Life." "Man-Sized Wreath" is a rather simplistic number, but it has a strong chorus and effective politcally-oriented lyrics, and I like it a lot. "Supernatural Serious" and "Hollow Man" are pretty much the definition of by-numbers R.E.M., but they're catchy without feeling excessively banal, so I won't complain. I also really like the dark, paranoid acoustic ballad "Houston," which features lyrics like, "If the storm doesn't kill me the government will/I've gotta get that out of my head" and a melody that can stay in my head as long as it wants.
After the title track, the album simmers down noticably, which makes a higher grade out of the question. "Until the Day is Done" is another nice dark acoustic number, this time with a strong British folk influence, and "Horse to Water" is a fun bit of aggressively distorted political jangle rock, but the others don't excite me a lot. The melody to "Mr. Richards" sounds an awful lot like the one to "Hope" (from Up), even if the arrangement is totally different, and that bugs me a little bit given how much I love that song. "Sing for the Submarine" is an okay bit of dark sing-songey typical R.E.M., but it's a little overlong at almost five minutes, and all of the various namedrops of older songs feels awkward. And finally, while the closing "I'm Gonna DJ" works as a strong live show closer, it sounds more than a little bit dumb on this album.
Still, these tracks don't ruin the overall impression of the album. One major advantage for it is actually short it is; at 11 tracks and 35 minutes, there is none of the feeling of bloat that affected the last few albums. In the end, this isn't one of the very best albums of the band's career, but it's certainly the most pleasant surprise in their catalogue, and the best parts make it essential for any fan.
trfesok.aol.com (09/13/09)
An apt title. Who would have figured these 50-year-old codgers could kick it into
such a high gear, especially after the doldrums of the last album?? It's an
interesting position the group found themselves in. Up to now, like U2,
R.E.M. never quite repeated themselves twice from album to album, either tweaking
their sound slightly (from Murmur to Reckoning, Out of Time to AftP) or full scale
revamps (AftP to Monster to UP). Like U2 after Pop, however, they evidently figured
out that all these changes had alienated a big portion of their audience. So, again
like U2, they played it safe and decided to go retro -- this album is very much
their All That You Can't Leave Behind.
This is really the first time the band has repeated themselves so blatantly, but I
don't mind. This is certainly more fun than the last one. You cite LRP, but I'm
reminded more of Document, since it's angrier, more political and a little punkier
("Man Size Wreath" being the prime example). A little bit of the electronics of Up
are thrown in, too. ("Houston"). "Until the Day is Done" reminds me a lot of "Swan
Swan H", but that's OK -- it really is a moving song. The only real dud is "I'm
Gonna DJ", which has some of Stipe's dumbest lyrics ever, and his worst vocals since
"Tongue." The rest of the songs are entertaining and catchy, so it's a winner,
overall. Maybe R.E.M. has run out of ideas, but if they can continue producing at
this quality, so what?
The B-sides/bonus tracks are mostly disappointments There are working versions of
"Mr. Richards" and "Living Well.." that are indistinguishable from the finals. You
can all say the same of live versions of the latter, "Horse to Water", "Supernatural
Serious" and "Until the Day is Done", recorded in a club in Athens (was there even
an audience there?). However, they also recorded a couple of fun, 60's type
exercises -- a goofy cover of a song by the Beat Happening ("Redhead Walking")
and?"Airliner", another of those surf guitar exercises that Buck seems so fond of
(like "White Tornado" or "Tricycle", from the ..Hi-Fi sessions). Stripped down more
than the actual album tracks, but still worth a couple of downloads.
Best song: Impossible to say
This album is way more than just Accelerate: Live!, though. Supposedly, the band's producer, in the leadup to making this album, ordered the band to relearn as much of its back catalogue as possible, including numbers the band probably hadn't even thought about playing in years. On this album, this results in the inclusion of 4 Chronic Town tracks, 2 Murmur tracks, 6 Reckoning tracks and 5 Fables tracks. There's a satisfaction I feel with this that goes beyond just having alternate versions of these tracks to turn to when I don't feel like hearing the studio versions: this live album feels like a welding link between the IRS-era R.E.M. and the aged Warners Bros version, where previously it had felt like they were almost two separate bands. Hearing the band, pushing 50, giving a good effort to something like "Maps and Legends" or "Driver 8" (where Mills' backing vocals are the star), or "Wolves, Lower" or "Gardening at Night," almost sounds like a family reuniting after 20 years of estrangement, and it's wonderful.
What's also delightful about this is how the band doesn't really try to cover up how foreign these songs are to them at this point. For instance, the two Murmur songs feature great commentary from Stipe about how the internet has his lyrics wrong; he draws attention to how a search engine claims Stipe has no idea what he himself is saying in "Sitting Still," and he vehemently denies that he ever would have written, "The animals, how strange: try, try to stick it in" for "West of the Fields." The Fables tracks get some nice stories as well, such as how "Auctioneer" was about how his grandfather taught him to put a penny on a train track to get a flat penny, or how "Kohoutek" was written when Stipe was having trouble with rhyming vs narrative in his lyrics. And there are a few other nice exchanges.
In terms of songs, it's just a lot of fun to hear how great a lot of these "lesser" songs hold up. "Second Guessing" and "Letter Never Sent," for instance, never quite grabbed me in their original versions, but when pumped up full of energy as they are here, they sound terrific. "Drive," as much as I liked it before, also surpasses the original, as does "Circus Envy," all the Fables stuff and a bunch of other delights. It's a little weird to hear "I've Been High" (which I've always liked) and "The Worst Joke Ever" (which I never really cared for) done in this show, but they provide a nice change of pace, and I'm glad they're here as well.
Overall, this is the kind of live album that hardcore fans of any band should hope for. If you've burnt out on the band's more famous material, give this one a play or two, and you'll probably remember why you liked the band in the first place.
trfesok.aol.com (03/13/14)
You skipped over the live album (and video) that preceded this one, R.E.M. Live, also recorded in Dublin. Was that deliberate, because it was
recorded during the tour for Around the Sun? It's actually a very solid, enjoyable and professional show. The band sounds like they're more
into it than they do on the studio album they were plugging.
But there is indeed a big difference between that album and this one. While the first one is, for the most part AtS + greatest hits, this is
nearly the polar opposite. Only a handful of songs that were singles are represented. And while only two songs from their IRS albums were done
on the 2005 tour, half here are from their first 4 releases. The suggestion by the producer that they revisit their early stuff was a brilliant
one. The band sounds incredibly reinvigorated playing this stuff. The songs for what was then the upcoming album and the unreleased stuff sound
great as well -- it's clear the the attitude carried over the the studio album and beyond. "Cuyahoga" and "New Test Leper" are big highlights for
me.
I do have a few quibbles with the setlist. "Romance" was always a lousy song and should have been left forgotten, and maybe a better choice from
Monster. I would have loved more from LFP and Murmur ("Catapult"!). And while songs from Up would have been hard to fit into this context,
they could thrown one in. And it's really odd that they TOTALLY skipped Green and Out of Time. The mood of OoT , again, doesn't quite fit, but
"Texarkana" would have been great. And Green is one of their most rocking albums, so why exclude it?
But it's hard to argue with the high quality of what's here. It certainly makes me regret that I never saw the group live.
Best song: It Happened Today
The opening "Discoverer," for instance, might be a guitar-based rocker, but it's much slower, shinier and poppier than was "Living Well's the Best Revenge" while being every bit as effective. I wrinkled my nose a bit at the one note "Discoverer! Discoverer!" chorus the first time I heard it, but it's an ecstatic climax that's really the logical follow to everything else in the song, and I love it to pieces now. "All the Best" probably could have fit in perfectly on Accelerate, but then you have "Überlin," an up-tempo acoustic-based number that sounds eerily similar to to the vibe of Out of Time without cloning anything there. The simple distorted guitar lines in the middle are killer in that one.
"Oh My Heart" is basically a sequel to "Houston" from the last album, with some softer touches (mandolin, what sounds like an accordion) to bridge it to the rest of the album, and it's decent though not remarkable. The following "It Happened Today," on the other hand, is probably one of the best R.E.M. songs ever, building from an effective low-key number with a cheery "It happened today, hooray! It happened, hip hip hooray!" chorus into an epic wordless vocal coda (with simple guitar lines and perfectly appropriate handclaps in the percussion), all in less than 4 minutes. It's a shame the band couldn't have come up with this song 20 years earlier, when more people would have heard it than they would from a 2011 R.E.M. album, but I'm glad it's here regardless.
The next six tracks split between pop ballads and rockers, and both categories are represented pretty well. "Every Day is Yours to Win" revolves around a soft, dreamy guitar line (with what I assume is a glockenspiel in the background), and while the chorus might be a little underwritten lyrically, it's compensated by the sudden change of sound in the middle to a more raw sound (with Mike's wordless vocals on top) before switching back. "Walk it Back" is pleasant enough piano balladry, though I could easily understand dismissing it as unremarkable singer-songwriter stuff, and "Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I," pretty as it is, does fade a little into background noise to me (aside from the gorgeous "Lay me down, down, down, down" bits, stuffed to the gills with mandolin). As for the rockers: "Mine Smell Like Honey" has a ridiculous title and chorus (which I can only assume is based around some band in-joke), but it's a fantastic entry into the world of generic R.E.M. pop-rockers; "Alligator/Aviator/Autopilot/Antimatter" is WAY more enjoyable and fun than a song with these silly lyrics should be; and "That Someone is You," slightly throwawayish it may be, is a goofily fun way to spend 1:40.
"Blue," then, is a track that looks really stupid on paper but that kills me every time I listen to it. Co-written with Patti Smith, it's basically "Country Feedback" crossed with "E-Bow the Letter" (remember that one?) musically, with Stipe reciting lyrics over a slow, five minute dirge. I feel like I should be seeking reasons to rip it, but moments like Stipe getting stuck on saying "Blue" over and over, or when he starts ending sentences on "proud," and especially the glorious sequence of "Living/Blessed/I understand/Twentieth century/Collapse Into Now" followed by Smith singing "Cinderella boy/You've lost your shoe" onward successfully manipulates me in every way I'm sure the band intended. And frankly, I don't mind this manipulation at all. Top it all with the reprise of the ecstatic "Discoverer! Discoverer!" parts of the opener, and you have a great way to end an album.
So ok, R.E.M. wasn't exactly making "essential" music at this point, for pop music at large or for their own legacy, and it is a little disconcerting that they had to mine their past so blatantly again to make a good album. And yet, I can't get around enjoying much of this album to death, and I have trouble justifying to myself (again, the sound milks both of those albums, but other than "Blue," none of the individual songs has an obvious corollary on those albums) why it should be considered noticably worse than either of its parents. I would have to wonder, though: if the last album was the band's Pageant/Document redux, and this was their Time/Automatic redux, would this imply the next album would be a Monster/Hi-fi redux?
The world would never find out. This was their swan-song.
trfesok.aol.com (03/13/14)
Another very brisk and exhilarating album. But I don't quite agree with your (and others ,including the band's) perception of it. For one thing,
I was expecting something considerably mellower. But I don't find too many similarities to the group's 1991-92 period. Songs like "Discoverer",
"All the Best", "Alligator.." and "..Honey" don't quite rock like the songs on the last album, but certainly are more upbeat than the early 90's
stuff. Sort of like "Imitation of Life", but less slick and definitely not overdone. "Oh, My Heart" might be the most aching song Stipe has ever
sung. I'm not sure if I'd pick "It Happened Today" as the best song, but it does have a lot of power. The only one I don't care for so much is
"Blue". You compare it to "CF" and "E-Bow..". but there's a big difference between those songs and this one - they aren't boring. And Stipe had
already done the spoken word thing a lot better with "Belong". Still, I have to admit that the phrase you pulled out ("20th Century/Collapse into
Now"), maybe, takes on extra significance. A unintentional metaphor for the end of the group?
Two strong final albums. It's too bad that this was it for them, but I think they figured out that they really had no new ideas, so it was time
to go. I'll miss them.
Bob
R E M Music on Jango
Chronic Town EP - 1981 IRS
A
(Very Good / Good)
*Murmur - 1983 IRS*
D
(Great / Very Good)
Reckoning - 1984 IRS
B
(Very Good)
Fables Of The Reconstruction - 1985 IRS
A
(Very Good / Good)
Lifes Rich Pageant - 1986 IRS
D
(Great / Very Good)
Dead Letter Office - IRS 1987
8
(Good / Mediocre)
Document - 1987 IRS
B
(Very Good)
Green - 1988 Warner Bros
8
(Good / Mediocre)
Out Of Time - 1991 Warner Bros
C
(Very Good / Great)
Automatic For The People - 1992 Warner Bros
B
(Very Good)
Monster - 1994 Warner Bros
5
(Mediocre / Bad)
New Adventures In Hi-Fi - 1996 Warner Bros
7
(Mediocre / Good)
2. New Adventures in Hi-fi (462 points)
3. Murmur (425 points)
4. Lifes Rich Pageant (421 points)
5. Fables of the Reconstruction (357 points)
6. Out of Time (355 points)
7. Reckoning (331 points)
8. Monster (320 points)
9. Up (298 points)
10. Green (288 points)
11. Document (262 points)
12. Collapse Into Now (256 points)
13. Accelerate (208 points)
14. Reveal (176 points)
15. Around the Sun (139 point)
New Adventures in hi-fi is second on the list of best album. I remember when this poll was done 5 years ago, it was number 1 even
topping AFTP. I'll just say that it's not considered abnormal for an REM fan to consider NAIHF to be their best album. It's
generally considered the underrated classic of their career (although funny enough, apart from Adrian Denning reviews, it received
mostly negative reviews from the internet reviewing community)
Up - 1998 Warner Bros
C
(Very Good / Great)
Reveal - 2001 Warner Bros
B
(Very Good)
Around The Sun - 2004 Warner Bros
7
(Mediocre / Good)
Accelerate - 2008 Warner Bros
A
(Very Good / Good)
Live At The Olympia - 2009 Warner Bros
C
(Very Good / Great)
Collapse Into Now - 2011 Warner Bros
B
(Very Good)
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