R.E.M.. Reveal (2001)

Reveal is the twelfth album by the American band R.E.M., released in 2001 on Warner Bros.. After having adjusted to former drummer Bill Berry's departure and releasing Up to mixed response in 1998, R.E.M. released the more upbeat Reveal, which was co-produced with long-time collaborator Patrick McCarthy.

In 2002, R.E.M. allowed each track of the album to be remixed by different producers and members of the music industry. The resulting remix album, r.e.m.IX, is available as a free download from R.E.M.'s official website. In 2005, Warner Bros. Records issued an expanded two-disc edition of Reveal which includes a CD and a DVD, as well as the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes. The CD (as with all in this series) was not remastered.

The lead single, "Imitation of Life", became another UK Top 10 hit as well as their first number one single in Japan, but floundered at the bottom of the U.S. singles charts. Further singles from Reveal are "All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star)" and "I'll Take The Rain". Building on examples from earlier albums, "Beat A Drum", "Summer Turns To High" and "Beachball" are musical homages to The Beach Boys, of whom both Mike Mills and Peter Buck are major fans.

Track Listing

All songs by Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.

1. "The Lifting" – 4:39
2. "I've Been High" – 3:25
3. "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" – 4:43
4. "She Just Wants to Be" – 5:22
5. "Disappear" – 4:11
6. "Saturn Return" – 4:55
7. "Beat a Drum" – 4:21
8. "Imitation of Life" – 3:57
9. "Summer Turns to High" – 3:31
10. "Chorus and the Ring" – 4:31
11. "I'll Take the Rain" – 5:51
12. "Beachball" – 4:14

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R.E.M.. Accelerate (2008)

Accelerate is the fourteenth studio album by American band R.E.M., scheduled for release on April 1, 2008 in North America and a day earlier in Europe and the rest of the world (though dates will differ in some countries). Work commenced in early 2007, and the album title was revealed by the band in an issue of Q Magazine. Unlike R.E.M.'s three previous studio albums, which all featured Pat McCarthy on production duties, Accelerate was produced by Jacknife Lee. The first single from the new album, "Supernatural Superserious", was released on February 11, 2008.

In early 2007, after a hiatus following the release of Around the Sun and its subsequent tour, the band entered the studio again to start work on Accelerate along with touring members Bill Rieflin and Scott McCaughey. Keyboardist Ken Stringfellow was not involved in the recording of the album, and later confirmed in his blog that he will not be part of the band's upcoming tour, due to the more guitar-focused nature of the new material.

Between June 30 and July 5, 2007, R.E.M. embarked on a five-night residency at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin. In this series of shows–dubbed "working rehearsals" by the band, new material was tested in front of a live audience. Several brand-new songs were debuted (some of them still as works in progress) and older numbers were performed from their extensive back catalogue, eschewing their better-known hits.

The song "I'm Gonna DJ" had already been introduced on the 2004 Around the Sun tour, and it also appea
red on the R.E.M. Live album three years later.

Whereas Around the Sun had a lengthy recording process, Accelerate was recorded in nine weeks at Grouse Lodge, Ireland, and then mixed in London, England, in a mere ten days. Regarding the recording process, frontman Michael Stipe said: "we spent less time making this record than we have in 20 years".

Track Listing

1. "Living Well Is the Best Revenge" - 3:11
2. "Man-Sized Wreath" - 2:31
3. "Supernatural Superserious" - 3:23
4. "Hollow Man" - 2:39
5. "Houston" - 2:05
6. "Accelerate" - 3:33
7. "Until the Day Is Done" - 4:08
8. "Mr. Richards" - 3:46
9. "Sing for the Submarine" - 4:50
10. "Horse to Water" - 2:18
11. "I'm Gonna DJ" - 2:07

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R.E.M.. Monster (1994)

Monster is R.E.M.'s ninth album, and their fourth major label release for Warner Bros., released in 1994. It is their most guitar-heavy album to this day, with glam/70s rock and grunge influences. It is also very multi-layered, with references to projected images, both in the media and in personal identity, particularly in terms of sexuality.

Monster became a multi-platinum seller, and received critical acclaim by most critics, reaching #1 worldwide. There were several hits from the album, particularly "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?," "Strange Currencies," and "Bang and Blame."

The song "Let Me In" was written for Kurt Cobain, who died shortly after the sessions for Monster started. Michael Stipe said that the lyrics of the song were basically what he would tell Kurt over the phone. The song was recorded on Kurt Cobain's Jag-Stang.

"King of Comedy" is a heavily processed, electronic-sounding track; Peter Buck called it a "Leonard Cohen It had started out as a song called "Yes I Am Fucking With You". rip-off."

The caption in the liner notes reading "For River" is a dedication to late actor River Phoenix, a friend of Michael Stipe's, who died of a drug overdose of cocaine and heroin on 31 October 1993.

Track Listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.

1. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" – 4:00
2. "Crush with Eyeliner" – 4:39
3. "King of Comedy" – 3:40
4. "I Don't Sleep, I Dream" – 3:27
5. "Star 69" – 3:07
6. "Strange Currencies" – 3:52
7. "Tongue" – 4:13
8. "Bang and Blame"¹ – 5:30
9. "I Took Your Name" – 4:02
10. "Let Me In" – 3:28
11. "Circus Envy" – 4:15
12. "You" – 4:54

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R.E.M.. Around The Sun (2004)

Around the Sun is an album by R.E.M. released in 2004. It is the only R.E.M. album to have a title track.

"The Outsiders" features a guest appearance by rapper Q-Tip, recalling a similar appearance by KRS-One on "Radio Song" from their 1991 album Out of Time. When performed live, Michael Stipe carries out the rap, as he does on a later b-side release of the song.

"Final Straw" is a politically-charged song, reminiscent in tone to "World Leader Pretend" on Green. The version on the album is a re-recording of "Final Straw" which was made available as a free download in 2003 from the band's website, which the band wrote and made available in opposition to the US government's actions in the Iraq war of 2003.

Track Listing

All songs written by Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.

1. "Leaving New York" – 4:49
2. "Electron Blue" – 4:12
3. "The Outsiders" – 4:14
4. "Make It All Okay" – 3:43
5. "Final Straw" – 4:06
6. "I Wanted to Be Wrong" – 4:34
7. "Wanderlust" – 3:04
8. "Boy in the Well" – 5:22
9. "Aftermath" – 3:52
10. "High Speed Train" – 5:03
11. "The Worst Joke Ever" – 3:37
12. "The Ascent of Man" – 4:07
13. "Around the Sun" – 4:29

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R.E.M.. Automatic for the People (1992)

Automatic for the People is R.E.M.'s eighth album, and their third major label release for Warner Bros., released in 1992.

'Automatic for the People' continues the folk/country rock/classical pop elements of Green and Out of Time but with fewer pop elements and a generally more sombre tone overall. U2's Bono called it 'the greatest country record never made'.

The album name refers to the motto of Athens, Georgia eatery "Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods." The photograph on the front cover is not related to the restaurant: it shows a sign on a motel in Miami, where part of the album was recorded. The album was also recorded in New Orleans.

Arriving on the heels of the previous year's breakthrough album Out of Time, Automatic for the People the United States charts at #2, selling over four million copies there, and spent several weeks at #1 in the United Kingdom. As a consequence, R.E.M. was marketed alongside new acts such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam of the "alternative" sound, despite obvious differences in musical style between the older band and the newer ones. R.E.M.'s independent outlook, however, had inspired many of these alternative bands during the 1980s. Despite the new album's success, R.E.M. declined to tour in support of Automatic for the People, just as it had for Out of Time the previous year. entered as purveyors

Automatic for the People had six singles released, tied with Monster for the most from any R.E.M. album. Many of Automatic for the People's songs proved to be very popular: "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", "Everybody Hurts", "Nightswimming", "Find the River", and the Andy Kaufman tribute "Man on the Moon", which would become the title of the comedian's 1999 biographical movie starring Jim Carrey. "Drive", the album's opening track and first single, was not included on the band's hits collection In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003, nor was final single (and final track) "Find the River". However, four tracks from Automatic for the People were included, more songs than from any of their other albums.

John Paul Jones, formerly the bassist for Led Zeppelin, in his second career string arrangement, scored the strings for "Drive," "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite," "Everybody Hurts" and "Nightswimming."

It has been revealed that Kurt Cobain was likely listening to Automatic for the People sometime before his death on April 5, 1994. The song "Everybody Hurts" had in fact been composed by Michael Stipe (its music was written by Bill Berry) as a reaction to an epidemic of suicides among young people. Stipe, a friend of Cobain's, later wrote the song "Let Me In" about Cobain's death. It has been speculated that before his death, Cobain was looking to develop his own music in a more acoustic direction due partly to the influence of Automatic for the People and his contact with Stipe. Nirvana's 1993 unplugged performance later released on CD has been cited as evidence for this.

Track Listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.

1. "Drive" – 4:31
2. "Try Not to Breathe" – 3:50
3. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" – 4:06
4. "Everybody Hurts" – 5:17
5. "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" – 2:13
6. "Sweetness Follows" – 4:19
7. "Monty Got a Raw Deal" – 3:17
8. "Ignoreland" – 4:24
9. "Star Me Kitten" – 3:15
10. "Man on the Moon" – 5:13
11. "Nightswimming" – 4:16
12. "Find the River" – 3:50

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R.E.M.. Up (1998)

Up was their first album without drummer Bill Berry, who amicably left the group in October 1997 to pursue his own interests. In his place, R.E.M. would use session drummers or drum machines to fill the void.

Moving into electronica-influenced territory after delivering the challenging New Adventures in Hi-Fi in 1996, Up alienated – to some extent – both critics and fans of the band's 1980's work and casual listeners who were used to their more commercial early 1990s output. However, some saw it as one of their bravest and most sonically daring records to date, and the record was even cited by Radiohead, who would release their own largely electronic and highly acclaimed effort Kid A in 2000. Ending a ten year relationship with co-producer Scott Litt, R.E.M. engaged the production assistance of Pat McCarthy, who was assisted on most tracks of Up by engineer Nigel Godrich, Radiohead's producer.

With Berry's departure, the sessions for Up were indeed strained, with R.E.M. subsequently admitting that they came close to breaking up during its recording. Not surprisingly, the album is considered to have a laboured and melancholic feel to it. Many R.E.M. albums had made references to sleeping and dreaming but this was perhaps their most drowsy to date. In spite of the tension, "Daysleeper", which recalled Automatic for the People's "Try Not to Breathe" somewhat, became a Top 10 UK hit, and was followed by "Lotus", The Beach Boys-influenced "At My Most Beautiful" and "Suspicion", which is reminiscent of the song "Tongue" from their Monster album.

Breaking with a tradition that stretched back to their 1983 debut Murmur, Michael Stipe elected to have his complete lyrics included in Up's CD booklet, a practice Stipe has maintained on all subsequent R.E.M. releases.

Track Listing

All songs by Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe unless otherwise stated.

1. "Airportman" – 4:12
2. "Lotus" – 4:30
3. "Suspicion" – 5:36
4. "Hope" (Leonard Cohen, Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 5:02
5. "At My Most Beautiful" – 3:35
6. "The Apologist" – 4:30
7. "Sad Professor" – 4:01
8. "You're in the Air" – 5:22
9. "Walk Unafraid" – 4:31
10. "Why Not Smile" – 4:03
11. "Daysleeper" – 3:40
12. "Diminished" – 6:01
13. "Parakeet" – 4:09
14. "Falls to Climb" – 5:06

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