Up - R.E.M.

"Up" didn't sell as well as most of REM's other albums, and I don't know whether it was that the fans have gradually lost interest, lack of promotion, or what - I certainly never felt disappointed by the music itself when the album came out. And listening to it now, I still feel it's as good as many of their other releases. It has a seamless quality to it, and flows very well. There are also some moments of breathtaking brilliance on it - maybe not as many as on "Automatic for the People", but equally as many as on "New Adventures in Hi fi". Michael Stipe has said that the album "Up" is about ...  Read the complete review

Another REM album in the ninities and another experiment which is pulled off fantastically due to the ability of the band as musicians and in particular Michael Stipe as a lyricist and vocalist. After 'New Adventures In Hi Fi', REM continued to some degree the more soft, piano and almost orchestrial music which was present on the previous album. However, where as 'New Adventures...' was arguably too long and, with the exception of the excellent 'Electrolite', arguably fizzled out, 'Up' is at it's strongest during the second half of the album. In the first half of the album the outstanding tracks are 'Lotus' and 'At ...  Read the complete review

Everyone thought that REM would be finished after Bill Berry left the group after 'New adventures in hi-fi' had been released. Instead they came back even stronger with a drum machine, a group of extra musicians and a radical change in sound; the two previous albums were full of loud rock guitar, but on this album Mike Mills decided that he wanted to play piano instead of bass, and Peter Buck took over playing bass on a lot of the tracks. Therefore most of the tracks have very little or no guitar, and when it does appear it is distorted and effect laden to the point where you're not sure if it's a guitar or a synth, or there is gentle acoustic guitar on ...  Read the complete review

After the departure of long-time drummer Bill Berry, REM's first album as a three piece stands out as one of their greatest achievements to date, even against better known classics such as Automatic For The People (an album that we all know). With the departure of Berry it didn't come as a suprise to find that Up is different to the previous REM albums of Monster and New Adventures In Hi-Fi, which both had slanted toward the more rock sides of the athens band. No track on the album reveals this new experimentation more than the opener 'Airportman'. This song is so far removed from the more well known REM songs that I first had to look at the CD ...  Read the complete review

With their umpteenth album, REM had to try something new, as Bill Berry, drummer with the band, quit shortly before work on this album progressed. Obviously the REM sound had to change, as no permanent drummer took over, but this album seems to swerve from the electro- influenced rock to the trademark REM sound of beautiful ballads, rocky experiments and Micheal Stipe's heart wrenchingly subtle voice. The tracks on this album are the most diverse you'll ever hear on an REM album, starting with 'Airportman'- i don't really know what this is supposed to be, but it really doesn't work for me, with its little cheesy drum machine and big long ...  Read the complete review