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R.E.M.
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Track List:
1. Leaving New York
2. Electron Blue
3. The Outsiders
4. Make It All Ok
5. Final Straw
6. I Wanted To Be Wrong
7. Wander Lust
8. The Boy In The Well
9. Aftermath
10. High Speed Train
11. Worst Joke Ever
12. The Ascent of Man
13. Around the Sun
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R.E.M. - Around The Sun
(Warner Brothers)
By Lou Friedman
Take a trip back in time to the early '80s when four young men from hip Athens, Georgia, came together and formed R.E.M. The quartet would soon spark a change in music by mixing indie with pop and mumbled lyrics with jangly guitars, creating an influential, cinematic style. From "Radio Free Europe" onward, Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe forged their way directly into the spotlight, while trying hard not to lose their religion in the process. R.E.M.'s songs were loaded with ambiguity, yet everyone pretty much knew what they were about — a balancing act that other bands of the era could only aspire to equal. Over the years, the group's musical work got stronger and more popular — so much so that they managed to escape the vitriol of indie fans when signing a long-term deal with Warner Brothers. R.E.M.'s first three albums for WB (Green, Out Of Time, and Automatic For The People) were huge sellers and boasted numerous hits. The next two albums (the glam-rock attempt Monster and the eclectic New Adventures In Hi-Fi) didn't fare as well. Shortly thereafter, Berry suffered an aneurysm while on tour in Japan and decided to quit the band after recovery, citing health concerns. After much soul searching, the remaining members carried on by releasing Up, which was anything but up. Reveal, the follow-up, seemed to have returned the group to prominence (a feeling further enhanced by two very good new songs on a greatest-hits package released in 2003). But not so fast…
Michael Stipe has referred to his band as a "three-legged dog" now that Berry has departed. Unfortunately, the outfit's 13th studio album and third as a trio, Around The Sun, fits that description as well. Instead of picking up momentum generated by Reveal and the new songs, all forward progress comes to a screeching halt on this release. Early on, R.E.M.'s sparse, simplistic approach to music making became its calling card and greatest asset. Around The Sun, on the other hand, has dense layers that make listening to it akin to eating an entire chocolate cake in one sitting, instead of taking a single slice. The songs are mostly slow and ponderous, and if the music doesn't kill you, the lyrics will. What was hyped at first as a political album turns out to be more about loneliness and isolation. Stipe has gone "first person" way too much on the new record, and it appears as if he's lost and singing without a lot of conviction. If this album has any soul, it's tough to hear buried under so many layers of unnecessary sounds.
First single "Leaving New York" is lush and melodic, and ends up being one of the few cuts that rise above the bloat that permeates the rest of the album. I'm guessing that most listeners would dismiss this track out of hand if it weren't the leadoff track. "Electron Blue" is soulless yet relatively sparse, and only that counterbalance makes it passable. The only other song of note here is "Final Straw," a politically ambiguous cut the band previewed to favorable response at several stops on its 2003 tour. Come to think of it, all of these tracks probably sound better live than in the studio, if only because the group is forced to strip away a lot of the veneer. Though most of the album is better served in concert, nothing can save "The Outsiders." Copping an earlier trick, Stipe brings in a rapper to help out. Last time, it was KRS-1 on the putrid "Radio Song"; this time, it's Q-Tip, but even he is unable to add anything that can salvage the song itself.
Overall, Around The Sun marks a complete regression for R.E.M. Even when Stipe, Mills, and Buck didn't hit the mark on earlier releases, they at least offered some compelling reasons to listen. There's very little positive to mention this time around. Hopefully, this doesn't signal the end of R.E.M.'s world as we knew it, because, if so, we don't feel fine. Instead of buying this record, go see R.E.M. in person. The songs sound much better when they're stripped down. Perhaps the band can learn a lesson for the next time they enter a studio: less is more.
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