I've been quiet for a while, which would be a problem if there was someone besides me who'd read any of these posts. But on the odd chance that there is one other soul out there that might stumble on this site, apologies. I guess I haven't had much happening lately that has inspired me to write a post, that is until April 1, 2008 came along.
For me, this is the day that REM returned from a LONG break. Between 1987 and 1996, I can honestly say that a cheesy statement like "REM helped write the soundtrack to my life" is true. The moment that I became an REM fan was a family vacation to Colorado during the summer of '88. I was a surly teenager, and had a walkman and two cassettes -- One was a copy of Warren Zevon's "Sentimental Hygiene" and the other had "Document" and "Life's Rich Pageant". (REM was basically Zevon's backing band on that album, so in my mind, it was kind of an REM album).
I don't really know why, but for some reason, I played the heck out of those two cassettes during that trip, and something just clicked with me. I'd actually had the Document/Pageant tape for several months, but had never really latched onto it until that summer. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place with "Green", which came out the next November, then a group of kids played "Driver 8" at the school talent show, many of my friends were jumping on the REM bandwagon -- so they were cool -- and I bought a copy of "Eponymous". From that point on, they were my favorite band, and I searched through the back catalog of albums and became more and more entranced. Their grip on my musical world started to loosen a bit with "Monster", which I loved at the time, but tired of quickly. "New Adventures in Hi Fi" has improved with time to reflect on it, but it just had a few too many tracks. Then Bill Berry left and the band sounded lost. He may have just been the drummer, but I think his other main role in the band was to be the glue between the different sensibilities that the other 3 guys brought to the band. Stipe does the weird stuff, Mills goes the bubble gum pop route and Buck just wants to rock. Berry, I think, was the guy that tempered all of that and streamlined it into what we all now consider the REM sound. "Up" and "Reveal" are albums that I liked, but never really loved no matter how much I wanted to. "Up" was too mellow to really stick with me, and with "Reveal", I just think they tried to hard to marry the classic REM sound with the electronic stuff they'd been exploring. "Around the Sun" isn't a bad album, either, and for the first couple of days after I first heard it, I kinda half remember thinking "They are back and this record is good". When I think about that record now, I think its more a case of I just don't care about it rather than dislike it. Now I've got my hands on "Accelerate", and I'm going to stop just a bit short of the whole "REM is back" thing. But, that said, this is a very good record, and easily the best record they've put out since Hi Fi, and maybe the best since Automatic. So, since I haven't had anything to say for such a long time, I am going to waste lots of time and space by reviewing the record track by track (too much time on my hands? Maybe.....)
1. Living Well Is the Best Revenge: One of the most "rocking" songs they've ever written. Its a tough to sit still when you listen to this one. Stipe sounds angry and pissed off, and I'm fairly certain this is basically a flip off to anything that has annoyed him in the days since "Around the Sun" came out -- people writing the band off, the war in Iraq, whatever. The thing that struck me immediately on this track was how good it sounds to have that classic Stipe/Mills vocal sound back.
2. Man Sized Wreath: Nice 2nd track. Not really anything Earth shattering, but it does get stuck in your head, and again emphasizes that the harmonies from Mills was an ingredient that was sorely missed over the last couple of albums.
3. Supernatural Superserious: Great choice for the first single. Its more REM-sounding than the first two tracks. It does seem a bit weird to hear guys in their late 40s singing about the "Teenage Station", but as you listen you kind get that they are trying to say you never lose that feeling completely no matter how old you get. If there is a track on this album that will be a hit song, this could easily be it.
4. Hollow Man: The first time I listened to this song, I cringed. After 3 up-tempo songs, here was a song that sounded all too much like the worst of Reveal and Around the Sun. But then the chorus kicks in and you relax. Its more of a classic REM song, too. Definitely one that will stay in your head after you hear it.
5. Houston: Yet another track that starts out like an REM classic. This one's about the evil government and the aftermath of Hurricaine Katrina. Its not a bad song. The keyboard they use takes a bit to get used to, and is the token "New REM meets old REM" facet to the song. I guess if you really want to split hairs you could say that this is a bit to obvious for REM given their history of political commentary, but its good to see they can still write a good, straightforward political tune.
6. Accelerate: I lump this one in with "I Took Your Name" from Monster and "Low Desert" from HiFi. Mid to up tempo minor key rocker, not bad in the context of an album, but kind of forgettable. Not bad, just nothing overly special. It sounds like the kind of song you've heard before from REM.
7. Until the Day is Done: This one, too, feels a bit like a retread. But a much more classic retread. You've got the 12 string acoustic, which leads into the jangly electric guitar. Typical Stipe lyrics. Again, its the kind of thing you feel like REM does without thinking by now, just like Imitation of Life on Reveal, most of Out of Time, etc. Not that its a bad thing.
8. Mr. Richards: Ok, we're back to the fuzzy guitars and a bit more angry. I like this song quite a bit. Its classic REM at points, but also sounds like a new direction for them. This is a dark horse to be a single if this ends up being a hit album and spawns more than the one single. But musically and lyrically, one of the best on the album.
9. Sing for the Submarine: This is the one track that still hasn't grown on me, so I'll call it this albums version of "Bang and Blame". The one thing that does stand out is that Stipe drops references to past songs such as Electron Blue and Feeling Gravity's Pull. This is the closest thing to a skip-worthy song that Accelerate has to offer.
10. Horse to Water: When Pearl Jam's "Vs." album came out many years ago, I remember reading that "Elderly Woman..." was one of the best REM songs of the year. Well, if PJ wrote a good REM tune, then to me this is REM returning the favor. Its got a very hard edge, and the song definitely rocks. This one should kill at a live show.
11. I'm Gonna DJ: The strangest song on the album, but a good closer. This one actually showed up on REM Live. It has also been stuck in my head since the day that I downloaded the album off of itunes. It's a bit unREM-like, but that's why I like it. A fitting closer to this album.
If you bought the album on iTunes, you may have the option to buy some extra tracks -- mainly live versions of a few of the better tracks on the CD, and a couple of b-sides: Redhead Walking and Airliner. The former is a 60's style number, while the latter is a wipe out like guitar romp. Neither are bad, but you can see why they didn't make the cut for the proper album. The live versions sound good, but not radically different from the single versions, so they are only really for the die hard fans like me who get a kick out of that kind of thing.
Overall impressions: I won't say their back, because this isn't in the same league as my favorites - Murmur and Life's Rich Pageant, or my next tier of discs like Automatic, Green and Out of Time. I'd put it as the logical continuation of the live set attitude from Hi Fi, a bit of the fuzz guitar mind set from Monster and the angry, political themed tunes from Document. Monster loses some luster the more time goes by, so I'd say they beat that one this time out, and bettered Hi Fi if only because at 34 minutes, its a very brief ride, and many of the songs struggle to get to 2 minutes.
If you were a fan back in the 80s and 90s when REM was on top of their game, this is a welcome addition to the catalog. I don't know that the "kids" will latch onto it. I think REM has become too uncool to ever have a U2 style resurgence, but if they've done a record since Berry left that could spawn a true hit single, this is it. It is a must have if you are a fan (even if you've been away for awhile), and worth a listen for non-fans. It will definitely be stuck on my playlist for a bit longer than the last few records.
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