The Reissue: Reveal 25th., Anniversary

R.E.M.'s 2001 album "Reveal" will be reissued in November for its 25th anniversary. The band’s 12th studio album spawned two hits in the UK, including the top 10 single "Imitation of Life" and "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)". 

Despite both singles offering demos, alternate versions of album tracks, live cuts and non-album B-sides (2JN, Yellow River, 165 Hillcrest) none of these are included on any format of the anniversary reissue, with bonus audio content reserved solely for The Black Sessions Revealed, a 2001 concert recorded for Radio France.

The formats are 2CD+blu-ray and 2LP vinyl of The Black Sessions Revealed. The album is also available on vinyl although availability seems limited (at least for now). The official R.E.M. store also has exclusive coloured vinyl versions of both. There is no word on remastering, which suggests the album hasn’t been remastered.

The 2CD+blu-ray edition features the album on CD 1, The Black Sessions Revealed on CD 2 and a blu-ray which includes the album in 5.1 Surround and hi-res stereo. Presumably these are the same mixes that were put out 21 years ago on the CD+DVD-A reissue.

Ignoring non-album material from singles already marks this reissue out as imperfect, but not bothering to embrace modern immersive audio and just trotting out a 21-year old 5.1 mix (admittedly, a good mix) does not cut the mustard. It’s not the end of the world as we know it, but it’s disappointing.

Reveal will be released on 20 November 2026 via Concord.

Reveal 25th., Anniversary 2CD+Blu-Ray Track List: 

CD 1: Reveal:

 

1. The Lifting

2. I’ve Been High

3. All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star)

4. She Just Wants To Be

5. Disappear

6. Saturn Return

7. Beat A Drum

8. Imitation Of Life

9. Summer Turns To High

10. Chorus And The Ring

11. I’ll Take The Rain

12. Beachball

 

CD 2: The Black Sessions Revealed

 

Recording made by RADIO FRANCE for The Black Sessions –7 May 2001

 

1. Imitation Of Life

2. The Great Beyond

3. What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?

4. All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star)

5. Daysleeper

6. I’ve Been High

7. Electrolite

8. The Lifting

9. At My Most Beautiful

10. I’ll Take The Rain

11. The One I Love

12. She Just Wants To Be

13. Walk Unafraid

14. Losing My Religion

15. Man On The Moon

16. So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)

17. Its the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

 

CD 3: Blu-ray

 

1. Hi-Resolution Audio

2. 5.1 Surround Sound

3. Imitation Of Life (music video)

4. All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star) (music video)

5. I’ll Take The Rain (music video)

6. Reveal EPK

Rocktrospectiva: The Great And Experimental "New Adventures In Hi-Fi" Turns 30

Released on 9 September 1996 in Europe and the following day in the United States, "New Adventures In Hi-Fi" was the 10th., studio album by the US alternative rock band R.E.M., the album was the band's final album recorded with founding drummer Bill Berry (who left the band amicably the following year), original manager Jefferson Holt, and longtime producer Scott Litt. The album spawned the singles "E-bow The Letter", "Bittersweet Me", "Electrolite" & "How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us"

The members of R.E.M. consider the recorded album representative of the band at their peak, and fans generally regard it as the band's last great record before a perceived artistic decline following Berry's departure. It has sold around seven million units, and has grown in cult status in the years after its release, with several retrospectives ranking it among the band's best work.

New Adventures in Hi-Fi was recorded during and after the band's 1995 tour in support of Monster. The material on the album mixed the acoustic country rock feel of Out of Time and Automatic for the People with the rock sound of Monster and Lifes Rich Pageant. The band cited Neil Young's 1973 album Time Fades Away as a source of inspiration. The album has been labeled as "folk rock-jangle" by critic Robert Christgau.

Mike Mills said: We got into the studio feeling very happy and relieved that everyone was okay, especially Bill. It brought us all much closer and made us realize how important we are to each other. Once we'd been through a crisis like that [Berry's collapse from a brain aneurysm on tour], making a record was a piece of cake. We discussed making an album of on-the-road stuff a year and a half before we went on the Monster tour. We wanted to get some of the looseness and spontaneity of a soundcheck, live show or dressing room. We used all the good songs. 

The band noted that they borrowed the recording process for the album from Radiohead, who had recorded some of the basic tracks for The Bends while on tour and who supported the band in 1994 and 1995. R.E.M. took eight-track recorders to capture their live performances, and used the recordings as the base elements for the album. As such, the band's touring musicians Nathan December and Scott McCaughey are featured throughout, with Andy Carlson contributing violin to "Electrolite".

After the tour was over, the band went into Seattle's Bad Animals Studio and recorded four additional tracks: "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us", "E-Bow the Letter", "Be Mine", and "New Test Leper". Patti Smith contributed vocals on "E-Bow the Letter". Mixing was finished at John Keane Studio in Athens and Louie's Clubhouse in Los Angeles, with mastering undertaken by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine.

The photograph used on the album cover was shot by Stipe along U.S. Route 95 in Nevada during a road trip to Georgia from Los Angeles. Other parts of the packaging were done by Chris Bilheimer.

Contemporary critical reaction to the album was mostly positive. Several publications lauded the album for its diversity and the sequence of songs and the range of emotions on New Adventures convey a narrative that has all the dynamics and contradictions of life itself. The album felt like it was recorded on the road. Not only are all of Michael Stipe's lyrics on the album about moving or travel, the sound is ragged and varied, pieced together from tapes recorded at shows, soundtracks, and studios, giving it a loose, careening charm." He considered it "one of [the band's] best records of the '90s." New Adventures in Hi-Fi is frontman Michael Stipe's favorite R.E.M. album, and he considers it the band at their peak. Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, who has cited R.E.M. as a major influence, called it his favorite R.E.M. album and "Electrolite" the band's greatest song.

 

New Adventures In Hi-Fi Track List:

 

1. How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us

2. The Wake-Up Bomb

3. New Test Leper

4. Undertow

5. E-Bow The Letter

6. Leave

7. Departure

8. Bittersweet Me

9. Be Mine

10. Binky The Doormat

11. Zither

12. So Fast, So Numb

13. Low Desert

14. Electrolite 

Rocktrospectiva: The Finest And Brilliant "Life's Rich Pageant" Turns 40

 

Released on 28 July 1986 "Life's Rich Pageant" was the 4th., studio album by the US alternative rock band R.E.M., produced by Don Gehman and recorded at John Mellencamp's Belmont Mall Studio in Belmont, Indiana. This was the only album the band recorded with Gehman, who moved them from the more obscure and dense sound of their earlier albums to an accessible, hard rock-influenced quality. The album spawned two singles "Fall On Me" & "Superman."

During the first half of 1986, the band took a break from touring to recover energy. They wanted to make a change from the sound of their previous album, with Mills saying "We wanted to get away from the sort of murky feelings and sounds that we got out of Joe Boyd, producer on Fables of the Reconstruction] in London". They wanted a "really hard-driving record, but we also like to throw in a lot of things: pianos and organs and accordions and banjos and what-not" and considered working with Gehman as they liked the acoustic sound of his work with John Mellencamp.  They initially met for a number of demo sessions at John Keane's Studio in Athens, Georgia, in January & March 1986 (These recordings would later be released as the "Athens Demos" on the 25th-anniversary re-release of the album). After being initially skeptical, they embraced the new recording process with Gehman 

Recorded at Mellencamp's Belmont Mall Recording Studio in Belmont, Indiana, in April and May 1986. The recording studio was larger and had newer technology than they were used to, and they enjoyed the area, attending many concerts in nearby Bloomington while there. The band were also happy with the production of the record and the extra clarity of the vocals 

The album's title was inspired by a line spoken by Inspector Clouseau in the 1964 film "A Shot in the Dark." The cover art features an image of drummer Bill Berry and a bison below, alluding to the album's environmental theme and referencing Buffalo Bill. By then, the band's fame was already transcending the boundaries of college rock, so a new recording was needed to propel them into a more mainstream sound, and indeed, the gamble paid off, as the production allowed the album to reach gold status, peaking at No. 21 and becoming, at the time, the band's best-selling and most successful album. 

Two singles were released from the album: the powerful and ecologically charged "Fall On Me," a favorite of Stipe and myself, and "Superman," sung by Mike Mills. But other tracks also appeared, which curiously became unofficial singles: the equally powerful and socially and ecologically charged "Cuyahoga," about the highly polluted river that flows into Lake Erie, referencing the times the river caught fire due to the high levels of pollution; and "Flowers of Guatemala," which, it is said, alluded to the genocide in that country during the armed conflict. 

Praised by many critics who highlighted the band as brilliant and unconventional with a promising future. They emphasized the dark folk sound of its predecessor, "Fables of Reconstruction," but noted its much more dynamic and upbeat sound. While some cited a lack of progress in the band's sonic evolution, this was of little consequence, as the band was at the zenith of its career and everything from then on would run smoothly, thanks to the outstanding work of Don Gehman, who definitively made the band sound much more open and unmasked. 

 

Life's Rich Pageant Track List:  

 

1. Begin The Begin

2. These Days

3. Fall On Me

4. Cuyahoga

5. Hyena

6. Underneath The Bunker

7. The Flowers Of Guatemala

8. I Believe

9. What If We Give It Away?

10. Just A Touch

11. Swan Swan H

12. Superman 

Rocktrospectiva: The Return To Form And Consistent "Reveal" Turns 25

Released on 14 May 2001 "Reveal" was the 12th., studio album by US rock band R.E.M., it was the second of three albums by the band to be produced with Pat McCarthy. It was R.E.M.'s second album as a three-piece following the departure of drummer Bill Berry and includes contributions from the band's touring members Joey Waronker, Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow. The album saw R.E.M. continue to experiment with electronic music as they had on their previous album Up (1998), utilizing keyboards and drum machines, while also retaining elements of their earlier sound. 

Reveal was a critical and commercial success. The album reached the top 10 in the United States while topping the charts in the UK and throughout mainland Europe. Three singles were released: "Imitation of Life," "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" and "I'll Take the Rain"—with the former reaching the top 10 throughout Europe. Reviews were generally positive, with many highlighting the album's melodic nature and combination of R.E.M.'s classic sound with electronic elements. The band did not tour in support of the album, with promotion consisting mainly of television appearances, music videos, and a number of free concerts within major cities.

Back in 1998, R.E.M. released Up, their eleventh studio album and first without drummer Bill Berry. While not as commercially successful as previous albums, it still sold well and spawned the hit singles "Daysleeper" and "At My Most Beautiful". The recording of Up was a troubled process, due in no small part to Berry's absence, and the band almost disbanded as a result. Stipe has said of the album's mixing process: "when we were mixing Up, we decided that it was all over. That record broke up the group."^[

After mixing for Up had completed, manager Bertis Downs organized a week-long meeting in Idaho in an effort to keep the band intact. Described as a "self-administered group therapy session" in Reveal: The Story of R.E.M. by Johnny Black, the band recognized the changes and struggles caused by Berry's absence and their reaction to his departure, while also deciding they wanted to continue as a band.

In February 2000, R.E.M. began rehearsals at West Clayton Street in Athens in preparation for a new album, with further rehearsals occurring in March at Royaltone Studios in Hollywood. The band began recording the basic tracks for the record in May, choosing Vancouver for the location due to its proximity to Seattle, where both guitarist Peter Buck and McCaughey lived. Additionally, for the recording process, Stipe wanted to work outside the United States, both because he felt the album would be "more at home away from home" and to avoid writer's block, which had previously plagued him during the writing of Up. While in Vancouver, the band laid down tracks for more than 20 songs, with some being described by the band as "embryonic" and others being "fully-realized."

In June, Buck left for Seattle, leaving Stipe to complete lyrics. While writing, Stipe would travel to prevent writer's block from reoccurring, which he has credited with helping him complete "All the Way to Reno" and "Disappear". The band reformed in July at West Clayton Street to continue work. The bulk of the album was recorded between August and October at Dalkey Lodge in Ireland with Pat McCarthy returning as producer. String parts, arranged by Johnny Tate, were recorded on October 3–4, 2000 at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, while the final recording sessions were done at John Keane Studios in Athens.

Mills stated that while recording Reveal, the band made an effort to use synthesizers to create sounds which possibly "hadn't been heard before" and which were not made with the natural patches built into the synthesizers. While Stipe's intention during the sessions was "to be really melodic", Stringfellow would be asked to create a more dissonant, experimental counterpoint. The members of R.E.M. were particularly enthusiastic about Stringfellow's contributions: "The more off into my own personal vision of the deep end, the more they liked it," Stringfellow stated in Perfect Circle: The Story of R.E.M. by Tony Fletcher. "All sorts of messed up crazy distorted things run through pedals, they were loving that." Waronker noted that Buck's demos would frequently already feature fully-fledged drum parts programmed with drum machines, causing him to focus on "what not to play" or how to add to these programmed parts which stood on their own. After tracks were recorded, Buck would frequently bring tapes to his Seattle home and record overdubs by night.

Once recording was complete, Stipe compared the process favorably to that of Up, calling it "remarkably happy" and stating the band had "become acclimated to new conditions and potentials." McCaughey echoed this, speaking fondly of the experience recording in Vancouver for its relaxed environment and the atmosphere in the studio. McCaughey noted that since Stipe already had some of the lyrics while songs were being recorded, the band would track with his vocals, which he credited with causing the Reveal sessions to feel more like a "real band" working in the studio as opposed to those for the previous album.

Reveal features a meld of electronic and live instrumentation, with the material being more melodic and accessible than on Up. The album has generally been regarded as a more optimistic and upbeat album compared to its predecessor. Buck has described the sound of Reveal as "warm and layered and analogue" while also having "a distance and breath to it that's modern and complete and liberating... like a beautiful vacuum." Stipe intended for Reveal to be a "summer record", which Fletcher notes is displayed in song titles such as "I'll Take the Rain", "Beachball", and "Summer Turns to High". Additionally, Stipe utilizes a more relaxed singing style throughout.

The album was split in two section "Chorus Side" the album's opener "The Lifting" was written as a prequel to "Daysleeper," and features the same character. David Buckley, author of R.E.M Fiction: An Alternative Biography, states that the song references psychic and spiritual healing programs while relating to themes of self-improvement and self-help. The song includes a guitar solo in which Buck uses an e-bow, while Buckley compares its "mantric" drum figure to that of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows". The final version of "The Lifting" is a "funkier" arrangement devised by the band after its earlier arrangement was deemed too similar to "All the Way to Reno." Johnny Black lists "I've Been High" among the album's "gorgeously atmospheric ballads" while Buckley considers it to be "solemn, stately and emotional," with "subtle dance textures and beats" beneath Stipe's vocal. Stringfellow considered the song to be the "masterwork" of the record, as he felt it "push[ed] the boundary of what defines [R.E.M.] musically." For "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)," Stipe wrote lyrics from the point of view of, according to Buckley, "an aspirant female on the road to fame." Buck has noted an "ironic" element to the lyrics. Black considers the song one of R.E.M.'s "most lush and blatantly commercial pieces of work," while Buckley noted its "echoes of old-style R.E.M. rootsiness."

"She Just Wants to Be" started with "organic" instrumentation such as acoustic guitar, and ended with "computer-driven synth strings" intertwined with traditional orchestration. "Disappear" begins with an acoustic intro similar to the band's earlier song "Swan Swan H" (1986), while its verses contain a "Nick Cave-style tension". The song was inspired by Stipe's trip to Israel, while Buck has called it a song about "self-effacement." During the trip, Stipe attended a rave in Tel Aviv, in which a fan asked what he was doing there; his response was "I came to disappear. "Buckley considers "Saturn Return" to be the "oddest" track on Reveal, as well as "the creepiest track R.E.M. ever cut." During the demo session which spawned the song, Buck encouraged the other musicians to find "the weirdest sound on [their] instrument that [they could] possibly imagine."

The Ring side started with "Beat A Drum" as one of multiple songs from Reveal to earn comparisons to the Beach Boys. Buckley considers the track to be the only other likely single choice on the album after from "Imitation of Life" (though the former did not receive a single release), crediting its "beautiful" melody by Mills. "Imitation of Life" takes its title from the 1959 Douglas Sirk film of the same name, as the band found it to be a "perfect metaphor for adolescence. "Summer Turns to High" was another Beach Boys-influenced track. After hearing the original version of the song, which had an "Irish feel" utilizing acoustic guitars and accordions, Stipe liked it but found it to be too busy, and so it was re-arranged to consist of just drums, bass, and a single keyboard with Stipe's vocal melody, which "pushed it completely out to left field." I'll Take the Rain" as "humble offering with an acoustic structure deftly adorned with orchestral strings and Ken Stringfellow’s keys." the song "pairs self-empowering but melancholic lyrics with optimistic instrumentation and vocals." "Beachball", the closing track, contained live strings in the verses and synth strings in chorus.

Reveal was received positively by critics and praised the album as extraordinary. The album, the band "settles into a convincing identity as a trio." He laments what he feels to be a lack of new territory for the band, with the exception of "Saturn Return", which "gently evoke[s] the spirit of Brian Eno." However, he also notes the band could "knock together a heartrending anthem out of next to nothing." Retrospectively, the album has continued to receive positive reviews and considered as possibly "the most underrated album in [R.E.M.'s] hallowed catalogue." 

 

Reveal Track List:  

Chorus side

 

1. The Lifting

2. I've Been High

3. All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star)

4. She Just Wants To Be

5. Disappear

6. Saturn Return

 

Ring Side

 

7. Beat A Drum

8. Imitation Of Life

9. Summer Turns To High

10. Chorus And The Ring

11. I'll Take The Rain

12. Beachball 

Rocktrospectiva: The Groundbreaking Masterpiece "Out Of Time" Turns 35

Released on 12 March 1991 "Out Of Time" was the 7th., studio album by US alternative rock band R.E.M. With Out of Time, R.E.M.'s status grew from that of a cult band to a massive international act. The record topped the album sales charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom, spending 109 weeks on U.S. album charts, with two separate spells at the top, and spending 183 weeks on the British charts, including one week at the top. The album spawned four singles "Losing My Religion", "Shinning Happy People", "Near Wild Heaven", & "Radio Song".

Out of Time combined elements of pop, folk and classical music heard on the band's previous album, Green, with a new concentration on country elements that would continue on 1992's Automatic for the People. It featured guest appearances by KRS-One and Kate Pierson from The B-52's.

The release of the album was preceded by the release of "Losing My Religion", which became R.E.M.'s biggest U.S. hit, Out of Time gave them their first U.S. and UK No. 1 album. The band did not tour to support the release, although they did make occasional appearances on television or at festivals. 

The album first part called Time Side opened with "Radio Song" featuring KRS-One which begans with a spoken-word introduction by KRS-One of Boogie Down Productions, rather than with instrumentation or vocals from the band. This marked a departure from the group's typical introductions, which often feature Bill Berry's drumming, Peter Buck's guitar, Mike Mills' bass, or Michael Stipe's vocals. The inclusion of KRS-One, who expanded his contribution beyond what was originally requested, is cited by members of the band as a significant factor in the track's development. Berry noted that the song, while built on a strong groove, lacked impact prior to the addition of KRS-One's performance. The song's lyrics addressed radio programming practices, specifically the repetition of formulaic content. Although the tone of the lyrics includes critique, Stipe later stated that the intent was partly humorous and self-referential. Then the massive worldwide hit "Losing My Religion" emerged from an initial idea by Buck. He experimented with a mandolin while drinking beer and watching a baseball game, recording the result on a boom box. During rehearsals, the band worked on this initial idea, with Berry initially playing bass before switching to drums. The song developed into a full band arrangement, with Buck on mandolin and electric octave guitar, Mills on bass and keyboard strings, Berry on drums and percussion, and Holsapple on acoustic guitar. The strings, arranged by Bingham and Mills, were performed by members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Soundscape Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, in October 1990.

Despite its title, the song does not reference religion in a literal sense. According to Stipe, the phrase "losing my religion" is a Southern expression meaning to be at the end of one's patience or composure. Stipe described the song as secular and categorized it as an "obsession song". The origins of the phrase were initially met with skepticism by Buck, who considered it potentially a fabrication.  "Low" was characterized by a subdued and somber tone. The composition centers on Mills' organ part, described as reminiscent of a funeral parlor, which serves as the song's primary melodic and atmospheric foundation. The recording features contributions from all members of the band: Berry played congas, Buck handled guitar, and Holsapple provided the bass part. The arrangement is augmented by a bass clarinet performance from Jordan and another string arrangement conducted by Bingham. Lyrically, "Low" includes a critique of conventional love songs. Stipe expressed a longstanding aversion to love songs, describing them as "horrible and manipulative". 

Near Wild Heaven" featured Mills as the primary vocalist, one of only two such instances on the album. According to Buck, the track functions as a duet between Mills and Stipe, with both contributing to the lyrics. The song exhibited a strong influence from the Beach Boys. Buck cited the release of Capitol Records' Beach Boys reissues during the Out of Time recording sessions, specifically the Smiley Smile and Wild Honey editions, as a factor in shaping the track's direction. "Endgame" was an instrumental composition characterized by orchestral textures and minimal vocal elements. Although the piece includes "la la la" vocalizations by Stipe, it does not contain lyrics. According to Buck, the track was originally conceived as "End Title Sequence," intended to evoke the feeling of a film's closing credits. Stipe described the mental imagery associated with the piece as that of Buck seated on a large stage, surrounded by classically trained musicians, with his guitar playing integrated into a broader orchestral context. 

The Time side opened with "Shiny Happy People" marked R.E.M.'s first collaboration with Kate Pierson of the B-52s. The song, which featured Pierson on guest vocals, was described by Stipe as an "abortion", while Mills characterized working with Pierson as a highlight. According to Mills, although the band was familiar with Pierson and her work, they had not collaborated with her prior to this recording. Stipe also expressed admiration for her, referring to her as "probably my favorite female singer". Stipe, offered a contrasting interpretation, at one point describing "Shiny Happy People" as a sincere composition and "the happiest song" he had written. He cited its lyrical sounds, particularly the abundance of "E" vowels, as contributing to its upbeat tone. "Belong" drawed structural and stylistic influence from the earlier R.E.M. recording "Voice of Harold", a reinterpretation of "7 Chinese Bros" featuring Stipe reading gospel liner notes in place of the original lyrics. While "Voice of Harold" was conceived as a humorous outtake, "Belong" employs a similar spoken-word vocal approach in a more serious context. Stipe's vocals in the song were not recorded in a professional studio but rather on a Walkman in a garage. Unsatisfied with the clarity of the initial studio recordings, he opted for a more ambient approach. "It was too clear, it was too studio", he said during a Rockline interview. Borrowing producer Litt's Walkman, Stipe recorded his vocal part in the garage of a rental home. He described the acoustics of the three-car garage, where he noted the presence of a large tank of unidentified gas, as providing the ideal reverberation for the track. The song's arrangement prominently features background vocals by Mills and Berry. 

"Half a World Away" continued the album's "bittersweet tone". The composition features a blend of organ, acoustic guitar, and mandolin, with Stipe beginning the song with the line, "This could be the saddest dusk I've ever seen." In live performances, Stipe has introduced the song by stating, "This may well be the saddest song ever written." The musical arrangement reflects influences drawn from Buck's experiences outside of R.E.M. at the time. Although the lyrics appear to express longing, Stipe has stated that the narrative of the song is entirely fictional. "Texarkana" featured a notable shift in vocal duties within R.E.M., with Mills performing lead vocals while Stipe provides background vocals. The title of the song references Texarkana, a city straddling the border between Texas and Arkansas with separate municipal governments in each state. However, the lyrics of the song make no reference to the city, and the content is unrelated to its name. According to Buck, Stipe initially began writing a song that included the name Texarkana in its working title but was unable to complete it. 

"Country Feedback" was developed in a spontaneous and informal manner during early recording sessions. According to Buck, the song originated without a predetermined structure. Buck entered the studio with a four-chord progression, which he recorded while Berry played bass.  Stipe's lyrical approach to "Country Feedback" involved a stream-of-consciousness technique that he described as "projectile vomiting". Buck recalled that Stipe arrived the following day and delivered the vocal part without written lyrics, using only two small drawings as reference—an Indian head and an arrow. The vocal delivery was largely improvised, and the band offered limited input or revision. The lyrics convey a sense of emotional turmoil, and Stipe characterized the song as a desperate expression focused on the end of a relationship. He referred to it as a love song told from what he described as the "uglier side." Buck, reflecting on Stipe's performance, considered the lyrics to be authentic to Stipe's mindset at the time of recording. "Me in Honey" originated from a minimal musical idea built around a single chord. According to Buck, the foundation of the song was a one-chord riff that Mills played once. Buck added a guitar line over it, and Berry contributed a drum pattern. The initial idea, which was approximately 30 seconds long, was placed at the end of a cassette containing five other tracks. Stipe then developed the lyrics by writing and revising lines on paper. Buck expressed surprise at the lyrical depth Stipe derived from a single-chord idea. Thematically, Stipe has described "Me in Honey" as a response to 10,000 Maniacs' "Eat For Two", written by his friend Natalie Merchant. He characterized the song as presenting a male perspective on pregnancy, involving conflicting emotions. 

The album received mostly positive reviews on release. Critics offered varied perspectives on the album, highlighting its experimentation and emotional depth. Some described the album as "a song cycle of love songs that sound intimate even in the wide open spaces of the arrangements". Others agreed, highlighting Stipe's vocals and the harmony singing while describing the album as a "brooding departure [that] offers them at their most reflective, challenging and intriguing". Out of Time was one of R.E.M.'s more successful albums in terms of awards and nominations. It was their only album to win a Grammy Award, for Best Alternative Music Album. It also won the Q Award for Best Album of 1991. 

 

Out Of Time Track List:  

 

Time Side 

1. Radio Song

2. Losing My Religion

3. Low

4. Near Wild Heaven

5. Endgame

 

Memory Side

1. Shiny Happy Peope

2. Belong

3. Half A World Away

4. Texarkana

5. Country Feedback

6. Me In Honey

Rocktrospectiva: R.E.M.'s Final Album "Collapse Into Now" Turns 15

Released on 7 March 1991 "Collapse Into Now" was the 15th., and final studio album by US alternative rock band R.E.M. Produced by Jacknife Lee, who previously worked with the band on Accelerate (2008), the album was preceded by the singles "It Happened Today", "Mine Smell Like Honey", "Überlin" and "Oh My Heart".

Regarding the album's title, lead singer Michael Stipe noted, "It's the final thing I sing, the last song on the record before the record goes into a coda and reprises the first song. In my head, it's was like I'm addressing a nine-year-old and I'm saying, 'I come from a faraway place called the 20th century. And these are the values and these are the mistakes we've made and these are the triumphs. These are the things that we held in the highest esteem. These are the things to learn from."

The band did not tour to support the album and therefore never performed any of the songs in concert, although Michael Stipe did play "Every Day Is Yours to Win" without R.E.M. for the Tibethouse Annual Benefit Concert.

In 2008, while touring in support of Accelerate, R.E.M. discussed the possibility of ending the band in the near future. Entering the studio with producer Jacknife Lee, the band began recording a final studio album, with the intention of "going out on a high note." Regarding these initial discussions, bassist Mike Mills stated, "We knew we had some decisions to make regarding our contract with Warner Bros. We had to make some decision about how to continue going forward as a recording unit, and if we still wanted to tour together. Oddly enough, I think that independently, we all arrived at the conclusion that this was such a great opportunity to walk away on our own terms, that we thought, 'Why not take advantage of it?'" Buck later would state that the final decision to end the band came when Stipe remarked that "I need to be away from this for a long time." Buck suggested "How about forever?" and they thus decided to break up.

Collapse into Now was recorded in four different cities: Berlin, Germany; Nashville, Tennessee; and New Orleans, Louisiana, with demoing taking place at Jackpot Studios in Portland, Oregon. Regarding the recording process, and the fact that it marked the conception of their final studio album, Mills noted, "We tried to enjoy it as much as possible and make it as fun as possible, but we’re not super-sentimental people in that sense. The only time we got really poignant was when we were working in Berlin, and they have a beautiful room there, Meistersaal, where we recorded seven or eight songs. There was no one there really except some friends, family, and significant others, and we knew that was probably the last time we would ever play together as R.E.M. That was a pretty fraught day. But it was fun."

In comparing the record to the band's previous release, Accelerate, Mills noted that the band, "wanted this new one to be more expansive. We wanted to put more variety into it and not limit ourselves to any one type of song. There are some really slow, beautiful songs; there are some nice, mid-tempo ones; and then there are three or four rockers." He has spoken about the album's theme, saying: "It's more of a personal record than a political one. Current events do come into our mind when we write, but the themes here are more universal." The album had guest appearances by Patti Smith, Eddie Vedder, Peaches, Lenny Kaye, and Joel Gibb.

According to Michael Stipe, the album contains "one of the only autobiographical songs of my entire career as a songwriter, in the opening track, 'Discoverer'. It's a song of discovery. It's about realizing that the city offers you this unbelievable potential and opportunity; all the things you are looking for in your teens and your twenties. That's what New York offered me."

To promote the album, the band released music videos for each song on the album, featuring directors such as James Franco, Sam Taylor-Wood, Jim Herbert, and lead singer Michael Stipe. Stipe notes that: "The idea was to present a 21st-century version of an album. What does an album mean in the year 2011, especially to generations of people for whom the word album is an archaic term? An album for me as a teenager in the '70s was a fully formed concept. It was a body of work from an artist I liked or trusted or who excited me..[...] I wanted to present an idea of what an album could be in the age of YouTube and the Internet.

During promotion, the band stated that it had no intention of touring to support the album, with Peter Buck citing in an interview with NME that "it does seem like we've toured a lot in the last eight or ten years. To some degree it felt like we'd just been doing kind of the same thing we did last time. You just don't really want to repeat yourself in that way." He also stated that touring doesn't help album sales and concluded, "It seems like less and less people are buying albums, so do what you want."

Complying with their resolution of not engaging in a new tour, R.E.M. officially disbanded as a group in September 2011, six months after the album was released.

Collapse into Now received "generally favorable reviews" by saying that this album is host to more such complexity than anything since 1998's Up, but Collapse Into Now still sounds like the work of a band caught between old habits and new adventures." Others called the album as mostly sounded like a familiar friend—reliable in all the best ways, but still capable of quietly insinuating surprises.

 

Collapse Into Now Track List:  

 

X-axis

1. Discoverer

2. All The Best

3. Überlin

4. Oh My Heart

5. It Happened Today

6. Every Day Is Yours To Win

 

Y-axis

7. Mine Smells Like Honey

8. Walk It Back

9. Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter

10. That Someone Is You

11. Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando And I

12. Blue 

Rocktrospectiva: R.E.M.s Breakthrough Single "Losing My Religion" Turns 35

Released on 19 February 1991 "Losing My Religion" was the first single from R.E.M.'s 7th., studio album "Out Of Time". It developed from a mandolin riff improvised by the guitarist, Peter Buck. The lyrics, written by the singer, Michael Stipe, concern disillusionment and unrequited love.

"Losing My Religion" was R.E.M.'s highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and expanding their popularity. Its music video, directed by Tarsem Singh, features religious imagery. At the 1992 Grammy Awards, "Losing My Religion" won Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Its video won awards for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Art Direction, Best Direction, and Best Editing at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017.

The R.E.M. guitarist, Peter Buck, wrote the main riff and chorus for "Losing My Religion" on a mandolin. He had recently bought it and was learning how to play, recording as he practiced while watching television. Buck said that "when I listened back to it the next day, there was a bunch of stuff that was really just me learning how to play mandolin, and then there's what became 'Losing My Religion', and then a whole bunch more of me learning to play the mandolin". He said he likely would not have written the chord progression in the same way had he not played it on mandolin.

In July 1990, R.E.M. recorded a demo version with the working title "Sugar Cane" in a studio in Athens, Georgia, featuring banjo and Hammond organ. Mike Mills wrote a bassline inspired by the Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie. The final version was recorded in September at Bearsville Studio A in Woodstock, New York.

Finding the song lacked midrange between the bass and mandolin, R.E.M. enlisted the touring guitarist Peter Holsapple on acoustic guitar. Buck said, "It was really cool: Peter and I would be in our little booth, sweating away, and Bill and Mike would be out there in the other room going at it. It just had a really magical feel." Michael Stipe recorded his vocals in a single take. The strings, arranged by Mark Bingham, were performed by members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Soundscape Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, in October 1990.

The lyrics of "Losing My Religion" were based on Buck's mandolin part. Buck said, "The verses are the kinds of things R.E.M. uses a lot, going from one minor to another, kind [of] like those 'Driver 8' chords. You can't really say anything bad about E minor, A minor, D, and G ... We are trying to get away from those kind of songs, but like I said before, those are some good chords.#  He felt "Losing My Religion" was the most "typical" R.E.M. song on the album. The song is in natural minor. 

 

The title phrase is an expression from the Southern United States that means "losing one's temper or civility" or "feeling frustrated and desperate". Stipe said the song was about romantic expression and unrequited love. The lines "That's me in the corner / That's me in the spotlight" were originally "That's me in the corner / That's me in the kitchen", describing a person at a social event too shy to approach the person they like. Stipe compared the theme to "Every Breath You Take" by the Police, saying, "It's just a classic obsession pop song. I've always felt the best kinds of songs are the ones where anybody can listen to it, put themselves in it and say, 'Yeah, that's me.'"

The music video for "Losing My Religion" was directed by the Indian filmmaker Tarsem Singh. Unlike previous R.E.M. videos, Stipe agreed to lip-sync the lyrics. The video begins inside a dark room where water drips from an open window. Recreating a scene from the Andrei Tarkovsky film The Sacrifice, Buck, Berry, and Mills run across the room while Stipe remains seated as a pitcher of milk drops from the windowsill and shatters.

The video originated as a combination of ideas envisioned by Stipe and Singh. Stipe wanted a straightforward performance video, akin to Sinéad O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U". Singh wanted to create a video in the style of a certain type of Indian filmmaking, where everything would be "melodramatic and very dreamlike", according to Stipe. Singh said the video was modeled after the Gabriel García Márquez short story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings", in which an angel crashes into a town and the villagers have varied reactions to him. He also drew inspiration from the Italian painter Caravaggio, and the video uses religious imagery such as Saint Sebastian, the Biblical episode of the Incredulity of Thomas, and Hindu deities, portrayed in a series of tableaux.

The "Losing My Religion" video was nominated in nine categories at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards and won for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Art Direction, Best Direction, and Best Editing.

"Losing My Religion" was released on February 19, 1991, in the United States as the lead single from R.E.M.'s album Out of Time. Their record label, Warner Bros., was wary of the choice of lead single. Steven Baker, then the vice president of product management., said there were "long, drawn-out discussions" about releasing such an "unconventional track" as the single until the label agreed.

R.E.M. did not tour to promote Out of Time, but visited radio stations, gave press interviews and made television appearances. On November 10, 1991, R.E.M. performed "Losing My Religion" with members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the tenth anniversary of MTV. It was recorded at the Madison Morgan Cultural Centre in Madison, Georgia, about 20 miles south of Athens.

Warner Bros. worked to establish "Losing My Religion" at campus, modern rock, and album-oriented rock radio stations before promoting it to American Top 40 stations, where it became a success and became R.E.M.'s biggest hit in the US, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed on the chart for 21 weeks. It topped the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for three weeks and the Modern Rock Tracks chart for eight weeks, the best performance of any R.E.M. song on either chart. It reached number 19 on the UK singles chart, No. 16 in Canada and No. 11 in Australia.

With "Losing My Religion", R.E.M. crossed over into mainstream pop culture. Asked if he was worried the success might alienate older fans, Buck told Rolling Stone, "The people that changed their minds because of 'Losing My Religion' can just kiss my ass." Mills said R.E.M. understood they had a worldwide hit when they heard it on local radio in the jungle of Paraguay. Years later, Mills said: "Without 'Losing My Religion', Out of Time would have sold two or three million [copies], instead of the ten [million copies] or so it did. But the phenomenon that is a worldwide hit is an odd thing to behold. Basically that record was a hit in almost every civilised country in the world."

Critics said: This was R.E.M. at their most tender and unsettling, Stipe's careworn voice filled with inexplicable sadness, but as warm and familiar as ever." R.E.M. had returned to its "trademark jangle", and that "Stipe touches again on what seems to be ambivalence about his role as a pop star, and about the need to communicate with an audience".

 

Losing My Religion Track Listing: 

 

7-inch

 

1. Losing My Religion

2. Rotary Eleven

 

12-inch and CD

 

1. Losing My Religion

2. Rotary Eleven

3. After Hours 

 

UK Collector's Edition CD one: 

 

1. Losing My Religion

2. Stand

3. Turn You Inside-Out (Live)

4. Wolrd Leader Pretend (Live)

 

UK Collector's Edition CD two: 

 

1. Losing My Religion

2. Fretless

3. Losing My Religion (live acoustic version/rockline)

4. Rotary Eleven   

News: R.E.M. Releases Limited Edition "Radio Free Europe 2025" At Independent Record Stores

Following the announcement of Radio Free Europe 2025, a five-track benefit EP celebrating the 75th anniversary of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), R.E.M. celebrates the official arrival of their limited-edition ten-inch orange vinyl, available now exclusively at independent record stores and REMHQ.com. 

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was established by the United States 75 years ago and currently broadcasts news and information in 27 languages to 23 countries where a free press is either banned by the government or under threat. Throughout the Cold War and continuing today, RFE/RL is often the only lifeline to the outside world for people living under extreme censorship.

Members of R.E.M. say this mission of promoting free expression has always resonated with the band. "We love journalism, we love freedom of speech, and we love the world…. We have a song that I wrote when I was 20, it was our first ever single, and this is a good time to celebrate the actual Radio Free Europe… It's important to democracy and it's important in the fight against authoritarianism that they remain."  said Michael Stipe.

There's no doubt that Radio Free Europe's journalists have been pissing off dictators for 75 years. You know you're doing your job when you make the right enemies.  adds Mike Mills, bassist and founding member of R.E.M.

The release is led by the never-before-released 2025 remix of "Radio Free Europe" from longtime collaborator and Grammy-winning producer Jacknife Lee. Completing the package are Mitch Easter's original 1981 recordings—the sought-after Hib-Tone single mix of "Radio Free Europe," its flip-side "Sitting Still," the "Wh. Tornado" demo, and Easter's long-rumored, never-before-released 1981 remix "Radio Free Dub."

Rocktrospectiva: The Southern Gothic Masterpiece "Fables Of The Reconstruction" Turns 40

Released on 10 June 1985 "Fables Of The Reconstruction" was the third studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was the band's first album recorded outside of the U.S., with sessions taking place at Livingston Studios in London with producer Joe Boyd. The record displays a darker, murkier sound than its predecessors, with lyrics drawing from Southern Gothic themes and characters. The album also utilizes more varied instrumentation, including string and brass arrangements and banjo. The album spawned three singles "Can't Get There From Here", "Driver 8", & "Wendell Gee".

R.E.M. decided to work with a different producer for their next album. Those considered to produce the album included Van Dyke Parks, Hugh Padgham (who had been achieving great success with his work with acts such as the Police and Genesis), Elliot Mazer (known for working with Neil Young), and Elvis Costello. 

The band ultimately chose to work with London-based producer Joe Boyd. Guitarist Peter Buck, particularly, wanted to work with Boyd, known for his work with folk rock acts such as Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, and Richard and Linda Thompson. After having recorded their first two albums in North Carolina, the band instead flew to England to record the album at Livingston Studios in Wood Green, London. Conditions were less than ideal, as the band had a long commute from their lodging in Mayfair to the studio and London was at the tail end of a rough winter; Buck recalled that "It rained every day it wasn't snowing". Boyd's work ethic reportedly caused tensions with the band, as his precise attention to detail contrasted with the more spontaneous approach the band had utilized on the previous two albums. Dixon and Easter had worked quickly and encouraged the band to experiment; in contrast, Boyd spent hours mixing and remixing songs, which the band felt removed some of the energy and spontaneity of their performances.

Boyd would later describe the recording period as "not the best time in my life", but recalled that "[the band] seemed to get along better than most groups I’ve worked with" even though their relationships were somewhat strained at the time. He described them as "the most well-organized, professional group of people I’ve ever encountered." He felt that R.E.M.'s approach to mixing was unique in comparison to other acts: "When you mix a record, traditionally the singer wants his voice louder, and the guitar player says, 'Turn up the guitar,' and the bass player says, 'Can’t you make the bass parts punchier?' With R.E.M., everyone wanted themselves turned down".

Fables of the Reconstruction mixes the band's established style with folk elements and a darker sound. Writers have labeled the album as jangle pop, folk rock, alternative country, and Southern rock, the album introduced new instrumentation for the band, including strings, brass, and banjo. Prior to the recording of the album, Stipe studied Appalachian music and took an interest in oral storytelling, both of which influenced the material. The combination of the album's sound and the Southern focus of its lyrics have many critics to declare Fables R.E.M.'s most "Southern" album, as well as an example of Southern Gothic. Many of its songs describe eccentric, unusual characters, evoking images of railroads, small towns, eccentric locals, oppressive humidity, and a vague sense of time slowing to a crawl."

The album opener "Feeling Gravitys Pull" starts with a dark, chromatic guitar riff played by Buck. The song's lyrics reference artist Man Ray and include imagery relating to lucid dreaming, "Maps and Legends" uses bassist Mike Mills' backing vocals as counterpoint to Stipe during the chorus. Its lyrics were inspired by Howard Finster, a Baptist minister and outsider artist who had created the album art for Reckoning the previous year. Tyler Golsen of Far Out described "Driver 8" as a "classic railroad song" and a showcase for Buck's playing as both an "intricate picker" and a "folky rock star".

"Life and How to Live It" takes inspiration from a book entitled Life: How to Live by eccentric Athens–based author Brivs Mekis. Mekis split his house into two distinct halves and alternated between living in the two until he died. After his death, copies of the book were found; despite these copies being made none had ever been sold or given away. "Old Man Kensey" likewise "celebrates an eccentric individual living in the Deep South." Lead single "Cant Get There from Here" incorporates soul and funk influences and a horn section. Perpetua described the song as "approximated Southern funk", while Puterbaugh felt it "sets a tone of dislocation that pervades the entire record". "Green Grow the Rushes" was written as part of a pact between Stipe and 10,000 Maniacs frontwoman Natalie Merchant that both would write a song about the genocide of Native Americans; the 10,000 Maniacs song "Among the Americans", from their 1985 album The Wishing Chair, was Merchant's contribution. 

"Kohoutek" features Stipe's falsetto singing. According to Lukowski, Stipe's lyrics on this song are more personal, and associate himself with the other outcast characters on the record. Tim Peacock of uDiscoverMusic describes "Auctioneer (Another Engine)" as "atypically jagged and aggressive" for the band, with its "urgent, anthemic sound" hinting at the direction the band would take with Lifes Rich Pageant the following year. Parke has described "Good Advices" (as well as "Green Grow the Rushes") as "Byrds-like balladry." Lukowski refers to its lyrics as "paranoid but strangely reassuring old time wisdom." Closing track "Wendell Gee" features Buck playing banjo; continuing the album's theme of eccentric characters, Puterbaugh considers its lyrics to be a "surreal, lachrymose fable about some back-country oddball."

Contemporary critical reception for Fables of the Reconstruction was generally positive, referring to it as "unretouched R.E.M. in all their rough-cut glory", and felt the band sounded "surer than they did on Reckoning". Also stated states the album to be less consistent than the band's first two, it does "demonstrate musical growth, particularly in how perfectly it evokes the strange rural legends of the South." The album is called and considered as a "Southern Gothic Masterpiece."

Fables Of The Reconstruction Track List: 

 

1. Feeling Gravity Pull

2. Maps And Legends

3. Driver 8

4. Life And How To Live It

5. Old Man Kensey

6. Can't Get There From Here

7. Green Grow The Rushes

8. Kohoutek

9. Auctioneer (Another Engine)

10. Good Advices

11. Wendell Gee 

Rocktrospectiva: The Noisy And Heavy "Monster" Turns 30

Released on 26 September 1994, "Monster" was the ninth studio album by American indie rock band R.E.M., produced by Scott Litt, the album was an intentional shift from the style of their previous two albums, Out of Time and Automatic for the People, by introducing loud, distorted guitar tones and simple lyrics. The album spawned four singles "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?", "Bang And Blame", "Crush With Eyeliner", "Strange Currencies", & "Tongue". 

Recorded in early 1993, pre-production took place at Kingsway Studio in New Orleans under the supervision of Mark Howard, guitarist Peter Buck said that the band wrote 45 songs, including "a whole album's worth of acoustic stuff" which they demoed.According to Howard, the sessions were experimental. The sessions were hampered by several events, including Berry and bassist Mike Mills falling ill on separate occasions, Buck and Stipe leaving to visit family members and the deaths of Stipe's friends, as Kurt Cobain and actor River Phoenix, the band wrote and recorded "Let Me In" in tribute to Cobain and dedicated the album to Phoenix, whose sister Rain provided background vocals on "Bang And Blame".

Unlike R.E.M.'s previous two albums, Monster incorporated distorted guitar tones, minimal overdubs, and touches of 1970s glam rock. Peter Buck described the album as "a 'rock' record, with the 'rock' in quotation marks." He explained, "That's not what we started out to make, but that's certainly how it turned out to be. Mike Mills said: on past albums we had been exploring acoustic instruments, trying to use the piano and mandolin, and we did it about all we wanted to do it. And you come back to the fact that playing loud electric-guitar music is about as fun as music can be. Stipe's vocals were pushed down in the mix. Buck's guitar work on the album was inspired by the tremolo-heavy guitar playing of Glen Johansson of Echobelly, who supported R.E.M. on some of the Monster Tour. The album's music has been described as grunge, alternative rock, and glam rock. 

The cover art features a blurred drawing of a bear's head against an orange background. The concept originated when Stipe showed cover artist Chris Bilheimer a balloon he wanted to use as the album cover and told him to play around with. Bilheimer changed the color of the balloon (which was originally green), and re-photographed the bear head. When he was down to the last few frames on a roll of film, he took a few photos without bothering to focus the shots, which he and Stipe ended up liking the best.

The album was generally praised. The album sounds like the album they 'had' to make, to clear out their system, a simple prop to occupy our time, also the album doesn't have the conceptual unity or consistently brilliant songwriting of Automatic for the People, but it does offer a wide range of sonic textures that have never been heard on an R.E.M. album before."

 

Monster Track List: 

 

1. What's The Frequency, Kenneth?

2. Crush With Eyeliner

2. King Of Comedy

4. I Don't Sleep, I Dream

5. Star 69

6. Strange Currencies

7. Tongue

8. Bang And Blame

9. I Took Your Name

10. Let Me In

11. Circus Envy

12. You