Amazon.com: In the decade since the departure of drummer Bill Berry, R.E.M. could seem at times schizophrenic. Their albums of the era, which veered from the experimentalism of Up and reaffirmation of Reveal to 2004's more diffuse, reflective Around the Sun, often stood in stark contrast to the vibrancy of their live act. But here the alt-rock godfathers have resolved that dichotomy with their most focused and satisfying album in over a decade; a collection that doesn't so much revisit the bracing ethos of the band's '80s coming-of-age, as boil it down to its essence and supercharge it with the energy of their contemporary stage shows. That sensibility is evident from the opening track, "Living Well's the Best Revenge," where Peter Buck's aggressive, distortion-drenched riffs and Michael Stipe's gruff snarl set the tone for "Mansized Wreath," "Horse to Water," and "Supernatural Serious"; rockers that bristle with the abandonment and aggressive energy of a band half their tenure. Yet it's no mere blast-from-the-past. The inclusion of the band's recent touring musicians (Scott McCaughey on second guitar and drummer Bill Rieflin) into the session mix, as well as working out much of the material live onstage in Dublin, has yielded something more sonically akin to R.E.M. 2.2. Stipe's penchant for the lyrically opaque has been largely supplanted by an edgy, articulate passion that variously explores "Houston'"s displaced Katrina refugees, the bluegrass-tinged "Until the Day is Done," and the more typical, quiet self-examination of "Hollow Man," before exploding in the album's unlikely, upbeat elegy "I'm Gonna DJ," where singer and band find renewed hope in not only music, but themselves. --Jerry McCulley
Great return! It's an amazing return. And it was really refreshing to listen great rock again. I recommend it if you still love professionals and hate those insultant new cartoon-teen-so-called-bands from radio.
Thin and Noisy There is certainly a lot of clamor being made over this clamorous wreck of a record. R.E.M may very well be the best American band thus far but not by the merits of Accelerate. This album has no texture and no depth. If, as touted, it is a return to roots it went too far, i.e. back to the formative Athen's basement years too far. But that does not even seem to be the case because though the earliest albums might have been unintelligible they were not unintelligent. And this one is as dumb as a bag of hammers. So all the claims of "back to form" are nonsense. Accelerate is simply the new millennium's "Monster" and simply an obstreperous and cantankerous dud.
REM is Back! ACCELERATING FULL THROTTLE What a resounding jaunt back to relevance for my absolute favorite band on the planet... I own all of their albums, and DID like even their recent albums (albeit Around the Sun was definitely stretching my "love" thin) but this album goes right up with the greats of the 80's... Most importantly the VITALITY is back. After years of straying from that core energy playing "eloqeuntly" arranged studio works this album ROCKS out like yesteryear tracks of FOTR or LRP... I saw them at UC Berkeley's Greek theater last month and that was the best show i've ever seen. Way better than when I saw them at Anaheim >10yrs ago... as they write on the album-- "you cannot resist, you cannot resist"
The sidewinder stopped sleeping... As a fan since they played dives in Athens, GA, I'll argue there are three distinct rems. The first incarnation put out three hauntingly good albums (chronic town, murmur and reckoning) that reshaped alternative music. The next incarnation discovered the power of the studio and put out well crafted pop albums with a social conscience. Then, the third incarnation put out intelligent experiments in sound that, oddly, lacked any soul and lacked a lot of listeners as well. This latest album moves back into the realm of relevance by moving back in time to rem's second incarnation - mid to up tempo rock tunes with Peter Buck's confident guitar leading the way.
It's good stuff. Not great stuff, but good stuff that's worth a listen. It might help them convert a new legion of fans. As for me, I'll still crave those rough around the edges albums where the lyrics were buried beneath a jangly guitar played as fast as possible. Sure, this is good, but can anything here touch the exuberance of wolves, lower or the beauty of camera. Not in my book.
Worth the Time I had just about given up hope that REM had one more good CD in them. Then I heard this. If you enjoyed early REM run out and get this tomorrow. I realize this didn't get much radio airplay, but then again what good music does these days???
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