R.E.M. - Around the Sun
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CD Details
Artist: R.E.M.Brand: Warner Brothers
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2004-10-05
Music Label: Warner Bros / Wea
Soundtracks:
- Leaving New York
- Electron Blue
- The Outsiders
- Make It All Ok
- Final Straw
- I Wanted to Be Wrong
- Wander Lust
- The Boy in the Well
- Aftermath
- High Speed Train
- Worst Joke Ever
- The Ascent of Man
- Around the Sun
Music reviews of Around the Sun
Music Review: Not so much bad as....pointless
Rating: 2 Stars
REM have made inconsistent albums before. No band is perfect. 'Monster' was a slightly tounge-in-cheek attempt at a rock album that didn't quite work. 'Up' was an attempt to make art pop that didn't quite work. Some old-time fans think the pop direction of 'Green' and 'Out of Time' didn't work. But in each case it was clear what REM were trying to do, and even if you didn't like those albums, you had to respect REM for taking risks and trying new things. Sad to say, that's not the case with 'Around the Sun'. Unless their intention was to make a very slick, safe, mediocre album, I find it hard to understand what they were trying to do here. Were they trying to make a self-consciously serious album and just dressed it up too much? Or were they going for a radio-friendly adult rock album but made it too somber? I can't tell.
'Around the Sun' largely continues the trend of their last two albums, so could be seen in many ways as 'Up Part 3'. But 'Up' and 'Reveal', for all their flaws, did contain some variety, a couple of strong songs, and some raw emotion peeking out from within. Here, the formula is taken to the extreme; the production is so overwhelming and the songs so subdued and somber that the album is almost lifeless. In some ways, it's almost a Michael Stipe solo effort, since the electronics and keyboards are mixed right up front, leaving Mike Mills and Peter Buck very marginalised. But Stipe doesn't really contribute much either; his lyrics are actually fairly bland. At times, they hint at something deeper, whether personal or political, but the overbearing production smothers whatever message Stipe is trying to get out.
A lack of sonic variation really hurts the album, with too many songs floating by and blending into each other. It certainly doesn't help that the only two times the album perks up are 'Final Straw', an anti-war song that was already a bit dated by late 2004, and 'Wanderlust', which sounds like a B-grade Oasis. My personal favourite is 'Electron Blue', which at least has a strong hook in the chorus, but even this sounds like Stipe + ProTools, not like the work of a proper band.
Maybe this might have worked better as a Stipe solo project, but as an REM album it stands as one of their weakest.
Description of Around the Sun
Around The Sun, R.E.M.'s first new studio album since 2001's gold Reveal, is as emotional and ulti- mately uplifting as its "Leaving New York" single. With a renewed band dynamic and songs influenced by world events, Around The Sun surprises and satisfies and is both political and poignant. Says Michael Stipe: "Even the most depressing R.E.M.song is going to have a glimmer of hope." For fans of one of rock's most acclaimed bands, hope revolves around R.E.M.Having delivered their last great album with 1992's haunting Automatic For the People, R.E.M. spent more than decade attempting all kinds of reinvention, from the pointlessly noisy Monster to the painfully dull Up. But with Around the Sun it feels like the band is getting its bearings back. Not only is it the Georgia trio's most consistent album since the 1997 departure of drummer Bill Berry, but it also sees the return of the lush imagery and intricate playing of the band's vintage years. There are trains, mandolins, Man Ray skies. More importantly, it seems heartfelt. Witness the gorgeous disquietingly dark opener "Leaving New York," the rapturous folk of "I Wanted to Be Wrong" and the solidly intense "Boy In the Well." At 13 generous tracks, it's far from perfect but--just when everyone thought R.E.M. was down for the count--Around the Sun is an unexpected bruiser of a comeback. --Aidin Vaziri
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