REM レコード& CD

Review: Here's a reissue of the 13th studio album by REM, one of the most influential bands of the 1980s and 1990s. More introspective and political than their previous albums, Around The Sun also contains guest appearances from the likes of Q-Tip and Patti Smith, making for a heartfelt and prescient album of its time, be it critical of subjects as violent as the Iraq War or as ephemeral as the passage of time. An initially lukewarm reception might've dealt it a blow, but REM diehards will undeniably still be chomping at the bit.

Review: The fifteenth and final studio album by REM, one of the most influential bands of the 1980s and 1990s, came as a triumphant coda for their long-standing career together. The title is noted as the last utterance to ever have escaped the lips of lead singer Michael Stipe on an REM record, tying the bow on a lengthy career while embracing the tide of change. Regarded as relatively upbeat and energetic compared to their balladic former albums, it's a bittersweet goodbye - the likes of 'Uberlin' and 'Oh My Heart', for all their teary jovialty, were never performed in concert, couching the band's sayonara moment in as much mystery as it did finality.

Review: Following the lukewarm reception to 2004's Around The Sun, the members of R.E.M. opted to take a radically different approach to album craft than they had done in the two preceding decades. Live testing the material over a five-night residency in Dublin's Olympia Theatre, before splitting recording sessions over three weeks in three cities, the resulting fourteenth studio effort Accelerate lived up to its title by reflecting the hectic recording schedule with their most guitar-driven, angst-riddled work in an age. Working with producer Jacknife Lee at the behest of U2's The Edge, the record would be the last from the band supported by a tour, with their 2011 swansong follow up Collapse Into Now receiving no live promotion.

Review: Following the muted reception to 1998's predominantly electronic based Up, alt rock giants REM opted to return to a more traditional style of songcraft with their 2001 follow up Reveal. While still relying on a bevvy of glistening synths, the material exuded a retrofitted approach to their dynamic songwriting, with primary songwriter Michael Stipe rediscovering his creative purpose and voice, even as recently as 2021, referring to the work as his personal favourite of the band's output. Best known for the latter day essential contribution to their back catalogue; 'Imitation Of Life', the project also boasts lush opener 'The Lifting', which served as a prequel to 'Daysleeper' from their preceding LP, as well as standout cut 'Disappear', which came from Stipe's motivating Thom Yorke of Radiohead to overcome his stage fright. This in turn led to the Kid A track 'How To Disappear Completely', which reverted back to Stipe penning his own musical articulation of his communing with Yorke. More than two decades on, this often overlooked gem couldn't be more deserving of a reissue and refreshed ears.

Review: Craft Recordings celebrates the 25th anniversary of R.E.M.'s bestselling 11th studio album, Up, with a series of expanded and remastered reissues. Created in partnership with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, the deluxe 2-CD/singular Blu-Ray edition offers a wealth of material for fans, including the band's previously unreleased set from their guest appearance on the hit TV series, Party of Five. Captured in 1999, the performance includes an 11-song setlist (including enduring hits like 'Man on the Moon', 'Losing My Religion,' and 'It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)', plus a spoken-word introduction.

Review: A quarter of century has now passed since the release of Up, R.E.M's 11th studio album. It was a set that perplexed some critics on its original release in 1998, in part because it was more experimental in tone (while remaining a fine, song-based set) and saw the band employ drum machines and electronic instrumentation to expand their sound palette. As this anniversary reissue proves, Up has aged well and is arguably ripe for reappraisal by those critics who initially panned it. Even so, what makes this double-disc celebratory edition special is CD2, which boasts an 11-track recording of a surprise set the band played in Los Angeles in early 1999. As well as featuring fine versions of tracks from the album ('Daysleeper', 'Lotus'), we're also treated to storming run throughs of such favourites as 'Losing My Religion', 'Man On The Moon' and 'It's The End of the World As We Know It'.

Review: National Album Day celebrates some of the best full-lengths ever and you'd be hard-pushed to argue that REM's Automatic For the People is not one of those. This edition of it is a special limited edition 180 g yellow vinyl that will remind you of some of the maudlin American rocker's best bits. The album itself is now well over 30 years old but is still thought to be one of the best albums of the 90s. It came after their breakout album Out of Time and did not disappoint, going on to be certified four times platinum in the US thanks to featuring some of the band's biggest hit singles 'Nightswimming,' 'Man on the Moon' and 'Everybody Hurts.'