release date: May 15, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Patrick McCarthy and R.E.M
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA
Tracklist: 1. "The Lifting" - 2. "I've Been High" (4 / 5) (live) - 3. "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" - 4. "She Just Wants to Be" - 5. "Disappear" - 6. "Saturn Return" (2,5 / 5) - 7. "Beat a Drum" - 8. "Imitation of Life" (4 / 5) - 9. "Summer Turns to High" (2,5 / 5) - 10. "Chorus and the Ring" - 11. "I'll Take the Rain" - 12. "Beachball"
12th studio album by R.E.M. is like the predecessor Up produced in collaboration with Pat McCarthy. My initial disappointment about the album mostly had to do with a sensation that nothing new had been added since the previous release Up (1998), three years earlier. Having said that, this seems slightly like a better release with higher lows and some fine songs, only lacking several really great ones. The singles "Imitation of Life" ['Losing My Religion' part two?] and "All the Way to Reno" secured good sales, but apart from that, the album is an uplifting experience with hopes of new great things to come in a near future. Although, the band again makes use of Joey Waronker (on drums) both for studio recordings and on the subsequent live tour, he is never officially part of the band, which remains a trio until the disbandment in 2011.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]
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