release date: Oct. 27, 1998
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Pat McCarthy and R.E.M.
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 2. "Lotus" - 4. "Hope" - 5. "At My Most Beautiful" (4 / 5) - 7. "Sad Professor" - 9. "Walk Unafraid" (5 / 5) (live) - 10. "Why Not Smile" (3,5 / 5) - 11. "Daysleeper" (3,5 / 5) - 12. "Diminished / I'm Not Over You" - 13. "Parakeet" - 14. "Falls To Climb"
11th studio release by R.E.M is a 14 track album. Not only did new producer Pat McCarthy step in to signal a new time for the band but this was also the first time a band member had left since the formation of the band. Drummer Bill Berry had (like all four members) been a part of R.E.M. since the very beginning but he left the band in 1997, which is also why the band decided to use another producer, simply because Scott Litt had been like a fifth member of the band, and now with Berry's leave disrupting the band's structure, making it a trio, they had to look for a replacement and a new sound. Prior to Berry's decision, he had experienced an incident with a brain aneurysm during their Monster live tour in Germany 1995. He was naturally hospitalized for a longer period of time while the band found a substitute. After his recovery, he rejoined the band and they made New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996), but on this and the following, Joey Waronker plays drums.
This was the first album with the band that I didn't buy at the time of its release. I simply found it dull and like on a repetitious formula. I had grown tired of their pop / rock that was predictable and without artistic intentions. Like New Adventures... the album is a step down from their heydays, and I think this is just another step down from its predecessor. Yes, it contains fine music, great songwriting, but for a band who has accustomed its fans to always expect an artistic profile and a pioneering band that seeks out new material by looking for new sources of inspiration almost like a driving force... then this is... dull.
Over the years I have come to enjoy the album more and more, and today consider it an improvement to New Adventures... Stipe's voice is brilliant and the music is more experimental as in search of something new. Two tracks really stand out. "At My Most Beautiful" and "Walk Unafraid" are up there among their absolute best.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]
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