Lotte Kestner "At My Most Beautiful" (2023) (single)

At My Most Beautiful, single

release date: Aug. 4, 2023

format: digital (1 x File, FLAC)

[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]

producer: self-produced

label: self-released (bandcamp) - nationality: USA

Tracklist: "At My Most Beautiful (R.E.M. cover"

Single release and second consecutive R.E.M. cover from Lotte Kestner made available through her bandcamp-profile following the release of the single "Walk Unfraid" (May 2023).

Again, Kestner covers an R.E.M. favourite [the original] from the album Up (1998) and she does that with appropriate conviction. The song remains but heavily rearranged to fit Kestner's lo-fi production and a simple and serene expression. A prediction regarding her next covers relase is likely to feature a handful of covers of the great Athens-band.

Lotte Kestner "Walk Unfraid" (2023) (single)

Walk Unafraid, single

release date: May 30, 2023

format: digital (1 x File, FLAC)

[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]

producer: self-produced

label: self-released (bandcamp) - nationality: USA

Tracklist: "Walk Unfraid (R.E.M. cover)"

Single release by Lotte Kestner released via the artist's bandcamp-profile in support of #bravehood ('a community of many supporting children in emergency situations').

The original is taken from the R.E.M. album Up (1998), and the song is one of my personal all-time favourites by the great band from Athens, Georgia. Kestner is famous for making cover versions, and this one is a highly remarkable and original version by being a lo-fi stripped-down song but also a multi-layered track by the way she has made use of several tracks in the mixing of the recording - to some extent in an unusual manner in the case of Kestner covers that are often quite simple arrangements. That alone makes it a most interesting version, as she has made lots of covers using only guitar with vocal, or piano with vocal, but to hear how she maintains a minimalist expression while turning up on the arrangement-button is something new and a most welcome introduction to her soundscape.

R.E.M. - 15 Studio Albums Listed 1-15

Pos.		Album		Year		Rate
1.		Green		1988		4,36
2.		Lifes Rich Pageant		1986		4,31
3.		Document		1987		4,12
4.		Monster		1994		3,80
5.		Automatic for the People		1992		3,76
6.		Reckoning		1984		3,70
7.		Fables of the / Reconstruction of the		1985		3,66
8.		Murmur		1983		3,58
9.		Up		1998		3,52
10.		Out of Time		1991		3,48
11.		New Adventures in Hi-Fi		1996		3,44
12.		Accelerate		2008		3,35
13.		Reveal		2001		3,32
14.		Collapse Into Now		2011		3,28
15.		Around the Sun		2004		2,71

R.E.M. "Collapse Into Now" (2011)

Collapse Into Now
release date: Mar. 8, 2011
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: Jacknife Lee and R.E.M.
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Discoverer" - 2. "All the Best" - 3. "Überlin" (3,5 / 5) - 4. "Oh My Heart"  (4 / 5) - 5. "It Happened Today" (2,5 / 5) - 6. "Every Day Is Yours to Win" (2,5 / 5) - 7. "Mine Smell Like Honey" (3,5 / 5) - 8. "Walk It Back" (3,5 / 5) - 9. "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter" - 10. "That Someone Is You" - 11. "Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I" - 12. "Blue"

15th and final studio album by R.E.M. released on Warner Bros. and produced by Jacknife Lee and R.E.M. like the predecessor Accelerate (2008). Before going to the studio to record the album the band had already made the decision to end after one final album. They had all been very disappointed about Around the Sun (2004) and more or less felt it couldn't end with that. Accelerate was an angry statement to document their musical capabilities. This one sort of sums up much of their career, both lyrically and musically. They were conscious about picking both (romantic) ballads, songs of political matter, and strong 'rock' compositions to embrace all their styles and different positions throughout the 30 years they played together. It's not one of their best and neither one of the worst almost equalling the 2008 album. I think, they succeed rather well considering the difficult idea to spread as much as they intend. The album lacks the memorable highs but is made without many evident mediocre tracks. With this the band ends its long and creative era in a positive way. The album wasn't followed by a live tour, instead they made music videos for each and every song on the album, and in Sep., six months after the release, R.E.M. officially announced its disbandment.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, The Guardian, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

R.E.M. "Accelerate" (2008)

Accelerate
release date: Apr. 1, 2008
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,35]
producer: Jacknife Lee and R.E.M.
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Living Well Is the Best Revenge" - 2. "Man-Sized Wreath" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Supernatural Superserious" (4 / 5) - 4. "Hollow Man" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "Houston" (3,5 / 5) - 7. "Until the Day Is Done" (3,5 / 5) - 9. "Sing for the Submarine" (3,5 / 5) - 10. "Horse to Water" (live)

14th studio album by R.E.M. released on Warner Bros. and produced by Jacknife Lee and R.E.M. Maybe it has to do with a new producer in the driving seat, or it's just a strong will to do better than their worst release 3,5 years earlier with Around the Sun (2004). I know that many had seen the end of the band, and almost 4 years is a long time without releasing new material. Apparently, The Edge of U2 recommended to have Jacknife Lee produce the album. Stylistically, it's like a decision to make a another rocking compilation of energetic songs, which makes it their most hard rocking album since Monster (1994). It's only recently that I have listened fully to the album, and it really blew me away 'cause frankly, I had given in on the band, which is why I didn't bother when it was released. The album consists of 13 tracks with 8 fine compositions and the rest not much lower, so it's not an album of fillers. It's not great like their 5 best albums but just below that. To me, it's better than Up (1998), equaling their first three albums, Out of Time (1991), New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996), and Reveal (2001).
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"Sing for the Submarine"

"It feels in dreams
That everything is there for you
The city breathes and pulses
It's for you electron blue

I knew that you could see right through it
So this is where I give in to the machine
Lift up your voice feel gravity's pull
Drown out the siren's ring (or silent dream)

Oh... 

It's all here where I keep it
It's all in the submarine
It's all a lot less frightening
than you would have had it be 
But that's the good news my darling
It is what it's going to be 
So sing, sing for the submarine

I tried to explain how it all begins
How its all destroyed and built again
I knew that you could not believe me
But now you're here and it's different
How the light shines in your eyes
In every second or situ
It's then that I realised
That the world as we know it
The High speed train
We'll pick it all up and start again

It's all here where I keep it
It's all in the submarine
It's all a lot less frightening
than you would have had it be 
But that's the good news my darling
It is what it's going to be 
So sing, sing for the submarine

The city did not collapse in a shudder
The rain it never came
At least my confessions made you laugh
I know it's a little crazed
But these dreams... 
they seem so real to me

It's all here where I keep it
It's all in the submarine
It's all a lot less frightening
than you would have had it be 
But that's the good news my darling
It is what it's going to be 
So sing, sing for the submarine

So this is where you trust me
And this where it begins
It's all a lot less frightening
Your tear you let it in
Tyrel and his mechanical owl
A moth disguised as a leaf... 
Don't tell me what tomorrow brings
Climb into the hidden machine and 
sing sing sing sing sing sing
sing sing for the submarine"

~ ~ ~

R.E.M. "Around the Sun" (2004)

Around the Sun
release date: Oct. 4, 2004
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,71]
producer: Pat McCarthy and R.E.M
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Leaving New York" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Electron Blue" - 5. "Final Straw" - 9. "Aftermath"

13th studio album by R.E.M. For many 13 is anything but a lucky number [it also contains 13 tracks], and that fits perfectly on this band. 3 years after the promising Reveal (2001) they do the exact apposite from displaying greatness once again. Instead, they release their worst album to date - in all their career.
In 2003 they had launched what many thought was a single from a forthcoming album, "Bad Day", but that remained a single release, which isn't included here. Actually, that song appears on the 25th Anniversary Edition of Lifes Rich Pageant as a demo, which reveals how old it is. When I saw the video and listened to that song, I was struck by disappointment, and may totally have given up on the band. In hindsight the song isn't that bad after all, and knowing its age, it's more like the blueprint for "It's the End of the World..." from Document (1987).
Around the Sun is an album absent of great songs, with several compositions below the mediocre, and more than anything it displays a band just releasing something new as just to state: "hey, we're still around, although we really have nothing to say or show!". Apparently, guitarist Peter Buck agrees on this after their next album when he said that for him Around the Sun "... just wasn't really listenable, because it sounds like what it is, a bunch of people that are so bored with the material that they can't stand it any more."
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, NME, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"Leaving New York"

"It's quiet now
And what it brings
Is everything
Comes calling back
A brilliant night
I'm still awake
I looked ahead
I'm sure I saw you there
You don't need me
To tell you now
That nothing can compare

You might have laughed if I told you
You might have hidden a frown
You might have succeeded in changing me
I might have been turned around
It's easier to leave than to be left behind
Leaving was never my proud
Leaving New York, never easy
I saw the light fading out

Now life is sweet
And what it brings
I tried to take
But loneliness
It wears me out
It lies in wait
And I've lost still in my eyes
The shadow of necklace across your thigh
I might've lived my life in a dream, but I swear
This is real
Memory fuses and shatters like glass
Mercurial future, forget the past
It's you, it's what I feel.

You might have laughed if I told you (it's pulling me apart)
You might have hidden a frown (change)
You might have succeeded in changing me (it's pulling me apart)
I might have been turned around (change)
It's easier to leave than to be left behind (it's pulling me apart)
Leaving was never my proud (change)
Leaving New York, never easy (it's pulling me apart)
I saw the light fading out

You find it in your heart, it's pulling me apart
You find it in your heart, change...

I told you, forever
I love you, forever
I told you, I love you
I love you, forever
I told you, forever
You never, you never
You told me forever

You might have laughed if I told you
You might have hidden the frown (change)
You might have succeeded in changing me
I might have been turned around (change)
It's easier to leave than to be left behind (it's pulling me apart)
Leaving was never my proud (change)
Leaving New York never easy (it's pulling me apart)
I saw the life fading out (change)
Leaving New York, never easy (it's pulling me apart)
I saw the light fading out (change)
Leaving New York never easy (it's pulling me apart)
I saw the life fading out (change)"

~ ~ ~

R.E.M. "Reveal" (2001)

Reveal
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 ]

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"I've Been High"

"Have you seen?
Have not will travel
Have I missed the big reveal?
Do my eyes,
Do my eyes seem empty?
I've forgotten how this feels.

I've been high
I've climbed so high
The light, sometimes it washes over me.

Have you been?
Have done will travel
I fell down on me knees
Was I wrong?
I don't know, don't answer.
I just needed to believe.

I've been high
I've climbed so high
The light, sometimes it washes over me.

So I dive into a pool.
So cool and deep that if I sink I sink,
And when I swim I fly, so high.

What I want
What I really want is
Just to live my life on high.
And I know
I know you want the same
I can see it in your eyes.

I've been high
I've climbed so high
The light, sometimes it washes over me.

Washes over me
I close my eyes
So I can see
Make my make believe, believe in me."

~ ~ ~

R.E.M. "Up" (1998)

Up
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 ]

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"Walk Unafraid"

"As the sun comes up, as the moon goes down
These heavy notions creep around
It makes me think, long ago
I was brought into this life a little lamb
A little lamb
Courageous, stumbling
Fearless was my middle name.

But somewhere there I lost my way
Everyone walks the same
Expecting me to step
The narrow path they've laid they claim to
Walk unafraid
I'll be clumsy instead
Hold my love or leave me high.

Say "keep within the boundaries if you want to play."
Say "contradiction only makes it harder."
How can I be
What I want to be?
When all I want to do is strip away
These stilled constraints

And crush this charade
Shred this sad masquerade
I don't need no persuading
I'll trip, fall, pick myself up and
Walk unafraid
I'll be clumsy instead
Hold my love me or leave me high.

If I have a bag of rocks to carry as I go
I just want to hold my head up high
I don't care what I have to step over
I'm prepared to look you in the eye
Look me in the eye

And if you see familiarity
Then celebrate the contradiction
Help me when I fall to
Walk unafraid
I'll be clumsy instead
Hold my love me or leave me high.
Walk unafraid
I'll be clumsy instead
Hold my love me or leave me high."

~ ~ ~

R.E.M. "New Adventures In Hi-Fi" (1996)

New Adventures in Hi-Fi
release date: Sep. 10, 1996
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,45]
producer: Scott Litt & R.E.M
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us" - 2. "The Wake-Up Bomb" - 3. "New Test Leper" - 4. "Undertow" - 5. "E-Bow The Letter" (4,5 / 5) (live) - 6. "Leave" - 7. "Departure" - 8. "Bittersweet Me" - 9. "Be Mine" - 10. "Binky The Doormat" - 11. "Zither" (2,5 / 5) - 12. "So Fast, So Numb" (live) - 13. "Low Desert" - 14. "Electrolite" (4 / 5)

10th studio album by R.E.M. is a 14 track album and the 6th consecutive but also final album to be co-produced by Scott Litt and the band - 6 albums, which more less constitute THE most interesting material by the band excluding Lifes Rich Pageant, from 1986, produced by Don Gehman, and they all represent a decade of heydays spanning from 1986 to '96.
The band has almost always throughout their long career been able to seek out new ways of expression, and this is no exception, although, the change from Monster (1994) to this is huge, it's still a small change from the sound they had before Monster. I've always felt that it was more like the natural follower to Automatic for the People (1992) with Monster in between as a unique and highly original release. Their musical style here is expanded to embrace americana and a stronger folk rock style, although, it's still certified alt. rock. It also contains some grunge rock fragments left in the distorted guitars as heard on "The Wake-Up Bomb", "Undertow", and "Departure". Patti Smith adds vocal to the great single hit "E-Bow The Letter". Overall, it's mighty fine, it doesn't contain a lot of poor tracks or fillers (perhaps with "Zither" as the only), it's like a bit... safe with many fine compositions but not many great ones either. The album is the band's best selling album to date, and it went to number #1 on more than a dozen of albums hit lists world-wide except for in the US where it reached number #2. Furthermore, it's known for being the band's own favourite among their own releases. Whether or not personal emotions play a major role in this their own ranking, is of course difficult to verify, but fact is that this was the first album to feature Bill Berry back on drums after his departure from the band due to a serious brain aneurysm on the live tour with Monster. I remember how it was in the news at the time, and frankly I recall thinking that he would most likely never return to such a stress-related job in the spotlight after that. But for a short while he did return to studio recordings, and this is the so far only album to feature Bill Berry back on drums as he would leave the band permanently in '97.
This was the last R.E.M. album that I purchased at the time of its release. All their following 5 studio albums were not my cup of tea, but along the way, I have looked for and found the band's soul in what followed, and I also found it necessary to acquire them all, although, I don't really listen much to exactly those 5 releases but like all the band's 15 studio albums, they also do contain fine songs.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 /5, Rolling Stone 4,5 / 5, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"E-Bow The Letter"
(feat. Patti Smith)

"Look up, what do you see?
All of you and all of me florescent and starry
Some of them, they surprise
The bus ride, I went to write this, 4:00 a.m.
This letter
Fields of poppies, little pearls
All the boys and all the girls sweet-toothed
Each and every one a little scary
I said your name

I wore it like a badge of teenage film stars
Hash bars, cherry mash and tinfoil tiaras
Dreaming of Maria Callas
Whoever she is
This fame thing, I don't get it
I wrap my hand in plastic to try to look through it
Maybelline eyes and girl-as-boy moves
I can take you far
This star thing, I don't get it

I'll take you over, there
I'll take you over, there
Aluminum, tastes like fear
Adrenaline, it pulls us near
I'll take you over
It tastes like fear, there
I'll take you over

Will you live to 83?
Will you ever welcome me?
Will you show me something that nobody else has seen?
Smoke it, drink
Here comes the flood
Anything to thin the blood
These corrosives do their magic slowly and sweet
Phone, eat it, drink just another chink
Cuts and dents, they catch the light
Aluminum, the weakest link

I don't want to disappoint you
I'm not here to anoint you
I would lick your feet
But is that the sickest move?
I wear my own crown and sadness and sorrow
And who'd have thought tomorrow could be so strange?
My loss, and here we go again

I'll take you over, there
I'll take you over, there
Aluminum, tastes like fear
Adrenaline, it pulls us near
I'll take you over
It tastes like fear, it pulls us near
I'll take you over

Look up, what do you see?
All of you and all of me florescent and starry
Some of them, they surprise
I can't look it in the eyes
Seconal, Spanish fly, absinthe, kerosene
Cherry-flavored neck and collar
I can smell the sorrow on your breath
The sweat, the victory and sorrow
The smell of fear, I got it

I'll take you over, there
Aluminum, tastes like fear
Adrenaline, it pulls us near
I'll take you over
Aluminum, tastes like fear
Adrenaline, it pulls us near
I'll take you over

It tastes like fear, pulls us near
Tastes like fear, pulls us near
I'll take you over
...
Nearer, nearer
Over, over, over, over
Yeah, look over
I'll take you there, oh, there
I'll take you there
Oh, over
I'll take you there
Over, there, let me
I'll take you there...
There, there, baby, yeah"

~ ~ ~

R.E.M. "Monster" (1994)

Monster
release date: Sep. 27, 1994
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,80]
producer: Scott Litt and R.E.M.
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (4 / 5) - 2. "Crush With Eyeliner" - 3. "King of Comedy" (2,5 / 5) - 4. "I Don't Sleep, I Dream" - 5. "Star 69" - 6. "Strange Currencies" - 7. "Tongue" (5 / 5) (live) - 8. "Bang and Blame" (4 / 5) - 9. "I Took Your Name" - 10. "Let Me In" (5 / 5) (live) - 11. "Circus Envy" - 12. "You"

9th studio album by R.E.M. released on Warner Bros. and produced by Scott Litt and R.E.M. The year 1994 is renowned for its many grunge rock-related releases and this is R.E.M.'s contribution to the pool. Both critics and fans seem divided on this one - my guess is that old fans who really liked the band prior to Out of Time (1991) applauded this for its raw and energetic outburst, while others almost hated the album because it was anything but another Out of Time release.
I think it's great, although, it sounds a bit dated today, and it's also rather uneven. "King of Comedy" is truly a poor compositions, almost clearly below mediocre, which somehow makes me think of "Numb" by U2. Still, I rate Monster as high as 4 despite that I find it contains 3-4 lesser compositions, but it's also an album with three fine compositions and four really great tracks including the splendid "Tongue" and the sublime Cobain tribute "Let Me In". Another fine thing about the album, I think, is that Stipe really challenges his vocal capabilities singing with both fierce energy, in soft harmonies and high pitched falsetto, all in the most incredible manner. I've enjoyed this a great deal for more than a decade - it's one of my top 5 favourite R.E.M. albums but also the last truly great album from this band.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4,5 / 5, Blender 5 / 5 stars ]

Top 5 albums by R.E.M.
1. Green
2. Lifes Rich Pageant
3. Document
4. Monster
5. Automatic for the People

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"Let Me In"

"Yeah all those stars drip down like butter
And promises are sweet
We hold out our pans with our hands to catch them
We eat them up, drink them up, up, up, up

Heyyyyyyyyyyy, let me in
Heyyyyyyyyyyy, let me in

I only wish that I could hear you whisper down,
Mister fisherman, to a less peculiar ground
He gathered up his loved ones and he brought them all around
To say goodbye,
Nice try.

Heyyyyyyyyyyy, let me in
Yeah yeah yeah
Heyyyyyyyyyyy, let me in
Let me in

I had a mind to try to stop you
Let me in. Let me in
Well, I got tar on my feet and I can't see all the birds look down and laugh at me
Clumsy, crawling out of my skin

:: Heyyyyyyyyyyy, let me in
Yeah yeah yeah
Heyyyyyyyyyyy, let me in ::"

~ ~ ~

R.E.M. "Automatic for the People" (1992)

Automatic for the People
release date: Oct. 6, 1992
format: vinyl / digital (12 x File, MP3) (2012 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]
producer: Scott Litt and R.E.M.
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) 1. "Drive" - 2. "Try Not to Breathe" - 3. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" (4 / 5) - 4. "Everybody Hurts" (5 / 5) - 5. "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" - 6. "Sweetness Follows"
B) 1. "Monty Got a Raw Deal" (2,5 / 5) - 2. "Ignoreland" - 3. "Star Me Kitten" - 4. "Man on the Moon" (5 / 5) - 5. "Nightswimming" (4 / 5) - 6. "Find the River"

8th studio album release by R.E.M. and the band's 3rd studio album for Warner and once again co-produced by Scott Litt. The A-side on the vinyl issue is labelled 'Drive' and the B-side 'Ride'.
Artistically, the album was a huge step forward compared to Out of Time (1991), although, it's obvious that the band has found a new playground with a more mainstream sound but they still prove to be an alt. rock band with strong bonds to folk rock. The album is a lesser polished and highly original release with several outstanding tracks eg. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", "Man on the Moon", "Nightswimming", and "Everybody Hurts", the latter being one of the band's best ever compositions (the official music video is likewise brilliant). I really enjoyed this more introspective style of theirs compared to the more straight-forward pop / rock album Out of Time, and I generally found it much more in sync with the storyline of R.E.M.
Nowadays, looking back at the time, it strikes me how this album is like a perfect clone of the mainstream pop / rock on the predecessor and what they played up until that. In that sense, Automatic... is like a rework on Out of Time or it's what they should have done when recording their biggest selling album ever instead of "going full mainstream" - but then again: most people saw Out of Time as the band's most brilliant album, so in that sense it couldn't be better.
Music critics promptly lauded Automatic... as one of the best of contemporary pop / rock in a decade and saw the album as the band's best effort ever - like the successful embodiment of a natural progression towards... maturity.
In retrospect, the album has stood it's time well - and perhaps even better than most of their albums, which is why I regard it as a strong contender to my top 3 best-loved R.E.M. albums. I think, it's really hard to choose between Document, Monster and Automatic... The only nag about this album, which ultimately is the reason why I put it in pos. 5 on my personal top-5 list of R.E.M. studio albums, is that a few of the songs simply do not work that well. The instrumental track, "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1", and tracks 7 and 9, "Monty Got a Raw Deal" and "Star Me Kitten" are [according to my ears] nothing but fillers. Document doesn't have 3 fillers, which sorts my top 3 list out, but Monster does and it is hard to pin out the exact reason as to why the grunge rock album tops this one, but in my mind, it does. Still, Automatic for the People is a highly recommendable album, and if one is looking for the top 5 R.E.M. studio releases I think it has to be on that list.
[ allmusic.com, Blender, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

Top 5 albums by R.E.M.
1. Green
2. Lifes Rich Pageant
3. Document
4. Monster
5. "Automatic for the People"

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"Everybody Hurts"

"When your day is long
And the night, the night is yours alone
When you're sure you've had enough
Of this life, well hang on

Don't let yourself go
'Cause everybody cries
And everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong
Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone (Hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go (Hold on)
If you think you've had too much
Of this life, well hang on

'Cause everybody hurts
Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts
Don't throw your hand, oh no

Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone
No, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life
The days and nights are long
When you think you've had too much of this life
To hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody cries
Everybody hurts
Sometimes
And everybody hurts
Sometimes

:: So hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts"

~ ~ ~

R.E.M. "Out of Time" (1991)

Out of Time
release date: Mar. 12, 1991
format: vinyl (7599-26496-1) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Scott Litt & R.E.M.
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) 1. "Radio Song" - 2. "Losing My Religion" - 3. "Low" - 4. "Near Wild Heaven" (4 / 5) - 5. "Endgame" (2,5 / 5) - - B) 1. "Shiny Happy People" (4 / 5) - 2. "Belong" - 3. "Half a World Away" (4 / 5) - 4. "Texarkana" (2,5 / 5) - 5. "Country Feedback" (2,5 / 5) - 6. "Me in Honey"

7th studio album by R.E.M. is their second for Warner Bros. and their 3rd collaboration work with producer Scott Litt. The vinyl release side A is labelled 'Time side' and the B-side 'Memory side'.
This is when things fell into place for the band, at least commercially. The album was and has always been a disappointing release in my mind, and it just doesn't come near the greatness of its three predecessors Lifes Rich Pageant (1986), Document (1987), and "Green" (1988). Music critics prophetised the band's breakthrough after every single studio album since Reckoning, and after Lifes Rich Pageant they said it was a certified fact... But it wasn't. In fact, it seemed it would never be, and instead the band should forever exist on the verge to stardom, at least up until this hit the stores and a whole world finally decided to embrace the band.
Listening to the album today, it makes perfect sense, and basically much like I felt back then. Gone were the mystique, the complex meanings of song titles, the alt. rock and jangle pop trademark with strong bonds to 1960s psychedelic folk rock, and instead they came out like... butterflies or 'shiny happy people' looking for a nice garden party to crash in on - they even remembered to bring the host a nice present. Before they were rebels and angry young men - now they had matured into every mother-in-law's dream-come-true. Well, there you have it - how could they not succeed?!
Yes, "Losing My Religion" is a mighty fine song, though I never found it truly great, and "Near Wild Wild Heaven" and "Shiny Happy People" are so cute and positive that it's hard to stay miserable. I also love to hear Kate Pierson's great additional vocals but... it's nearly too slick, so polished and without edges of any kind. Like: too round as it doesn't harm or stir up anyone or anything. I mean, even my parents probably liked it, which isn't that bad, I also enjoy Frank Sinatra, Astrud Gilberto and a lot of mainstream popular music, it's just hard when your 'edgy' and non-conformist heroes decide they wanna play tourists and they pick all-inclusive or just hit the highway like everyone else with a camper. I still love the voice of Michael Stipe so much that I couldn't fully reject it, but I was sad by this new progression into full-blown pop / rock and stadium concerts, which soon followed, and I'm not far from agreeing with Richard Cromlin of The Los Angeles Times when he states "R.E.M. Recovers as Boy George Goes Dancing".
Thinking of this album and the band at this stage of their career, I come to think of them as Coldplay, and I don't really mean that in a very positive kind of way, although, R.E.M. [in my mind much greater] proved to shine again later on [Coldplay, they still don't shine anywhere except from driving back and forth to the bank].
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Los Angeles Times 3 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"Near Wild Heaven"

"Whenever we hold each other
We hold each other
There's a feeling that's gone
Something has gone wrong

And I don't know how much longer I can take it
House made of heart, break it
Take my head in your hands and shake it
In this near wild heaven
Not near enough

(Inside, living inside, living inside)
Near wild heaven

(Living inside, living inside, living inside)
Near wild heaven

Whatever it takes I'm giving
It's just a gift I'm given
Try to live inside
Trying to move inside

And I always thought that it would make me smarter
But it's only made me harder
My heart thrown open wide
In this near wild heaven
Not near enough

(Inside, living inside, living inside)
Near wild heaven

:: (Living inside, living inside, living inside)
Near wild heaven

I'm holding my hands together
Holding my feet together
Holding myself together
In this near wild heaven
Not near enough

Near wild heaven
Near wild heaven

:: (Living inside, living inside, living inside)
Near wild heaven"

~ ~ ~

R.E.M. "Green" (1988)

vinyl cover

Green
release date: Nov. 7, 1988
format: vinyl (925 795-1) / 2 cd (2013 reissue - 25th Anniversary Edition)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,36]
producer: Scott Litt and R.E.M.
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) 1. "Pop Song 89" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Get Up" (4,5 / 5) (live from Tourfilm) - 3. "You Are the Everything" (5 / 5) (live from Tourfilm) - 4. "Stand" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "World Leader Pretend" (4,5 / 5) (w. lyrics) - 6. "The Wrong Child" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Orange Crush" (4 / 5) - 2. "Turn You Inside-Out" (4 / 5) - 3. "Hairshirt" (4 / 5) - 4. "I Remember California" (4 / 5) (live from Tourfilm) - 5. [untitled] (5 / 5)

6th studio album by R.E.M. is their first on Warner Bros. and it's the band's second to be produced by coproduced by Scott Litt. On the original vinyl release, side A is labeled 'Air' and the B-side is labeled 'Metal'.
This one is like the amalgamation of what I enjoy the most about the band: the strong original R.E.M. sound, which has its origins in the 1960s folk rock guitar-string bands, their combo of jangle pop and alt. rock, and the blend of energetic electrified compositions with great vocal harmonies and choruses. I see this as the best of Lifes Rich Pageant (1986), Document (1987), AND its successor Out of Time (1991). Some tracks are sheer energy: "Pop Song '89", "Get Up", "Turn You Inside-Out", others are beautifully arranged serenity: "You Are the Everything", "Hairshirt", and "[untitled]" (the end track), and then some that are more complex compositions within the same musical space as later hits ("Losing My Religion"), "Stand", "World Leader Pretend", "Orange Crush", and "I Remember California".
Imho, this is simply the band's best album ever, and it's the best alternative rock / pop-rock album of 1988, and quite naturally, it has been enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
The album was reissued in a remastered 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition including the bonus disc "Live in Greensboro 1989".
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

2013 25th Anniversary
Deluxe Edition

1988 Favourite releases: 1. Chet Baker Memories: Chet Baker in Tokyo - 2. R.E.M. Green - 3. Talk Talk Spirit of Eden

Top 5 albums by R.E.M.
1. Green
2. Lifes Rich Pageant
3. Document
4. Monster
5. Automatic for the People

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"You Are The Everything"

"Sometimes I feel like I can't even sing
(say, say, the light) I'm very scared for this world
I'm very scared for me
(say, say, the light) Eviscerate your memory
Here's a scene: you're in the back seat
(say, say, the light) laying down the windows
wrap around to the sound of the
(say, say, the light) travel and the engine

All you hear is time stand still in travel
And feel such peace and absolute
The stillness still that doesn't end
But slowly drifts into sleep
The stars are the greatest thing you've ever seen
And they're there for you
For you alone you are the everything

I think about this world a lot and
(say, say, the light) I cry and I've seen the films and the eyes
(say, say, the light) But I'm in this kitchen
Everything is beautiful and
(say, say, the light) she is so beautiful
She is so young and old
(say, say, the light) I look at her and I see the beauty
Of the light of music

The voices talking somewhere in the house
Late spring and you're drifting off to sleep
With your teeth in your mouth
You are here with me
You are here with me
You have been here and you are everything

Sometimes I feel like I can't even sing
(say, say, the light) I'm very scared for this world
I'm very scared for me
(say, say, the light) Eviscerate your memory
Here's a scene: you're in the back seat
(say, say, the light) laying down the windows
wrap around to the sound of the
(say, say, the light) travel and the engine

All you hear is time stand still in travel
And feel such peace and absolute
The stillness still that doesn't end
But slowly drifts into sleep
The greatest thing you've ever seen
And they're there for you
For you alone you are the everything
For you alone you are the everything"

~ ~ ~

R.E.M. "Eponymous" (1988)

Eponymous (compilation)
release date: Oct. 2, 1988
format: vinyl (ILP 463147 1) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: various
label: I.R.S. Records - nationality: USA

2nd compilation album but the first best of album by R.E.M. released on I.R.S. Records just one month before their first release on the band's new label, Warner Bros. The A-side of the vinyl issue is labelled 'Early' and its B-side 'Late' [a somewhat obscure decision as the last track on the A-side and the first on the B-side are from the same album].
The album is a fine collection of songs for someone not acquainted with the band, but for a fan, it's not only a redundant album but it also feels like an extremely insufficient release with 12 tracks only. On the positive side, three of the tracks are in alternate versions compared to previous album releases, and one track "Romance" hasn't previously been released on any studio releases, except the soundtrack album for the movie "Made in Heaven" (1987); however, the purchase soon felt more like a rather pointless one.

R.E.M. "Document" (1987)

1993 bonus tracks reissue

Document
release date: Aug. 31, 1987
format: cd (1993 - The I.R.S. Years Vintage 1987)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Scott Litt & R.E.M.
label I.R.S. Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Finest Worksong" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Welcome to the Occupation" - 3. "Exhuming McCarthy" (4 / 5) - 4. "Disturbance at the Heron House" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "Strange" (4 / 5) - 6. "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" (5 / 5) (live) - 7. "The One I Love" (5 / 5) - 8. "Fireplace" (3,5 / 5) - 9. "Lightnin' Hopkins" - 10. "King of Birds" - 11. "Oddfellows Local 151"
Bonus tracks on 1993 extended edition: 12. "Finest Worksong (Other Mix)" - 13. "Last Date" - 14. "The One I Love" (Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop) - 15. "Time After Time, Etc." (Live) - 16. "Disturbance at the Heron House" (Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop) - 17. "Finest Worksong" (Lengthy Club Mix)"

5th studio album by R.E.M. is the last studio album to be issued by I.R.S. Records before signing with Warner Bros. It's the first in a long series of successful albums (and probably also their best selling albums) to be co-produced by Scott Litt.
Michael Stipe was notoriously known for his incomprehensible and sometimes undecipherable lyrics - at least up until this album. In their early days he used his voice just like any other instrument, regardless grammar or meaning. Like Buck's guitar, Mills' bass and Berry's drums, his voice was a sound unit. One of the best examples of Stipe creating the vocal side by rambling stuff off is the song "It's the End of the World...", which became one of their best loved songs over the years. At live concerts he would add and replace verses, phrases, mixing things together, or simply forgetting words, thus creating the song anew.
Despite being a fan of theirs, I somehow managed to reject this album at the time of its release, and I didn't get hold of it until after purchasing [in chronological order]: Green (1988), the two compilation albums Dead Letter Office (Apr. 1987) and Eponymous (1988), and both Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992) - by then, I found this, the remastered 'Vintage' reissue, which I initially found a somewhat lesser release slightly in family with Fables of the / Reconstruction of the (1985). I recall the time when it came out, I was really fond of Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) and I had just only bought the band's first compilation album Dead Letter Office, which was really great, so I overlooked it as a studio album, misinterpreting the title Document as yet another compilation album - a 'document' of what they had so far issued. In fact, after finally purchasing it in '93, I mistakenly still thought of it as just another compilation album for some time.
When I finally came to realize its true significance, I also understood how great an album it really is. In my mind, it surely fits in among their 5 best albums ever. Deservedly, the album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die", and on my personal list it's in top 3 of R.E.M. studio albums.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

vinyl cover

Top 5 albums by R.E.M.
1. Green
2. Lifes Rich Pageant
3. Document
4. Monster
5. Automatic for the People

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"

"That's great, it starts with an earthquake
Birds and snakes, an aeroplane, and Lenny Bruce is not afraid

Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn
World serves its own needs, don't misserve your own needs
Feed it up a knock, speed, grunt, no, strength
The ladder starts to clatter with a fear of height, down, height
Wire in a fire, represent the seven games
And a government for hire and a combat site
Left her, wasn't coming in a hurry with the Furies breathing down your neck

Team by team, reporters baffled, trumped, tethered, cropped
Look at that low plane, fine, then
Uh-oh, overflow, population, common group
But it'll do, save yourself, serve yourself
World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed
Tell me with the Rapture and the reverent in the right, right
You vitriolic, patriotic, slam fight, bright light
Feeling pretty psyched

It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

Six o'clock, TV hour, don't get caught in foreign tower
Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn
Lock him in uniform, book burning, bloodletting
Every motive escalate, automotive incinerate
Light a candle, light a motive, step down, step down
Watch your heel crush, crush, uh-oh
This means no fear, cavalier, renegade and steering clear
A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies
Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline

It's the end of the world as we know it (I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it (I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine (It's time I had some time alone)
I feel fine (I feel fine)

It's the end of the world as we know it (It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it (It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine (It's time I had some time alone)

The other night I dreamt a nice continental drift divide
Mountains sit in a line, Leonard Bernstein
Leonid Brezhnev, Lenny Bruce, and Lester Bangs
Birthday party, cheesecake, jellybean, boom
You symbiotic, patriotic, slam but neck, right? Right

::::It's the end of the world as we know it (It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it (It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine (It's time I had some time alone)
(It's time I had some time alone)"

~ ~ ~

R.E.M. "Dead Letter Office" (1987)

vinyl cover

Dead Letter Office (compilation)
release date: Apr. 27, 1987
format: cd (1993 - The I.R.S. Years Vintage 1987)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]
producer: Mitch Easter, Don Dixon, Joe Boyd, Don Gehman, R.E.M
label: I.R.S. Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "There She Goes Again" - 2. "Burning Down" - 6. "White Tornado" - 8. "Windout" (live) - 9. "Ages of You" - 10. "Pale Blue Eyes" - 12. "Bandwagon" (4 / 5) - 14. "Walters Theme" (live)
Bonus tracks on 1993 extended edition: 16. "Wolves, Lower" - 17. "Gardening at Night" (4 / 5) - 18. "Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)" - 19. "1,000,000" - 20. "Stumble"

1st compilation album by R.E.M. released on I.R.S. records is not a best of compilation but a collection of singles, B-sides and rare material. Several tracks are the band's cover-versions of some of their favorites, which include track #1. "Crazy", originally performed by the Athens' band Pylon, three tracks written by Lou Reed, originally performed by The Velvet Underground: track #2. "There She Goes Again", track #10. "Pale Blue Eyes", and track #13. "Femme Fatale"; track #7. "Toys in the Attic" by Aerosmith, and track #15. "King of the Road" (classic) by Roger Miller. The remainders of the original issue's 15 tracks are all written by R.E.M., and they are almost entirely B-sides found on their single releases. I used to own a copy of the vinyl issue but resold it after purchasing the '93 cd issue which comes with 7 bonus tracks, and these basically constitute the addition of the debut 5-track ep Chronic Town (1982), and two early takes. The whole album is as such more of a collector's choice but for a fan it's a fine gem.

1993 bonus track reissue

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"Bandwagon"

"Come on aboard, I promise you you won't hurt the horse
We treat him well, we feed him well.
There's lots of room for you on the bandwagon
The road may be rough, the weather may forget us

But won't we all parade around and sing our songs
A magic kingdom, open-armed

Greet us hello, bravo, name in lights
Passing on the word to fellow passengers and players, passing in
Until you're tired looking at all the flags
And all the banners waving
This is some parade, yesiree Bob

Could we have known?
Yesiree Bob, could we have known?

Look at all the flags and all the banners waving
Open up our arms, a magic kingdom, open-armed and greet us all

Come on aboard I promise you, you won't hurt the horse
We treat him well, we feed him well
There's lots of room for you on the bandwagon
The road may be rough, the weather may forget us

But won't we all parade around
And sing our songs and wave our flags
A magic kingdom, greet us all hello
Greet us hello, greet us hello"

~ ~ ~

R.E.M. "Lifes Rich Pageant" (1986)

vinyl cover

Lifes Rich Pageant
release date: Jul. 28, 1986
format: vinyl (ILP 57064) / cd (1993 - The I.R.S. Years Vintage 1986) / cd (2011)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,33]
producer: Don Gehman
label: I.R.S. Records / Capitol - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Begin the Begin" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "These Days" (4 / 5) - 3. "Fall On Me" (5 / 5) - 4. "Cuyahoga" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Hyena" (4 / 5) - 6. "Underneath The Bunker" - 7. "The Flowers Of Guatemala" (4 / 5) - 8. "I Believe" (5 / 5) - 9. "What If We Give It Away?" (4 / 5) - 10. "Just A Touch" (5 / 5) - 11. "Swan Swan H" (4 / 5) - 12. "Superman" (5 / 5)

4th studio album by R.E.M. released on I.R.S. Records and produced by Don Gehman. The original vinyl release A-side is labelled 'Dinner Side' and the B-side 'Supper Side'. This was the first album, I got with the band. I already knew their music and was a growing fan, and was given this as a Christmas present in '86. The album is still one of their best, I think. This is when they got everything together: great songs, great melodies, being raw yet harmonic, they somehow still managed to pass as virtually unknown. From this album and onward, although, critics loved the band and they were promised the big breakthrough, they didn't succeed commercially until Out of Time (1991). I loved this album, which in my mind is only narrowly surpassed by Green (1988).
The album was reissued in an expanded bonus tracks reissue in 1993 (The I.R.S. Years Vintage 1986) containing 6 bonus tracks - two B-sides and 4 previously unreleased recordings.
The album was also reissued in 2011 as a remastered 2-disc '25th Anniversary Edition' with the original album as disc 1 and "The Athens Demos" as disc 2 - a 19 track bonus disc containing demo recordings prior to what became Lifes Rich Pageant. This also includes the track "Bad Day", which wouldn't be released until 2003 as a single release only; however it would feature as a reworked song on Document (1987) as "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel fine)".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

1993 bonus
tracks reissue

1986 Favourite releases: 1. The Smiths The Queen Is Dead - 2. Talk Talk The Colour of Spring - 3. R.E.M. Lifes Rich Pageant

Top 5 albums by R.E.M.
1. Green
2. Lifes Rich Pageant
3. Document
4. Monster
5. Automatic for the People