“Music will provide the light you cannot resist”
Since drummer Bill Berry’s departure in 1998, R.E.M. has been in a musical rut. There first album without Berry , 1998’s “Up”, was greeted with anything but applause, 2001’s “Reveal” was quickly forgotten, and with 2004’s “Around the Sun” critics and fans alike were thinking perhaps it is time for the once almighty R.E.M. to throw in the towel. After yet another greatest hits album that was released last year, “And I Feel Fine: The Best of the I.R.S. Years” and a live album, appropriately titled “R.E.M. Live”, only served as yet another indicator that perhaps the best years of R.E.M.’s career were truly over. For many, myself included, R.E.M.’s 14th studio effort, “Accelerate”, is a do or die album for the band, not only to forget the past, but to ensure a brighter future for the band that gave us such great music as “Finest Worksong”, “Second Guessing” “These Days”, and the list goes on. “Accelerate” thankfully pulls off that mammoth task with style and ease; fans that were turned off by the band’s last 3 albums can finally rejoice, because R.E.M. is back.
The album is a short affair, 34 minutes in length and 11 tracks long. “Living well is the Best Revenge” begins the album. This song, as well as many others off “Accelerate”, was debuted during the band’s working rehearsals in
“Man Sized Wreath” was originally meant to be a b-side and after hearing the song you are probably going wonder why, while being thankful it isn’t. This track has become my personnel favorite on the album, to me this song is a throw back to the I.R.S. years and probably could have a nice home on the Green album in place of “Get Up” or “Hairshirt”. The band sounds like it is having a blast on this song, it is nice again to hear bassist Michael Mills do backing vocals again, and it does fit very well on this song. “Supernatural Superserious” the album’s first single and it is the third track on “Accelerate”. It is easy to see why it was chosen to be the first as well, it’s upbeat, catchy, plus it is the best blend of modern and old school R.E.M. on the album. “Hollow Man” begins off slowly but soon Peter’s Buck guitar playing and Bill Rieflin’s drumming kicks in within 45 seconds and the song transforms into a highly charged rocker. It would be a good second or third single off the album.
“Houston” is nothing special or honestly memorable, with the attention grabbing opening, “If the storm doesn’t kill me, the government will” the rest of the song doesn’t maintain the rest of that importance or urgency, barely hitting the 2 minute mark you will forget about after hearing the title track. “Accelerate” lives up to it’s word. With the amps turned up to 11, this song defines what rock and roll is meant to be. Lead singer Michael Stipe sings the song with the intensity of a man half of his age, like a man who has something to prove to himself or even to his audience. “Until the Day is done” had it’s debut over several months ago on CNN’s “Planet in Peril”, it is easy to see why after listening to the opening lyrics, “The verdict is dire, the country’s in ruins”.
“Mr. Richards” is the second gem on the album, one that is destined to become not only a fan favorite, but also a live favorite. “Mr. Richards” is a tight knit rocker, which can be perceived by some as a cryptic political song that some rumor is aimed at Vice President Cheney or at the current administration. This song is a modern political anthem of today’s tuber lent political culture in the fashion of “Green’s” “Orange Crush” or even “Bad Day” which is one there “In Time” best of collection. “Sing for Submarine” is about 2 minutes too long, clock in at about 5 minutes, it is the longest and perhaps the dullest track on the album. However it is better than 70% of anything off of “Around the Sun” or “Up”.
If you started falling sleep during “Sing for the Submarine”, track number 10 “Horse to Water” will awake you from your slumber. It is by far the most intense song on the album, with the hard pounding drums, pulsating bass, rip roaring guitar riffs, and Stipe’s thundering vocals. The lyrics are as intense as the vocals, coming to crashing conclusion with the ending lyrics, “it’s bound to pound the daylights out of you.” The album closes with “I’m gonna DJ”. This song was a leftover from “Around the Sun” records and if it was on that album, “Around the Sun” would have been a lot more memorable. Much like “Man-Sized Wreath” this was nearly b-side material, it was played nightly on R.E.M.’s 03-05 tour and nightly on the working rehearsals gigs, and it was also recorded on R.E.M. Live. The lyrics are simple, “Hey Steady! Hey Steady! I don’t want to go until I am good and ready” and the band is rocking, with drummer Bill Rieflin taking charge. When the cd comes to an end it is obvious the album lives up to the hype and after nearly a decade of lows, R.E.M. is reborn at last.
In my opinion “Accelerate” ranks up there with the best R.E.M. albums such as “Document”, “Reckoning”, “Monster” and “Automatic for the People.” It is a fun, hard rocking album that reestablishes why R.E.M. is considered one of the world’s best bands. R.E.M. has rediscovered it’s voice, one can only hope they will never lose it again. Rating: A-
Song Ratings
1. Living Well is the Best Revenge – 4.5/5
2. Man Sized Wreath – 5/5
3. Supernatural Superserious – 5/5
4. Hollow Man – 5/5
5.
6. Accelerate – 5/5
7. Until the day is Done – 4/5
8. Mr. Richards – 5/5
9. Sing for Submarine – 3/5
10. Horse to Water – 5/5
11. I’m Gonna DJ – 5/5
My Top 10 R.E.M. Songs
1. Everybody Hurts
2. I Took Your Name
3. World Leader Pretend
4. Finest Worksong
5. Second Guessing
6. So. Central Rain
7. These Days
8. Bittersweet Me
9. Man-Sized Wreath
10. Welcome to the Occupation
My Top 5 R.E.M. Albums
1. Document
2. Automatic for the People
3. Monster
4. Reckoning
5. Life’s Rich Pageant
No comments:
Post a Comment