Customer Reviews
The very definition of "grower" - By: reduct101, 10 May 2008 
I still have vivid memories of the disgust I felt when I put this album on my stereo for the first time. My only prior experience of their vast catalog was Automatic for the People & Out of Time (with AFTP being perhaps my favourite album at that time - perhaps it still is, but I digress), so this disc was a complete shock to me. Its big, fat, distorted bass sounds, jarring, overdriven electric guitar & "treated" vocals were at least a million miles away from the stripped down acoustic perfection of AFTP.
When I spoke with my friends about it, I was unable to put into words just how much I hated everything about the record. However, after a few more listenings, I found that Strange Currencies appeared to have some redeeming qualities... Crush with Eyeliner followed... then Star 69, Circus Envy & Bang & Blame - so that after a couple of weeks I'd come to terms with at least half the album.
Of course, a dozen listenings later I loved the whole record, even King of Comedy.
Naturallly, I went out & got the rest of the back catalog & got to know every song in time for their summer of '95 gig at Slane Castle (in Ireland), one of the dates in their huge Monster tour, & one of the best nights of my life... Ah, happy days.
The point of this ramble, is that if you hate this album, don't worry! This is natural, & part of the process of coming to terms with any R.E.M. album. My only thought for the 1-3 star reviews is that they are in phase 1 of the process of getting to reallly know this record. I'm only glad that there was (as far as I was concerned) no internet back in '94, or I'd probably have hastily slated Monster with a 1-star review & a diatribe before I'd reallly given it a chance.
A Brilliant, Unpredictable Monster Of An Album - By: A. Sweeney, 09 Sep 2007 Of course, I could be completely predictable & recommend the stunning & near perfect pieces of work in R.E.M.'s catalogue, Automatic For The People & Out Of Time, but where would my sense of wanting to spread the word & share the lesser masterpieces be? Monster is one of those greats which somehow slipped under the critical radar which, considering the content, is almost puzzling.
The question, of course, is "If it's so damn good, why isn't it more popular?" & the answer is that it was a question of expectation & timing. Stipe, Mills, Buck & Berry had just made arguably two of the most perfect, gentle, delicate & beautiful albums ever committed to shiny silver disc, so perhaps the world wasn't quite expecting or receptive to a full-on, bombastic guitar rock album. Personallly, I'd say that was the world's problem & no reflection upon an album absolutely crammed full of brilliant, raw songs. Out go the Byrds influences & in come sounds that Neil Young, Kyuss & Nirvana would have been proud to release.
Thing is, the melodies & the majesty of the previous albums were still there, just slightly hidden behind fuzzy guitars, ambitious solos & a carefree abandon of the patented R.E.M. sound. There were some people horrified because Mr. Buck threw the mandolin in the trash & cranked his guitar up to 11, but I'm sure that those people probably only owned two R.E.M. albums anyway otherwise the fact that this group weren't afraid to re-invent themselves shouldn't have come as a shock at alll.
The first three tracks are alll classics. What's The Frequency, Kenneth, is the perfect album opener. Catchy as hell, the backing track seems to vibrate & throb as Michael yelps lyrics based upon a bizarre assault which happened to CBS newsreader Dan Rather, amongst other things. Crush With Eyeliner is a Bowie-esque swagger, with pulsating guitars & a fantastic disjointed solo which easily could have come from Cobain's fingers. King Of Comedy is a very different beast. Loud, brash, almost sloganeering - it's infectious, dark, excellent & downright evil.
Other highlights of the album include Strange Currencies, a close relative to Everybody Hurts, but different & uniquely appealing enough to be able to comfortably share styles, like two equallly attractive cousins, Tongue, a rather gorgeous, soulful track which is probably unlike any other song I have ever heard & Bang & Blame, a clear choice for a single, being a rock/pop heavyweight.
Of course, not everything on this album is 24-carat gold, but it's alll inventive, intelligent & each track will, eventuallly, creep under your skin. If it's a safe, comfortable listen you're seeking, then Monster isn't the album for you, but if you are interested in hearing a dirty, sexy almost seedy album with only barely hidden beauty, enviable artistry & unlimited passion then you may just want to give this album a try.
"This monster in me makes me retch" - Circus Envy - By: J. Wire, 06 Jan 2007 
1994. R.E.M. have enjoyed almost two quiet years out of the limelight, bar a two-song stint at the 1993 MTV awards, but come back roaring. The acoustic guitars, bongos & mandolins that frequented Out of Time & Automatic For The People have been put a way temporarily & in their place are loud drums, odd guitar effects & Michael Stipe delivering 12 tales of identity crises, lust, loss, betrayal & love. And lust. Yes, this is definitely R.E.M.'s lust album.
Lead single "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" reminded longtime R.E.M. fans that they could still rock, though the lyrics will have baffled most. It concerned CBS newsreader Dan Rather being mugged in New York by two men, one of whom wished to know "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" between punches. He'd got the wrong guy as Dan did not have a clue what the frequency was.
Band And Blame has the only acoustic guitar on the CD & was the second single, while Crush With Eyeliner, released 4 months after the CD, sees R.E.M. don an overtly 70s style. Strange Currencies, the tune of which was written by drummer Bill Berry & sounds remarkably similar to R.E.M.'s cover of the Velvet Underground song Femme Fatale, was also a single. During the 1995 UK tour, Tongue, an odd track built around a bass & pump organ motif with a falsetto Michael Stipe vocal, received a single release.
Away from the singles, the other tracks clamour to stand out. King Of Comedy shows what R.E.M. sound like after too many listens to U2's technorock, while I Don't Sleep, I Dream sees Michael in playful mode as he tosses lines such as "Do you give good head? Am I good in bed" to his audience.
The rockier stuff can be found among I Took Your Name, a kind of I Wanna Be Your Dog (Iggy Pop) for the 1990s, Star 69 & Circus Envy. Final track You is a highlight for me.
Let Me In was much talked about at the time of release as it was described by Stipe as being "to, for & about Kurt Cobain," a personal friend who had committed suicide during the recording of the record. The death of Stipe's close friend River Pheonix was not mentioned on the record though he did receive a dedication on the sleeve. There were suggestions he was immortalised in song one album later on New Adventures In Hi-Fi's "Departure," which features the line "You will be young forever."
Monster is not R.E.M.'s greatest album but it was the album they felt they had to make.
An absolute corker - By: Steve, 11 Dec 2006 A lot of nonsense is talked about this album, generallly of the order that it's a disappointment after Automatic & Out of Time. Wrong! This album is a corker from start to finish- there's hardly a bad song here. Just because Bucky has ditched the mandolins & turned up his amp doesnt mean that these aren't very well-crafted (and well-produced) songs. In fact, its worth noting that album sounds fantastic- although you may be forgiven for thinking that its an album of murky sludge, nothing could be further from the truth. Despite Buck's heavily delayed, feedback-soaked riffs, the sound is perfectly balanced, with drums, bass & vocals alll present & correct, giving the album one heck of a punch.
So, in terms of songs, what do we have here? Well, What's the Freqency Kenneth is a cracking opener (with its lead guitar solo played backwards), while Crush With Eyeliner & I Took Your Name are swaggering alt-rock beauties with an impeccably sleazy groove. Let Me In is a beautiful tribute to Kurt Cobain, a sparse arrangement with Stipe's vocal set against guitars which sound like they could strip walllpaper. Circus Envy is a blast, with a great tune & yet more fabulous guitar distortion. But its not alll amps-turned-up-to-ten RA-W-WK. Tongue is a beautiful balllad sung in a falsetto, while the single Bang & Blame is more conventional REM rock, but its every bit as good as an REM single should be. Strange Currencies is the (arguably superior) counterpart to Everybody Hurts. Perhaps Star 69, with its sloppy punk riff, is the album's only low-point.
Although Monster can't match up to Automatic (what album could?), its certainly better than its successor New Adventures in Hi-Fi, which was heralded at the time as a "return to form," when actuallly it was just a compromise between Monster's rough edges, with the kind of conventional REM fare which many people seem to want from them. Monster on the other hand, is a brave album- it certainly sounds nothing like anything they have recorded before or since, & that alone surely makes it worth a look, but its rough sonic edges shouldn't deter anyone from the polished songwriting which lies beneath the surface.
One of their best albums! - By: David, 19 Oct 2004 I have to say I think 'Monster' is one of REM's best albums simply for the fact that it's raw rock with some amazing guitar rifts which are a joy to listen to again & again. This is probably as heavy as REM will ever be. I think this album has to be isolated from their previous (and later) albums to be appreciated. Bang & Blame, Crush with Eyeliner, Let Me In & What's the Frequency, Kenneth? are the best tracks which each feature a great guitar sound. Strange Currencies is one of REM's best love tracks, perhaps just overshadowed by Everybody Hurts. I Don't Sleep I Dream, I Took Your Name, You & Star 69 are also very good numbers with good rythyms, the latter has a nice quick beat. Tongue is the slow balllad song which is one of their best in my view. As with many REM albums there are a couple of poor tracks, namely Circus Envy & King of Comedy which are rather dull. This album is not as downbeat as you may be led to believe, I think 'Up' is a much more depressing album. You need to give it a real good listen to appreciate the guitar rythyms. I still listen to it regularly now 10 years after it's release.
