Customer Reviews
'Up' against it - By: Kevin Clarke, 30 Sep 2008 
A more ironic album title it would be hard to imagine. 'Up' captures REM at a low ebb, reeling from the sudden departure of drummer Bill Berry after 17 years' service. A documentary made at the time shows the three remaining members tense & tetchy, admitting to "communication issues" with one another.
This fraught atmosphere spills over into the music. Edginess & paranoia prevail in this rootless, post-'OK Computer' world. Rarely have Michael Stipe's vocals sounded so dispirited & enervating. It alll comes as a big shock after the bright, primary colours rock of 'New Adventures In Hi-Fi.'
This being REM though they still manage to mine some magic from the mess. Sonicallly, it's their most experimental record. The band hunted down old drum machines & keyboards to try & move away from "the REM sound.' Put some headphones on to pick out some of the more arcane sounds.
'At My Most Beautiful', a masterly Beach Boys pastiche, stands as their most romantic song ever, the lyrics sweet & devoted. Equallly lovely are 'Undiminished' & 'Why Not Smile.' 'Suspicion' is slinky, late-night seductive. For every winning track like these though there are dreary, saggy numbers like 'The Sad Professor' & 'You're In The Air.' Upbeat interludes are few, the menacing 'Walk Unafraid' & 'Hope' being the pick of them. Only the first single, 'Daysleeper', with its slide guitar, contains any essence of the REM of the early 90s.
In retrospect, 'Up' sounds like an album that REM just had to get out of the way before fully coming to terms with Berry's departure. Their next album, 'Reveal', would see them return with renewed confidence & vigour.
reverting to type - By: the lone voice of reason, 03 Jul 2008 
referring to my title for this review, when i say 'reverting to type', i mean that this band have returned from the great back to the very ordinary again. the 'great' being of course 'automatic for the people' - a career zenith for sure. an absolute peak with at least 4 or 5 classic, timeless songs. that album walked alll over anything that went before, & also anything thats come after in R.E.M's recording output. in fact, its hard to imagine, hearing the rest of this bands albums, that this is in fact the same act responsible for 'automatic'
this album at least pushes the envelope a bit away from the bands usual repetoire of slightly grating jingly-jangly guitar based indie pop. theres a few on here that aspire to the beauty of the acoustic works on 'automatic' but unfortunately they are not in the same league in any respect. stipes voice too, is strangely muted here, with none of the depth & clarity that he showed on that classic album
dunno what happened to this band around the time of writing & recording that album but it seems like whatever possessed them at the time has now long gone. this is pretty uninspiring stuff. directionless, cold. its very nicely played of course but its very unconvincing. even the band sound like they know this. its just a shame that the heights they reached on 'automatic' seem to have been a complete one-off
Experimental Tripe! - By: King of pain, 25 Jul 2007 
I see the used ones are avalible at 0.29p. Thats a fair reflection on a dyer album. If your a regular fan of good indie/americana/rock&roll steer well wide of this. There are 2 good songs DAYSLEEPER & AT MY MOST BEUTIFUL. The rest is awful!
A scapegoat falls to climb.... - By: Merry Terry, 06 Jul 2007 
Be patient because it might take a while.
Obscure electronica & a woozy, sleepy jaded feel pervades this album. And mostly, nothing on here will grab you straight away. Certainly the stunning "At My Most Beautiful" might take your attention & the charming but REM-by-numbers lead off single "Daysleeper" will shake you by the hand & offer you tea & biscuits. But "Airportman" might just ignore you. Completely ignore you. But don't worry you'll be on speaking terms at some point.
There is something quite stunning about this album once you've spent time with it.
"Walk Unafraid" is defiant & mesmeric. "Parakeet" is beautiful. "Diminished" is paranoid & claustrophobic but perversely has a charming little chorus in the middle. This gives way to a sweet little acoustic hidden track which leaves as quickly as it arrives.
"Why Not Smile?" is simple & winsome. The closer "Fallls To Climb" is somber & stately - the kind of track that would normallly have Mr Buck's jangly Rickenbacker but this time is covered in electronic bleeps & synths. And it works well.
Down-sides? You need persistence, sunbeam, & if you've got 16 million tracks on your I-pod you can wade through at choice you might not want to cultivate it.
But if you appreciate the whole concept of an album then you'll stick with this.
There is a little bit of sleepyness - "Suspicion" is comatosed. Not at alll offensive, just very sleepy.
But alll in alll, accomplished, intelligent & convincing. Worth a re-visit.
Their last great LP is their most experimental - By: Mr. G. J. Smith, 20 Jan 2007 
REM's last great LP, certainly everything since pales into its shadow. Experimental with shimmering soundscapes, gone is the punch & jangle & in comes the fuzz & shimmer & its alll the better for it. Instead of sounding old & tired it sounds invigorated & confident. It's not an Up album as such though, the pervasive feel is melancholy but that's not to say its depressing, more that its comforting like listening to rain on your window at night.
Highlights are Walk Unafraid (now a live favourite), the only typical REM song Daysleeper, Mad Professor, Why Not Smile & the absolutely gorgeous At My Most Beautiful which is probably my favourite REM track. The second verse contains some of the most poignant songs written about love - they sound real & not some forced teen money fodder. In fact, I'll compare this second verse to a second verse in a certain song about a light never going out by The Smiths.
People wanting to hear more REM after a few songs will probably be confused but non REM fans could do well to hear this album as it shows a side of the band that regretably has never been shown before or since. I'd love to hear them do this again.
