The second trio-era REM album mostly drifted past me when it came out. I never disliked it but never quite connected with it. I always felt that the album was just too twee, or something like that. So it sat on the shelf for decades and was never given a proper reassessment until this new vinyl release.
Upon relisten, the jury is still out. The songs are all great, and the band tries a lot of new things (texturally), but it’s all pretty mellow, all mid tempo. There’s no big fire moment, nothing that would make a crowd jump up and down. This is theatre music, for seated patrons and polite applause. Nothing wrong with that but variety can be a nice thing. It’s just clear that the band is still trying to find its footing without Bill.
That said, there is much to love about this album. “The Lifting”, “She Just Wants To Be”, “Disappear”, “Beachball”, even the cutesy “Imitation Of Life” has a lot to offer.
This definitely would be a better album had they not cut “Fascinating” at the last minute (killer track worth seeking out) but that’s how it goes.
Unfortunately REM would follow this soft-rock path all the way to their nadir, before rising up to cap off their career with a bang.
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