|
| Accelerate | 
 enlarge
| Artist: R.e.m.
Label: Warner Bros / Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy Used: $5.00
You Save: $13.98 (74%)
New (74) Used (41) from $5.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  211 reviews
Sales Rank: 489
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.3
MPN: 418620
UPC: 093624988588
EAN: 0093624988588
ASIN: B0013BNY2Q
Release Date: April 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: in good condition , has light scratches , plays great , inventory g20
|
| Customer Reviews:
 R.E.M. Reborn Revitalized and totally Relevant(4.5 Stars) April 2, 2008
26 out of 28 found this review helpful
Being counted out is possibly the best thing that could have happened to this band, as 28 years into their illustrious career, when R.E.M. had been relegated to being called a 'great band' in the past tense, the band have come out swinging on Accelerate. NEVER has a band this long in the tooth made such an angry, vital, and totally contemporary and relevant record. This is album is indeed a complete 180 turn from Around the Sun. It clocks in at half the time of the previous record; the drums are FINALLY back and in full force, Peter's guitar is fully plugged in, and Mike Mills' is finally harmonizing again. And lest I forget, Michael Stipe's voice sounds utterly fantastic. Just listen to him 'wow' and 'ow' on Man Sized Wreath and yoyu can tell, Michael's playful sarcasm is in full swing, and he sounds absolutely energized, whereas he sounded tired on the last record.
The songs are short and hit like a ton of bricks. If anyone remembers the anger on The Final Straw from the last record, well this album is like a full album's worth of that song with the amps turned way up and the songs at full speed. Living Well Is The Best Revenge is the best and loudest opener since Whats the Frequency Kenneth or maybe even Finest Worksong. Man-Sized Wreath is an unconventional but totally catchy rocker and Michael sounds absolutely fantastic and pissed off and Mike Mills backing vocals are terrific! 'Supernatural Superserious' sounds like the closest thing to a classic R.E.M single on this record. It may not be the best song here, but it is definitely the most conventionally catchy song to be found here. Hollow Man follows and sounds like a total piano ballad until suddenly, the guitars come in. What a great fake out on the band's part and it sounds like it would be a great single. 'Houston' sounds like it would fit perfectly on Automatic for the people; very folksy...reminds me a lot of Try Not to Breathe musically. "Until The Day Is Done' is another folksy ballad that sounds like it would have been perfect on Automatic...it also sounds a lot like Swan Swan H from Lifes Rich Pageant. Its one of my favorites on the record and if it weren't so openly political, it would make for a great single. 'Horse To Water' is just pure adrenaline and definitely one of the best full on rockers the band has made in a long time. I know it sounds like repetition but its very angry, and definitely a bruiser. Im Gonna DJ is a full on glam stomper that the band played on the last tour. Its a really fun post apocalyptic that not quite as Its the End of the World, but almost as fun and inspired nonetheless and its a perfect closer to the record.
Anyone accusing the band of making this record to satisfy record company execs, would be absolutely wrong. On the contrary, the majority of the songs are so openly political, that Top 40 will not likely touch them at all (if U2 cant get on the radio, R.E.M. wont either). R.E.M. seems to be reaching back into the ire and anger of their indie IRS days, as this sounds more like an updated 'Lifes Rich Pageant' and 'Document' than it does any of their Warner Brothers records (with Monster being the exception) as it rocks aplenty, and it is a very righteously angry album except now the anger is placed in the Bush administration and not the Reagan administration as it was in their indie days. But, rest assured, this is not a nostalgic record. It is definitely firmly placed in the here and now. Also like Lifes Rich Pageant, this album is a solidly good album all the way through, without there necessarily huge singles waiting to be plucked out. There is nary a bad track on here. It is not QUITE classic album in the vein of Murmur or Automatic...but it is indeed a necessary and much needed addition to their discography and their best album since at least New Adventures in Hi Fi. R.E.M. are back and they're coming out swinging!
All Hail The Return Of Peter Buck!! April 2, 2008
26 out of 30 found this review helpful
I can't review this album in too much detail as I've only heard it four times all the way through but I agree with most that the album is a return to glory for REM. They recorded great songs on UP and Reveal but neither of those albums felt consistently great. And as for Around The Sun, well, lets just say I honestly felt it was a Michael Stipe solo record. Accelerate is definitely their most energetic album since Green in my opinion. They spent too many years with synths and strings and although I loves me some Automatic For The People, they stayed in that vein for far too long.
What really sets this album apart, though, is the return of Peter Buck and his guitar. I don't know if he forgot he knew how to play one or what but since his over-indulgent use of them on Monster it has been largely absent. This was a sad turn of events as his guitar work always defined pre-Out Of Time REM. Let's hope his guitar stays front and center from this point on because the results are always fantastic.
Favorite tracks so far:
Supernatural Superserious
Hollow Man
Until The Day Is Done
I'm Gonna DJ
Much Betterer April 8, 2008
24 out of 28 found this review helpful
This sounds like an R.E.M. IRS record. Fast and happy instead of that slow and sappy junk they've been putting out over the past 10 years(?) We don't want no "Everybody Hurts" crap. We want "Hollow Man" type stuff. The world needs more happy sounding music and that's what has returned. Lyrics are not necessarily happy like the Springsteen "Magic" CD but the music is clever like Bruce's CD. Last few R.E.M. cd's MUSIC has been lame to me. Their lyrics are never lacking. Pilgrimage to your store and buy this for both the words and the melodies. It's very good.
 Monstermurmerreckoninggreentimepeoplepageant. April 19, 2008
24 out of 31 found this review helpful
I want to make my review of R.E.M.'s new cd "Accelerate" objective. I read the reviews positive and negative here and I agree with all of it. I will be upfront about my views of R.E.M.'s back catalog.
Favorite R.E.M. albums: Murmur, Reckoning, Life's Rich Pageant, Green, Out Of Time, Automatic For The People, Monster.
Least Favorite: New Adventures In Hi-Fi, Up, Fables Of The Reconstruction, Reveal, Around The Sun, Document.
"Accelerate" pro's: It's back to rock and roll and up-tempo songs for the most part. It's mercifully short after the bloated "Around The Sun", "Reveal", "Up" and "New Adventures In Hi-Fi". There are memorable tracks like "Supernatural Superserious", "Houston", "Horse To Water" and "I'm Gonna DJ". "Accelerate" might be seen as the best thing R.E.M. has done since "Monster". Or not.
"Accelerate" con's: The lyrics are not memorable. When you listen to the cd all the way through repeatedly, it becomes noticeably flat and repetitive. There are boring songs here like "Until The Day Is Done", "Mr. Richards" and the worst track on the cd "Sing For The Submarine". And yes, I'm going to say it, the cd packaging sucks. I've never been a big fan of R.E.M.'s album covers, and the artwork on "Accelerate" is awful.
Verdict: I don't see "Accelerate" as better or worse than the much maligned "Around The Sun". You have two different sounds and speeds, but it's a matter of substitution. I am not fooled. "Around The Sun" was more adventurous musically, but it could be argued that it was boring. "Accelerate" is up-tempo and rocking, but I would hardly say it's musically adventurous. Like so many fans have already said, "Accelerate" is nothing new.
I like R.E.M. (I didn't as a kid), and I will probably always buy their cds and like them for what they are. Do I think they should quit? No. Do I think they will surprise us all and try something artistically daring? I don't think so. So I say, just sit back and be glad that Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers R.E.M. are still around because they're still better than most of the junk we have to listen these days.
R.E.M. rocks it old school April 1, 2008
23 out of 28 found this review helpful
R.E.M. rocks it old school
When I first listened to this album, it was like a visit from an old friend. You know how some old friends go away...and you lose touch? Maybe they join a cult, weird church, earth liberation front, political party or whatever. You are not into that stuff, so when they drop by, it is just awkward. You remember the old times, and how cool they used to be...and you feel just a bit sad that your paths diverged so much.
Anyway, that's how I've felt about the last few R.E.M. albums. That is not a comment on the quality of their work - they have always made music from their heart, just like it should be. It is just that it was wildly different from the R.E.M. albums that grabbed me by the ears, shook my booty and screamed "THIS IS WHAT HONEST, HEARTFELT POP-ROCK WITH ETHICS SOUNDS LIKE".
I also remember Peter Buck and Mike Mills visiting me in a dream to suggest that anyone with a guitar and a willingness to play from the heart could make it. And they could do it on their terms - record company execs be damned!! Man I love those guys. Michael and Bill too.
Ok, back the new album. Accelerate.
From the opening riff of the first song, I knew I was going to love it. Each additional song confirmed it. There were no re-hash, pseudo cover versions of old R.E.M. songs. This is new stuff. The magic here is that the songs on Accelerate manage to recall the sound that built R.E.M.'s empire, and yet stand on their own as current, original works.
I can't tell you the specifics of how they did what they did. All I can tell you is that if you followed R.E.M. back in the day, you are going to like this album.
Enjoy.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
