In the decade since the departure of drummer Bill Berry, R.E.M. could seem at times schizophrenic. Their albums of the era, which veered from the experimentalism of Up and reaffirmation of Reveal to 2004's more diffuse, reflective Around the Sun, often stood in stark contrast to the vibrancy of their live act. But here the alt-rock godfathers have resolved that dichotomy with their most focused and satisfying album in over a decade; a collection that doesn't so much revisit the bracing ethos of the band's '80s coming-of-age, as boil it down to its essence and supercharge it with the energy of their contemporary stage shows. That sensibility is evident from the opening track, "Living Well's the Best Revenge," where Peter Buck's aggressive, distortion-drenched riffs and Michael Stipe's gruff snarl set the tone for "Mansized Wreath," "Horse to Water," and "Supernatural Serious"; rockers that bristle with the abandonment and aggressive energy of a band half their tenure. Yet it's no mere blast-from-the-past. The inclusion of the band's recent touring musicians (Scott McCaughey on second guitar and drummer Bill Rieflin) into the session mix, as well as working out much of the material live onstage in Dublin, has yielded something more sonically akin to R.E.M. 2.2. Stipe's penchant for the lyrically opaque has been largely supplanted by an edgy, articulate passion that variously explores "Houston'"s displaced Katrina refugees, the bluegrass-tinged "Until the Day is Done," and the more typical, quiet self-examination of "Hollow Man," before exploding in the album's unlikely, upbeat elegy "I'm Gonna DJ," where singer and band find renewed hope in not only music, but themselves. --Jerry McCulley
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Overhyped:
Accelerate can be one of those albums which fans, upset with R.E.M.'s last few releases, may judge too highly, throwing out words like comeback just to describe a vague adult-rock, easy going consistency in a way which almost insults some of their finer intricacies.
New and Old:
Hailed even pre-release as a return to R.E.M.'s roots, and the press laid so much credence in this thought - it would kind of be hard to live up to. The result - they do and they don't. Is 'Accelerate' the new 'Fables of the Reconstruction'? No. But I didn't expect it to be. But on the upside, it's also not one of their last two or three releases either. While those were not horrid, they were just there and not horribly well thought out. I enjoyed 'Accelerate' - more than any disk since... more info
A nice return to rock, but no masterpiece:
There's no doubt that R.E.M. were feeling the pressure to get back to being a rock band after their past three releases. So for the first time since 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi, the band has delivered a pure rock record. Peter Buck's guitar screams and shreds like it hasn't done in years and there is actually a drummer instead of a drum machine and looped beats. All of that is fine and good. But you get the sense while listening to Accelerate, that Stipe and company were primarily concerned with rocking... more info
If this is some of REM's best work in years, they had better quit.:
I have been a fan of REM's music for nearly 25 years. Through the years, I've always looked forward to their next release. They have put out a few clunker albums, but then again, what band hasn't? When I found out there was going to be a deluxe edition of the album with the CD/DVD, I of course bought it the first day. I anxiously opened this CD for the drive home from work and was immediately disappointed. What had happened to the band I had seen numerous times live and CDs I've enjoyed? The... more info
