Up is 25 and they released some live tracks

Daysleeper and The Apologist sound great - live tracks released on Spotify. Just fantastic.

Up isn’t better than Monster and Automatic - but it’s my second favorite, after Hi Fi of course.

Up is a great record and easily their bravest, most daring work. My vinyl copy arrived yesterday and hopefully I can get around to spinning it soon.

Hi-Fi is also brilliant. Easily a top three R.E.M. album for me.

Monster is their best - although i have a soft spot for new adventures too and up....

New Adventures is still my favorite while Monster is probably second,  then Automatic for the People. 

I really like Up. It’s in my top 3 with Green and Out of Time.

I recently did a ranking and was kind of surprised. I like all of their records to some extent; they're one of those rare groups where I can find something to enjoy in everything they did.

Fables of the Reconstruction
Reveal
New Adventures in Hi-Fi
Automatic for the People
Reckoning
Murmur
Life's Rich Pagaent
Collapse Into Now
Up
Green
Document
Accelerate
Monster
Out of Time
Around the Sun

I just finished listening to Out of Time. I’ve played some tracks here and there but haven’t had a go at the whole album in some years.

I like the album and there are some bangers on there. Me in Honey is a great closer, for one.

But, it crystallized a thought I had.

I’ve said here before that when I listen to Up, I think “why couldn’t U2 have followed Pop with something as great as this?”

But when I listen to Out of Time, I think “damn, they came out with this just a few months before U2 came along and stomped the world with Achtung Baby.”

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a solid work.

It’s just that there’s nothing new there, it was the same old sound. The world of rock was about to change, and U2 were there, but REM had to catch up.

Well, they did catch up. Good work, boys.

R.E.M. was also unique because they never seemed as hung up on being the biggest band in the world, even though they were huge in the early 90's. They continued to do what they wanted and never seemed too concerned with big hits or critical praise, something which has continued to plague U2 because they're so afraid of being seen as anything other than massive. Regardless of what you may think of individual R.E.M. albums, they always felt sincere and you could tell the band was pursuing what interested them at the time, even when it cost them in sales, fans, or critical reviews. I respect that and it's one more reason why they continue to be one of my favorite bands.

Something else about REM too...u2 may have been the so called 'political' band because they went for the obvious, well known big causes/issues with their gestures.

But lyrically REM were a much more cutting, edgy and frankly clever band when it came to the political narrative in songs.

Something else about REM too...u2 may have been the so called 'political' band because they went for the obvious, well known big causes/issues with their gestures.

But lyrically REM were a much more cutting, edgy and frankly clever band when it came to the political narrative in songs.

i agree with this AND they never retreated to the "safe ground" like U2 did after Pop.

ok but this Up set does not have any unreleased demos right?

Quote from: an tha on November 25, 2023, 12:18:01 PM

Something else about REM too...u2 may have been the so called 'political' band because they went for the obvious, well known big causes/issues with their gestures.

But lyrically REM were a much more cutting, edgy and frankly clever band when it came to the political narrative in songs.

i agree with this AND they never retreated to the "safe ground" like U2 did after Pop.

ok but this Up set does not have any unreleased demos right?

No, it doesn't. It's quite scant on added material, which is unfortunate, but the vinyl pressing sounds amazing, so I'm content enough with that.