Up (25th Anniversary Edition)

R.E.M.

Released on 27/10/1998 by Craft Recordings
Main artists: R.E.M.
Genre: Alternative & Indie

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Many people divide R.E.M.'s catalog into pre- and post-major label work. However, a better way to frame the Georgia band's music is the albums they made with founding drummer Bill Berry—and the ones they made after he left the band amicably in 1997. Up is the first full-length in the latter category, and it remains one of the most unique albums in R.E.M.'s oeuvre—a collection that found the now-trio ripping up their existing playbook and building a new sound from the ground up.

From a personnel standpoint, Up looked very different without Berry. R.E.M. switched producers, working with Pat McCarthy (who had engineered the band's two prior albums) rather than long-time collaborator Scott Litt, and enlisted Nigel Godrich (known for his work with Radiohead) to mix half the album. The band also worked with two drummers—Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees, Mad Season) and Joey Waronker (Beck)—to augment the contributions from long-time auxiliary multi-instrumentalist Scott McCaughey.

Still, as it turns out, R.E.M. had already been planning to do things differently with Up even before Berry left; among other things, guitarist Peter Buck purchased instruments like drum machines and older keyboards and began experimenting with them. "We had already decided that a lot of the old rules were out, especially when it came to songwriting and creating the songs," bassist Mike Mills told Rolling Stone. "When Bill left, it just really hyper-accelerated that process."

Indeed, save for a few songs—the melodic, ringing "Daysleeper" and the fuzz-coated, New Adventures in Hi-Fi-esque "Sad Professor"—Up feels like an almost clean break from R.E.M.'s past work. Although the glowing-ember glam rocker "Lotus" and smoldering highlight "Walk Unafraid" place Buck's snarling guitars at the forefront, many other songs use electric riffs as just another texture in the mix; for example, guitars lurk in the background of "You're in the Air" like streaks of colorful paint and drone and quiver at the apex of "Why Not Smile." Eerie, solemn percussion chimes shimmer throughout, a counterpoint to brittle piano on standouts such as "At My Most Beautiful." And other songs burst with striking textures. The Leonard Cohen homage "Hope" buzzes with a drum machine; "Airportman" shimmers with echoes of Brian Eno's ambient work; a static hum gives way to hymnal keyboards at the start of "Falls to Climb."

On Up, Stipe's lyrics are often startlingly direct, particularly on the wrenching "Diminished," the drowsy love song "At My Most Beautiful" and the moving tale of the night shift worker of "Daysleeper." However, knotty character sketches like "Sad Professor" or "The Apologist" explore the complexity of the human existence, while both "Walk Unafraid" and "Hope" touch on salvation as a means of moving forward. In the end, Up is one of the most compelling moments in R.E.M.'s catalog—an album where the band was comfortable being uncomfortable—and figuring out who they were as a trio on their own terms. Reissued for its 25th anniversary, this deluxe edition includes a previously unreleased 11-song live set at Los Angeles' Palace Theatre from 1999. © Annie Zaleski/Qobuz

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Up (25th Anniversary Edition)

R.E.M.

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Airportman

00:04:14

Barrett Martin, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Mills, Author, Producer, Bass Guitar, Mix Engineer, Background Vocalist, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Joey Waronker, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - R.E.M., MainArtist - MICHAEL STIPE, Author, Producer, Vocals, Mix Engineer, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - PAT MCCARTHY, Producer, Mix Engineer, Recording Producer, StudioPersonnel - PETER BUCK, Author, Producer, Electric Guitar, Mix Engineer, Recording Producer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Bob Ludwig, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bruce Kaphan, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - JOHN KEANE, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Assistant Mixer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - SCOTT MCCAUGHEY, Guitar, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Murphy, Viola, Leader, AssociatedPerformer - Elizabeth Murphy, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Daniel Laufer, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Heidi Nitchie, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Patti Gouvas, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Reid Harris, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Sou-Chun Su, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - David Braitberg, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - David Arenz, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Jay Christy, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Willard Shull, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Jere Flint, Conductor, Strings Conductor - Helen Porter, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Anne Page, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Christopher Rex, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Jun Ching Lin, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Ellie Arenz, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Nan Maddox, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Douglas Sommer, Double Bass, AssociatedPerformer