Customer Reviews

Reveal [Vinyl]

5 star:		(176)
4 star:		(102)
3 star:		(59)
2 star:		(54)
1 star:		(36)

 

 

I can't believe there are people out there who consider themselves "hardcore" REM fans and think this album is horrible. Their unwillingness to let go of the past scares me. Look, people, it will never be 1986 again, you will never be a sophomore in high school, etc. Frankly, very few people possess the insight and the knowledge to judge an album accurately right out of the box. Time needs to pass. REM are smart musicians who live in the present and continue their explorations in music. This is where they are, this is the kind of album they wanted to make. So it doesn't rock, so what? Right now, REVEAL sounds like a great album to me-it's beautiful, articulate, and cohesive. (We'll see in 5 years if it's a classic.) There are some gorgeous pieces of melody here: "I've been high", "All the way to Reno", "Imitation of life", "The Lifting", the list goes on. A couple of songs "revealed" themselves to me only after several listens. I find "The Chorus and the ring" in particular to be an effective, haunting song with strange "medieval" overtones to it. I can't think of another song quite like it.

It's too bad REM's time as the "it" boys has passed, because it means that radio will wholeheartedly ignore this album, and most people out there will not be really exposed to it.

Oh, and the Bill Berry dilemma. Similar situation is currently plaguing another resilient band Depeche Mode (in that case, long time fans mourn the absence of Alan Wilder the "sound architect", in REM's case Bill was the "soul of the band"). To an extent, I can see the point in both cases. But I have to ask again, why not let go of the past and enjoy both bands' current vision? REVEAL is the music for now-connect with it, make new memories. In the year 2015 some of you will criticize the new REM album and remember the good old days of REVEAL. Relax, please and enjoy. I do.

This album marks 20 years since the release of the EP "Chronic Town," and 18 since "Murmur" started the career of some the finest musicians the world would ever see. They accomplished a lot along the way; taking new paths, going against the grain, changing styles.

With their niche in the music scene well-worn, you would think it's time to give it a rest; just give the fans what they expect to hear and they'll buy it anyway, because it says REM on the label. But Stipe and the boys show what true musicianship is.

I, for one, expected a repeat of the epic "New Adventures in the Hi-Fi" or the somber style of "Up." But they are changing themselves again. "Reveal" could be played start to finish on an elevator or in a grocery store. And despite the fluffy, mellowness of the tracks, they mesh with REM's unique style. Otherwise it could become quite boring, but REM shows how adventerous quiet can be.

"The Lifting" (opener) is one of the greatest tracks in years for the band. Stellar and creative, with the patented Micheal Stipe vocals. "All the Way to Reno" smells like a single, and sounds a little like REM of the past; would fit on "Hi-Fi." "Imitiaions of Life," almost left off because of its unwillingness mesh with the rest of the record, is one of the best singles the band has released in the last decade. Soft but exciting, and with OUTSTANDING lyrics (Stipe's poetic ability is sadly overlooked). The last track, "Beachball" has got some attention from critics, saying it sounds like it's influenced by the Beach Boys. I disagree. I think they are BECOMING the Beach Boys; but it sounds so good that I don't care. They can go lighter, fluffier, more pop and accessable, and I STILL consider them the best band in America right now.

This album is great, but probably not what you expect. Not, their best ("Automatic for the People," "Murmur," and "Up" are superior) but still in the upper half of REM releases. Despite the "new" sound, you won't be dissapointed.

After the release of Automatic For The People,R.E.M. were probably considered along with U2 to be one of the premier rock acts in the world.Three subsequent albums and they found their place had been taken by harder hitting rock acts and a world taken over by dance music.Very much like U2's last release this album will see R.E.M. gaining the ultimate triumph-they've seen off the 90's pretenders and are now set to return to the top of the rock tree.For this is easily their best work in nearly a decade.

On reading the first reviews of this c.d. I sort of had the impression that it was going to be their most commercial work yet.The first magnificent single Imitation Of Life had an instant appeal for me and I expected each subsquent album track to be the same.Well I was totally wrong.There are no other tracks with that sort of instant appeal-but give this c.d. a few listens and you discover tracks of great depth,songs that have an upbeat almost summer feel to them and yes their most accesible work in years.Yeah I think this album will be huge and the main reason for this is that there are no dud tracks,no over-indulgent experiments-just good quality songs that epitomised R.E.M.'s early work and that you'd get on 50% of the tracks on Monster,New Adventures... and Up! Track one starts this c.d. off in great style-the most immediate thing to notice is the use of swirling synths and Stipe sounding in great form.It's the sort of song that makes you think "oh this is a return to what they do best".Track 2 is a really beautiful atmostpheric track-people have compared this to Massive Attack or Portishead.Once again there is very little guitar here-synths and drum machines give this ballad a mininmalist feel .The guitar returns spectacularly in track 3-the riff dominates and sounds like deep country sounds.Lyrically it's quite funny-and vocally it's one of the albums highlights.So after 3 tracks you realise that this is going to be a great album.Track 4 starts off with an acousitc guitar and this song initially has a bit of a folk-ballad sound.Then the chorus kicks in and you get all sorts of Wurlitzer effects-it's one of these songs that really takes a while to grow before you realise how good it is.The contrast between the low key start to the instrumental section with full strings section is incredible.Track 5 Disappear with it's references to Tel Aviv and Agadir is really like something taken from Automatic ... without the multi-layered harmonies.

Saturn Return is another amazing track.At first I thought it sounded very like Airportman from Up.Piano chords,feint guitar and a myriad of distorted background effects added to Stipe doing falsetto-it's a darker more atmostpheric track then the majority of songs on this c.d.Beat A Drum has a complete change of mood-it's a real summer song with nature seemingly painted in all it's glory-this song will cheer you up no matter what sort of day you've had.Then we have the amazing and most commercial song on the c.d. Imitation Of Life-my God what a chorus.It's got to be the best R.E.M. single in ten years.The summer feeling continues with the next song that has a real Beach Boy feel to it.

The summer feeling goes for the next song Chorus And The Ring-few keyboards on this song.It's mostly gentle electric guitar and sounds very like early R.E.M.The next song is a beautiful sentimental ballad,the chorus is a real sing along strong chorus and like most of the songs on this c.d. it's a pretty slow tempo song.The last song has once again got an upbeat feel to it,with certain Latino influences,a brass interlude and a full string compliment again.A great way to end this wonderful c.d.

I've had this c.d. for nearly a week now and I haven't stopped listening to it.This is just a great c.d. and the best return to form of one of the best rock bands in the world.

This album has brilliant songs.
1. The Lifting
2. All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna be a Star)
3. Beat a Drum
4. Imitation of Life
5. Summer Turns to High

This album has good songs.
1. I've Been High

This album has average songs.
1. She Just Wants to Be
2. Disappear
3. Beachball

This album has bad songs.
1. Saturn Return
2. Chorus & the Ring
3. I'll Take the Rain

Is it worth buying? Absolutely! Is it R.E.M.'s best album? No. Is it their worst? Not even close!

I tried my best to enjoy Reveal. Really. I did. But it still frustrates me to know that the same group that was capable of producing Life's Rich Paegent and Fables of the Reconstruction could release such an empty album. After several listenings, I realised I only really liked four songs (Imitation of Life, She wants to be, I'll take Rain, and Chourus and the Ring), primarily because IN THESE FOUR SONGS, ALL THREE ORIGINAL MEMBERS ARE PLAYING. AT ONCE. It vaguely reminds me of Pink Floyd's The Final Cut, when Roger Waters the Personality prevailed over Pink Floys the Group, thus making the album seem foreign to those familiar with their previous works.

The only thing that is constant is Micheal Stipe the Techno Bard. It seems like REM the group is acting as a vehicle for what may be Stipe's solo career; in most of the tracks, Stipe and Mr. Drum Machine weave intricate and sometimes heavily obscure lyrics that in the end leave the listener with a feeling of disappointment(Saturn Returns is almost as annoying as New-Adventures "Leave" with the sirens in the background).

I realize that the era of mid-late 80's REM is over, but rather than fading into the sunset like Pink Floyd, they keep on attempting to reconstruct their old successes with much more inferior materials. After weeks of listening and agonizing, I must pass judgement: 2 stars.

I've been a fan of REM since 1991, and I like all their albums. However, this album is quite unlike other, "classic" REM albums such as "Life's Rich Pageant", "Out of Time" and "Automatic for the People". Who would have thought from listening to those albums that REM would come up with an album with clear Brian Wilson influences? Listen to tracks like "Summer Turns to High" and "Beach Ball" in particular and you'll see what I mean. While the songcraft that makes REM great remains, it takes on new forms here, forms that may not be pleasing to all fans of the "old" REM. Like its predecessor "Up", "Reveal" sees REM using synthesisers to colour the songs to an extent not heard on earlier REM albums. Unlike "Up", it does not have any almost Floyd-like atmospheric tracks like "Suspicion" , "You're In the Air" and "Parakeet". Instead it features songs that soar, like "The Lifting" and "I've Been High", gentle bittersweet songs like "She Just Wants to Be" and "I'll Take the Rain", and gently disturbing songs like "Disappear" and "Saturn Return". The song here most reminiscent of earlier REM is "Imitation of Life" . I found "Reveal"to be a great summer album in the summer of 2001. During heat waves I loved listening to "Summer Turns to High" with its lines "Mercury is rising still/set the fan on high".

REMs most latest Album "Reveal" can be summed up in one word: Complacent. The Band sounds as if they have fought all their battles and is content to create a dreamy, etheral, album lacking the direction and heart of previous projects. Thus the album is a strange epitaph to a band's legacy.

The underlining problem of the album is that is overproduced. After the departure of Bill Berry from the Band, REM found itself without a drummer. For most bands a drummer is the most easily replacible members but for REM it was impossible. So instead of introducing a new member in the mix or hiring session players, The band decided to do something else: They used production tools and mixing boards to try and hide the fact that they no longer had a drummer. The result is a producer's opus for longtime REM producer Patrick Mccarthy. Mccarthy does a very masterful job. The opening track "The Lifting" has an otherworldly quality to it that seems appropriate. Unfortunately Mccarthy uses this trick a little more than one would hope. By "Saturn Returns" the listener that is still awake has grown weary of the lucid, etheral mix of half- baked lyrics and repetative studio treatments. You feel as though you wan't to pull the band down and tell them to just play.

Even so, the album isn't a bad album. The vocals are soothing to the ear, a deep contrast previous Albums . The lyrics are simple and vague. The production is a dreamy soundscape showing Pat Mccarthy as master producer. And the album is unoffensive to the ear. It is the perfect mainsteem record, which is wherein its problem lies.

The Album's two singles "Imitation of Life" and "All the Way to Reno" are defanatly the high points of the album. Aside from that there are no real memorable songs. The production on each track is such a perfect carbon copy of itself that it is almost impossible to associate a single tune with a track.

Maybe it isn't just REM's fault that the album is complacant. It seems the whole music establishment has reached a plateu of contentment. "Reveal" is a microcosm of music. It shows an artist who no longer wants to fight put out an album which has no fire to it and has a feeling of happyness and has no real purpose. With recent additions like "Everyday" and "A day without rain" the music we listen to has shifed from edgy to smooth and without the inner turmoil of previous projects by many established artists. Maybe in this day and age we have enough turmoil without the music and need confort and solice in the music. But Even more than confort the music needs heart. Reveal lacks that.

REM's Reveal is one of the band's best albums. The content, compared to 'Automatic for the People' and the hyperkinetic, concert-oriented 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi', is relatively subdued. Lyricist/vocalist Michael Stipe, this time around, sings much more slowly, and musically speaking, the mainstream guitar and bass of 'Murmur' has been replaced by a more eclectic and diverse range of instruments. Reveal is full of strings, horns, xylophones and pianos, to name but a few - also, a welcome change from 'New Adventures' and 'Up' (their last two albums), Reveal is less fuzz-pedal, distortion and feedback heavy. Ultimately, Reveal shows a matured, subdued REM, grown better with age just like a fine wine.

The album starts on a positive note with 'The Lifting' - an inspirational and emotional song indirectly related, perhaps, to Stipe's recent public announcement that he is gay. There seems to be that current of confession and personal exploration in all of the songs on the album, especially in the final song, 'Beachball'. In it, Stipe and a lover "flash the seaside sky/ with starfish butterflies" and he talks of "dancing in the street/ who knows who you might meet?" Nevertheless, Stipe still finds room for scathing social commentary, notably in 'Imitation of Life', a critical discussion of life being shaped by artificiality and Hollywood.

All of these songs are more beautiful than the last. The album oscillates between fast and slow tempos and each song has its own distinct sound. The restrained, evocative 'I've Been High' packs a punch using a synthesiser, a drum and some subtle percussion. This is balanced with the next song, 'All the Way to Reno', which harks back to the more heavily instrumental days of 'New Adventures'. There lies tremendous subtlety in Reveal, especially in such songs as 'Chorus and the Ring' and 'Saturn Return', the latter of which unifies a plethora of instruments to deliver a wave of emotions to the listener. It's horrifying, uplifting and saddening all in one. The great piano riffs in 'Beat a Drum' are reminiscent of the masterful piano of 'Nightswimming' from 'Automatic for the People' and 'At My Most Beautiful' from 'Up'. The variation of tempo and instrumental content in Reveal delivers a vast array of emotions to the listener - Reveal is not just an album; rather, it's an experience. It comes to a close with the subdued Rumba of 'Beachball', in which a cascading horns and vocal arrangement brings the album to its bittersweet denouement.

Ultimately, Reveal is a brilliant album that displays a mature REM - wiser, more ambitious and more subdued. Stipe's lyrics and Berry's music culminates to create an album that transcends being just music; rather, what Reveal has on show is music that packs an emotional punch. That's what makes it so brilliant - it stands alone with 'Automatic for the People' and 'Murmur' in the REM selection for being a truly special album.

I have always thought it an odd coincidence that U2's startling return to former glory All That You Can't Leave Behind came out roughly the same time as R.E.M.'s "Reveal." This is an album made to be eager to please, discarding the electronic squonking that buried what was worth hearing on Up (think U2's Pop) and delivering an album that honed in the band's strengths. "All That You Can't Leave Behind" was revealing, yet "Reveal" got left behind.

To me, "Reveal" is a massively underrated album. R.E.M. continue with their new-found Brian Wilson fascination on "Summer Turns To High" and "Beachball," shimmering instruments set apart from creamy harmony. The first single and video, "Imitation Of Life" should have been this album's "Beautiful Day," and brings back the R.E.M. of Peter Buck's jangle guitar. "All The Way To Reno" delved into Michael Stipe's lyrical irony (who thinks they'll find stardom in Reno?) along with a dreamy chorus.

There were plenty of other songs on this album that merit note, but the one that hooked me was "I'll Take The Rain." I played this song and U2's "Walk On" during 2000 and 2001 when I needed a boost to my spirits.

"I used to think
as birds take wing
they sing through life so why can't we?
You cling to this
and claim your best.
If this is what you're offering?
I'll take the rain."

Given the spectral production on "Reveal," it gives the aching sadness of the song an amazing emotional sweep. The 5.1 remix offers the range of sound the band was obviously trying for, and I was hoping to hear in the DVD-A releases. The bonus features consist primarily of a documentary of the making of the album and some shots of the band playing a Rock In Rio festival and a weird electronic, Up-like mix of "I'll Take The Rain" set to animation. "Reveal" is an album where Buck, Stipe and Mike Mills find themselves comfortable working not just as a trio, but as an R.E.M. trio.

Did anyone else (like me) love Up, but still wonder what they'd sound like in a happy mood? The wondering is over. Comparing this album to their previous work is somewhat difficult.. it's a definite step up from Up, and much more consistent and solid than New Adventures. I can't compare any farther back since Reveal and Monster are like mangos and watermelons.

There's less of the loopy electronics and experimenting with sound effects than there was on Up, although there are a couple echoes - "Disappear" and "Saturn Return" could have fit in on that album. While Up was the sound of the band finding its direction after Berry left, Reveal is the sound of them celebrating the fact that they're still able to do what they like best - and still do it so well. Calmly, too: REM's never been thrash-heavy, but "Imitation of Life" is the only thing here that really recalls the kicking spirit of "End of the World" or several similar songs. The overall tone is more of the laid-back beauty of "Find the River" or "Half a World Away." Strings show up more often than ever.

Differences aside, it's a beautiful album. It doesn't invade your head right away, but settles in for the long haul. It's as if the guys were all on valium while making Up. Now it seems they've finally kicked the meds, found a steady drummer to replace the samples and programs, and watched American Beauty about 12 times each. Buy it and listen. Forget expectations based on what they did before, just take it on its own. Wait a day or two. Listen again. And again. Picture oceans, sunsets and waterfalls in your mind. This is an amazing piece of work.