Customer Reviews

Up (CD + DVD+A) (Dig)

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There has been mixed excitement among R.E.M. fans of the re-release of older catalogue items that include a DVD-A with 5.1 surround. Some reviewers have stated this is nothing more than a poorly disguised money making scheme. To those people I ask, have you listened to it?

"Up" was recieved with mixed reviews when it was first released in 1998. For some reason people expect a band to have a signature sound and R.E.M. has proven through the years that their signature is the ability to change with the times and capture different feelings. This is a collection of more mellow sounds and I distinctly remember buying the CD in 1998, taking it home and listening to it over and over all night long.

The first song, "Airportman" sets the mood of the disc. When I first heard "Lotus" I remember going to the player to try to figure out which Cure CD I had accidently inserted only to find that this was infact R.E.M.

The highlight of the album is "At my Most Beautiful" which is a lovely ballad and I hate to sound silly, but probably one of the most poetic pieces of music I have ever heard. Stipe's voice in the later albums (post Green and Out of Time) shows such remarkable depth and range. Not to mention Mike Mills and Peter Buck really coming into their own as performers and using the music to speak the emotions.

Now, why should you spend the extra money on this disc verses the older version? I love music so this was a no-brainer for me: buy the new releases even though I have perfectly good copies of many of them. The set comes with the standard CD which is no different than the one I have. The 2nd disc is a DVD-A that contains the song set in 5.1, which has so many more dimensions when played on the right equipment. I closed my eyes and there were times I had to peak to make sure Mike Mills was not playing bass in my living room. The richness of sound alone justified the expenditure and the small tones and sounds that I never heard in the thousands of times I had played this disc. In addition, there is a photo gallery with several nice shots of the band. There is also a Video Documentary with the band playing "Lotus" "Daysleeper" and "At My Most Beautiful." It is interesting to get these shots because one can easily see how much Stipe, Mills and Buck enjoy making the music.

If you have not purchased "Up" in the past, the new release makes it the perfect time to add this piece to your collection. This is a great album for when you are serving wine and cheese versus beer and peanuts and want to set a calmer mode. The multiple ballads makes this a great chick night recording as well. If you liked the album in the past, seriously consider upgrading if you have 5.1 equipment as you will not be disappointed.

I don't mean this to sound like a left-handed compliment, but the best thing about Up is that it manages to sound new, despite the fact that this was R.E.M.'s 11th album of new studio material. Honestly, not many artists can withstand such scrutiny without repetition, and yet the band sounds fresh, creative and emotionally honest throughout this entire set. This is all the more remarkable since it is the band's first album without founding member Bill Berry. Berry's absence forced the remaining members to rethink their methodology and get creative in his absence. At times, the production suggests the richness of peak-era Brian Wilson ("At My Most Beautiful"). Most surprising is how Michael Stipe expands his palette to include a series of gently emotive soundscapes with some of the richest melodies he's ever written ("Daysleeper", "Suspicion", "At My Most Beautiful", the short hidden track titled "I'm Not Over You"). Most touching is "Hope," a reflective piece rich in wordplay that confronts illness and mortality with sensitivity and grace. Fifteen years into their career, the band still sounds vital, proving not just that they are relevant, but that they remain one of the best. A- Tom Ryan