| Around the Sun | |||||
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| Studio album by R.E.M. | |||||
| Released | 4 October 2004 (UK) 5 October 2004 (US) |
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| Recorded | Early 2003 – early 2004 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 55:21 | ||||
| Label | Warner Bros. | ||||
| Producer | Pat McCarthy, R.E.M. | ||||
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| R.E.M. chronology | |||||
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Around the Sun is an album by R.E.M. released in 2004. It marked the first time that an R.E.M. album beared a title track.
Contents |
Description
"The Outsiders" features a guest appearance by rapper Q-Tip, recalling a similar appearance by KRS-One on "Radio Song" from their 1991 album Out of Time. When performed live, Michael Stipe carries out the rap, as he does on a later b-side release of the song. "Final Straw" is a politically-charged song, reminiscent in tone to "World Leader Pretend" on Green. The version on the album is a re-recording of "Final Straw" which was made available as a free download in 2003 from the band's website, which the band wrote and made available in opposition to the US government's actions in the Iraq war of 2003.
Commercial performance
Around the Sun generally received lukewarm critical praise and despite hitting #1 in the UK, it became their first studio album to miss the US Top 10 (reaching #13 with 7 weeks in the Billboard 200) since 1988's Green and is still awaiting a gold record. As of March 2007, Around the Sun has sold 2 million copies worldwide and 232,000 units in the U.S.[1] This is less than R.E.M. had previously sold in the first week of an album's release while in their early to mid-1990's commercial peak. Lead single "Leaving New York" became a UK Top 5 hit, with additional singles "Aftermath", "Electron Blue" and "Wanderlust" becoming minor hits there as well. Around the Sun has not had any singles success in the US, however. It is the band's first studio album to fail to have a song chart on the Hot 100 since Fables of the Reconstruction in 1985.
Reissue
In 2005, Warner Brothers Records issued an expanded two-disc edition of Around the Sun which includes a CD, a DVD-Audio disc containing a 5.1-channel surround sound mix of the album done by Elliot Scheiner, and the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes. The CD (as with all in this series) was not remastered.
Track listing
All songs written by Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.
- "Leaving New York" – 4:49
- "Electron Blue" – 4:12
- "The Outsiders" – 4:14
- "Make It All Okay" – 3:43
- "Final Straw" – 4:06
- "I Wanted to Be Wrong" – 4:34
- "Wanderlust" – 3:04
- "Boy in the Well" – 5:22
- "Aftermath" – 3:52
- "High Speed Train" – 5:03
- "The Worst Joke Ever" – 3:37
- "The Ascent of Man" – 4:07
- "Around the Sun" – 4:29
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Billboard 200 | 13 (7 weeks on the chart) |
| 2004 | UK album chart | 1 (7 weeks on the chart) |
Singles
| Release date | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-09-27 | "Leaving New York" | UK Singles Chart | 5 |
| 2004-11-29 | "Aftermath" | UK Singles Chart | 41 |
| 2005-02-28 | "Electron Blue | UK Singles Chart | 26 |
| 2005-07-11 | "Wanderlust" | UK Singles Chart | 27 |
