| Up | |||||
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| Studio album by R.E.M. | |||||
| Released | October 26, 1998 (UK) October 27, 1998 (U.S.) |
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| Recorded | January–July 1998 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 64:31 | ||||
| Label | Warner Bros. | ||||
| Producer | Pat McCarthy and R.E.M. | ||||
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| R.E.M. chronology | |||||
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Up is R.E.M.'s eleventh album. It was their first album without drummer Bill Berry, who amicably left the group in October 1997 to pursue his own interests. In his place, R.E.M. would use session drummers or drum machines to fill the void.
Contents |
Details
Moving into electronica-influenced territory after delivering the challenging New Adventures in Hi-Fi in 1996, Up alienated – to some extent – both critics and fans of the band's 1980's work and casual listeners who were used to their more commercial early 1990s output. However, some saw it as one of their bravest and most sonically daring records to date, and the record was even cited by Radiohead, who would release their own largely electronic and highly acclaimed effort Kid A in 2000. Ending a ten year relationship with co-producer Scott Litt, R.E.M. engaged the production assistance of Pat McCarthy, who was assisted on most tracks of Up by engineer Nigel Godrich, Radiohead's producer. With Berry's departure, the sessions for Up were indeed strained, with R.E.M. subsequently admitting that they came close to breaking up during its recording. Not surprisingly, the album is considered to have a laboured and melancholic feel to it. Many R.E.M. albums had made references to sleeping and dreaming but this was perhaps their most drowsy to date. In spite of the tension, "Daysleeper", which recalled Automatic for the People's "Try Not to Breathe" somewhat, became a Top 10 UK hit, and was followed by "Lotus", The Beach Boys-influenced "At My Most Beautiful" and "Suspicion", which is reminiscent of the song "Tongue" from their Monster album. Breaking with a tradition that stretched back to their 1983 debut Murmur, Michael Stipe elected to have his complete lyrics included in Up's CD booklet, a practice Stipe has maintained on all subsequent R.E.M. releases. It was rumoured at the time of the album's release that "Hope" was written for Thom Yorke, "At My Most Beautiful" for Patti Smith, and "Why Not Smile" for Bill Berry. Michael Stipe denied all three in an interview for Britain's Q magazine in 1999.
Sales and critical acclaim
Up reached #3 in the U.S. (with 16 weeks on the Billboard 200) and #2 in the UK, but didn't have the staying power of their previous decade's albums, giving them their lowest sales in years. Although they initially intended on not supporting the album live, following many successful promotional concerts upon the album's release R.E.M. quickly arranaged a four-month arena tour of Europe and America during the summer of 1999. As of March 2007, Up has sold 664,000 units in the U.S.[1] In 2005, Warner Bros. Records issued an expanded two-disc edition of Up 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.
In 2006, Q magazine "saved" this album from their "50 Worst Albums Ever" list, saying that it is "superior to Monster" and claiming it "a start of renaissance". It received 4/5 stars.
Track listing
All songs by Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe unless otherwise stated.
- "Airportman" – 4:12
- "Lotus" – 4:30
- "Suspicion" – 5:36
- "Hope" (Leonard Cohen, Buck, Mills, Stipe)1 – 5:02
- "At My Most Beautiful" – 3:35
- "The Apologist" – 4:30
- "Sad Professor" – 4:01
- "You're in the Air" – 5:22
- "Walk Unafraid" – 4:31
- "Why Not Smile" – 4:03
- "Daysleeper" – 3:40
- "Diminished"² – 6:01
- "Parakeet" – 4:09
- "Falls to Climb" – 5:06
Published in 1998 by Temporary Music and administered in this quote-unquote world by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Notes
1 Cohen was not directly involved in the writing of "Hope" but was given a writing credit by the band due to similarities in melody and lyrical pattern to his "Suzanne".
² Includes a brief piece entitled "I'm Not over You", with Stipe soloing on acoustic guitar, after the song's conclusion. The song's title and lyrics are even printed in the booklet.
Studio B-sides
Two non-album tracks from the Up sessions appeared as single-only released, as well as two alternate versions of album tracks.
- "Emphysema" (instrumental)
- "Surfing the Ganges" – 2:25
- "Why Not Smile" (alternate version)
- "Suspicion" (live in the studio) – 5:39
Personnel
- Peter Buck – bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion
- Mike Mills – keyboards, guitar, bass, backing vocals
- Michael Stipe – lead vocals, guitar
- Scott McCaughey – keyboards, percussion
- Joey Waronker – drums, percussion
- Barrett Martin – percussion
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Billboard 200 | 3 |
| 1998 | UK album chart | 2 |
