Wow... This band use to be the sh*t. I wore out my record, tape, and CD players playing REM in the 80s and early 90s. Chronic Town through Automatic for the People were ALL classic albums. I am a firm believer Monster was the demise of the band. I saw them on that tour and they were horrible. They looked out of place as an arena rock band. New Adventures in Hi-Fi was acceptable... but still not a classic. Then Bill Berry left. Ever since then, this has been a really cr@ppy band. A real embarassment, considering that these guys were the best band in the world at one point. Up, Reveal, and Around the Sun is just terrible. I can't believe how bad they are. Warner must be puking at the fact that they signed these guys for $80 mil at the start of their decline. The album sales are terrible. REM. PLEASE RETIRE BEFORE YOUR LEGACY GETS RUINED BEYOND REPAIR! … Expand

Excellent Excellent Excellent

great album

Dull and uninspired.

quiet and peacefull, something for the background, no peaks, no lows

Sadly, REM seem to be afflicted by a kind of aural torpor at the moment. It may be offred as "atmospheric" and "experimental" and it is nowhere near as far down that road as Radiohead have gone in recent years, but with every release we get further away from their ear catching guitar driven best. I have followed them since Lifes Rich Pageant (still their best work) and sadly my anticipation, borne out of a belief that "Bad Day" was signalling a return to form, was sadly withered away, even after my third play. Bring out a retrospective of rarities and give fans a taste of historic treasure still to be enjoyed. 3/10 I'm afraid… Expand

Let it grow on you and it will reveal it's beauty for you. A masterpiece from the Athens boys.

I think the critics seem to have it in for REM. This is a fine album that reveals more on each listen. Why it's had a poor critical response is beyond me.

this is a definite grower just gets better more u listen to it

Excellent album once you have listened to it properly a few times. I wasn't impressed at first, but now i love it. Diffferent critics have mixed opinions on what the best songs are, but i've seen each song praised by differnet reviewers. I cant believe i've seen soo many mediocre reviews for this album.... its good to see though that normal fans of music like myself actually agree with me when i say this album is great.… Expand

I expected more after the superb lead-off single ("Leaving New York" is in my top 3 REM songs) but the album is drab and lacklustre. You feel the fire has gone out of their bellies and the expected lp-every-two-years routine has killed their creativity. They need to take a couple of years and stockpile some better material. And up the tempo a little. Away with the middle-age malaise

leaving NY is cheesy, but good intro and verse.electron blue/outsiders/final straw(which sounds like leonard cohen meets spaced out bozz scaggs)/aftermath and boy in well are best songs. very modern sounding, yet more back to their roots than any post-bill berry record. I think it is better than "automatic" because it flows so nicely(plus there is nothing on here as saccrine and cheesy as "everybody hurts", which I can't stand).the style is very consistant which we haven't heard from these guys since green/document-yet it doesn't seemed forced-more natural sounding because back are the acoustic guitars. It could use some more "real drums" though.ascent of man is amazing and so is title track. 2 duds are high speed train and worst joke ever. buck says next record will be more rocking, but this a perfect record for fall 2004-r.e.m. always seems to put out great fall season records-capturing the melancholy of summer passing and leaves changing. ATS has a modern, southern neo-country-soul vibe which will grow on you....not perfect, but a classic major label phase rem record-deeper and better than green, monster,up and reveal. it is a real "album" and not a few good singles and a bunch of dream-pop filler. long live the "gurus of eighties mysticism!"… Expand

It definitely benefits from being listened to several times. Some of the songs then come across very strongly, for example 'I wanted to be wrong' and 'Wanderlust'. On the whole, it doesnt challenge the ears like some of the earlier REM albums.

This is not a standard R.E.M. record, it's darker, slower, more experimental than most of their work. When I first listened to the album I didn't like most of it, but by hearing it again and again, i must say that I start liking almost every song. The only song i really don't like on the album is the song that most critics like the most, "I Wanted To Be Wrong", It just sounds to awkward to me. It's not their best album, but it's still very good… Expand

Leaving new york, Final straw, I wanted to be wrong, Aftermath, Around the sun and Wanderlust are all on this album and some have called it dull? whatever, y'all. This is great stuff. It takes a listen or two to take it all in, maybe. And no, it won't make you jump up and dance all the way through. But that just isn't the point. There are many gooseflesh inspiring musical moments.

Don't believe the half-assed critics who gave it a listen with their remote in their hand. This is a marvellous album, full of passion, melody, awesome lyrics and innovative music. Not a filler on the album, although there are many high points. If you buy this album you won't be dissapointed. It deserves a few listens and it gets under your skin, amazing. Right back on form

Fantastic

Incredible. I find myself baffled by the professional critics' reluctance to embrace this album. Is it as good as "Automatic For the People?" No, it's not as good as their masterpiece. Is this an extraordinary record? Without a doubt.

this album flat out sucks.

Attention "critics, "It takes more than one spin of a CD to review it. I know you have such a hard life, writing your opinions on the FREE cd's you recieve but take your time and throughly review the CD's or just resign I'd love to have yr job.

Such an enjoyable listen: smooth, melodic, and-yet at times-piercing, throbbing, and insistant. I've read reviews from those pundits who wail the demise of REM since Berry left the band, and those seem dry, vacuous, and trite to me. I sincerely doubt they've given their disks more than the one obligatory spin before expousing their own vitriol. Give Up, Reveal, and Around the Sun a good listen with the stereo cranked loud. You'll be happy you did. :)… Expand

What do critics have against pretty melodies and downbeat music? REM's always been about melody more than attitude. There's nothing wrong with a beautiful, downbeat, sincere album. This one does it just the right way, a lot like David Bowie's "Hours." I don't think critics understand it because they're deluged with all those ironic faux-punk albums that are all the rage these days and don't have room in their heads for much else.… Expand

The most underated album in the last 5 years? yes. I can admit that the production is hard to swallow sometimes, however, this album delivers a good share of surreal gem's. High paid critics no shit about reviewing old bands comeback albums. All they really review is how the band market themselves and judge it on their image. For example, look at the reviews that the new Rolling Stone's album is getting(A Bigger Bang), despite the album not delivering, especially in comparison to Around the Sun. Its too bad, R.E.M. didnt name this album "Were back... and Rocking....and you cant deny it", then it would be a definite success. These critics didnt fool me, i listened to the album, and loved it. Atleast check it out.… Expand

Don't hate the band; hate the album.

This one got torn up in the REM newsgroups. However, I can appreciate most of REM's efforts from Murmur up to this one. The album really hits its stride around song 7, Wanderlust, through song 9, Aftermath. It's sort of a post-9/11 album according to most accounts but it's really more of a post-election album as a good portion of it seems to be a rather biting commentary at the current administration in the White House.… Expand

The pre-release word on this album was "Primitive and Howling" and we all thought "Good...no more experimental weird tinkering with organs...and stuff from the 70s like the bands attire and cover art in the UP days of 1998". ...post release we see its yet another pop, click buzz & beep festival with a slow, dragging pace and tired half-asleep vocals. Cmon...COME ON...yell Mr Stipe...we know you can! Ditch this whispering falsetto and spaceman kaleidescope background music and make us remember why we loved Monster and New Adventures In Hi-Fi!… Expand

This album is not for everybody….yet. The year that this timeless contribution tops the charts marks the evolution of mankind in his thinking. For those fortunate beings that have the capacity to delve deeply into what R.E.M is trying to share with us here, they will find this album nothing short of inspirational and empowering. Understandably, in the new world in which we live it is not the role of the critics to promote such inutile things. With 'Final Straw' and 'The Outsiders' R.E.M. show an unquestionable inner strength and resolve. With 'Around the Sun' the group remind us of humility in the face of age old universal truths. They remind us that we have the power 'to dream, to question, to believe'. If you let it, this song has the capacity to take you from your current 3 dimensional existence, exposing your true place in the little understood majesty of the universe. Yes this album is also political, it is reactionary, it is necessary. It is insightful in the face of an increasingly soulless material world, of which the corporate music industry is a part of. During a stage in human history where politician’s agendas are dominating our lives, we should ignore R.E.M's enlightened contribution at our own peril. Life was once about striving to better ourselves as moral and ethical human beings. Yes I know the concept is outdated and that is more the reason why in 2005, as stated many times in this forum already, "you need to replay this lyrical soundness several times before it starts to sink in!" Thanks for the mainstream musical renaissance R.E.M.… Expand

As a huge R.E.M. fan, "Around The Sun" was such a disappointment. Though it is true that the departure of Berry in 1997 was a difficult moment, the other three members proved that they were able to get over that and continue producing good music (not nearly as good as in their peak, but good). The dark "Up" and the summery "Reveal" were both interesting records, with flaws, but with a general good impression. But this is definitely not the case of "Around The Sun". Certainly, I don't consider ATS to be a horrible record or a record I hate, but it is quite lifeless and offers very little to the listener. There are a few of interesting songs but nothing really stands out, while there are some big flaws. My feeling about this record is not positive, but I still have faith on R.E.M. and I hope the next record will go back to the rocker and better sound. After all, they're a great band.… Expand

a master piece

I'm a general fan of a lot of REM's music, and I must admit I disagree this is one of their worst albums. Although they have let down their old-school rock style, it's still great.

After 1 listen-through, I felt totally disappointed. After 2 listen-throughs, I felt like selling it. After the 3rd listen-through in my car, I had a catharsis from this album. I mean a shiver went down my spine on certain moments in the album. Not one song overshadows another. A true album. Genius.

Either a compact disc or a sedative - sometimes it's hard to tell. This is marginally better than "Reveal", but that's really not saying much. This is really the sound of a once relevant band slipping in to dreary instrumentation and scrabbling around for a decent hook.

Not as glorious a pop record as Reveal - but not far off either. I do not get the critical backlash about this one at all - what I hear is a humble, comfortable REM, crafting soulful music that reflects both their own growth, and the travails of the modern world. Don't listen to the critics - REM has left them behind..

aaaa ..listen... , not bad

OOH man I can't believe all this bad reviews, I almost started to believe them and decided not to listen to their new album! Until a friend of mine said it wasn't that bad at all, I gave it a listen. My first opinion was like said in every review, cheesy and uninspired. But then, and as I read opinions of others this seems to have everyone, after a few listens (really 4 or 5!) all the songs begin to reveal their beauty and settle down in your head for days and days! It's the same with the single Leaving NY... The reason why this album only has an overall of 52 here is probably because all those reviewes didn't take time to listen to it more than twice, so please don't be as narrow-minded as those critics by immediately at 1st listening judging that REM is outdated. If you like REM's sound, give it a try! A 9, that's what it's worth, just listen to The Ascent Of Man, Boy In The Well, Electron Blue, The Outsiders, Leaving NY, Wanderlust aah just too much!… Expand

Not as bad as the metascore suggests but nonetheless definitely not REM at their finest. Maybe its that its just too slow for me, but you get the feeling that Stipe really has become lost. Who knows, if you're tolerant enough to give this album a few listens maybe it really will become as good as they say, but thats a big if.

Probably their best record. Yeah, really. It's a great leap on from the over-produced 'Reveal', often sounds nothing like REM at all. Can't stop listening to it and each time hear something new - and 'Aftermath', 'Wanderlust' and particularly 'Ascent Of Man' are just wonderful. This is the sound of a great band finding somewhere new to go to, and I love where they're at just now!… Expand

As for some of the other reviewers - I was dissapointed with the album - probably until day 5 of listening n my car to/from work did it hit. I seriously rate this is REM's best - and find it a truly uplifting album. I think Michael Stipe has found peace in some sublime way........love it

Each time I listen to this album I like it more and more. It's absolutely beautiful and definitely deserves a second chance if you're not too sure about it the first time.

My girlfriend and I started to listen to the CD. It was boring. We decided to have sex. That was pretty cool.

Many of the positive reviews here describe how I felt about "UP" - not immediately accessible but over time beautiful and interesting in a low key scattered kinda way. Also it was a first after Bill left and these living legends obviously needed time to adjust. "Reveal" showed them getting more upbeat and remembering melody, a fine thinking person's summer disc, but still...This latest is sadly plain mediocre - not bad but average enough. Pretty and maudlin does not a decent album make. Where is this depth? I think fans are looking into the mirror of their expectations of a once hugely important band - complements to the depth and effort of these fans, but best look elsewhere for the profound and moving works these lads once turned out and made it look easy. It obviously isn't easy judging from this latest effort.… Expand

A serious disappointment - the first REM record with nothing to recommend it. A dud.

Amazing, and ridiculous, how poorly reviewed this album has been. Another brilliant record.

this cd has some of the finest r.e.m. songs ever. highlights include leaving new york, electron blue, the outsiders, the ascent of man, and around the sun.

The 3 boys still rock, see ya in italy on january!!!!

This album sounded really boring at first, but it grows on you after a while and only then its beauty is revealed. That's why the critics don't like it. I love it

A great REM album.

A beautiful, subdued, and uplifting album. Michael Stipe has never been more honest or straightforward. You can actually UNDERSTAND every word he is saying. With every album REM creates a different work of art. And of course, as with every REM album, it gets better and better the more you listen to it.

Pathetic. I listened to this pap on myspace.com (thanks for saving me the 15 bucks!) and only made it to track 8. What an embarrasing effort. For a band that was once so unique, vibrant, and vital (see Chronic Town - Automatic for the People) to see them produce this bland and boring offal is a sad thing indeed. Give it up, Stipe. I guess the only thing to do is TALK about the passion, because it's obvious that it left your songwriting over a decade ago.… Expand

Can't believe the bad reviews this album has received. The album is a document of the last four years. Perhaps hard to get into at first. but well worth the effort.

alot of mediocre material - they set the bar high and this one falls very short. great song - leaving ny. can't remember being this dissapointed with a new rem disc

r.e.m. need to do what made them great. the last to albums have just sounded too clean production-wise. mumble, mix the vocals low, and tone down the studio sheen a little bit. then they can do whatever they want with organs, beeps, and blips, sequenced drums, etc. at least the songwriting on reveal was still pretty strong for the most part. here it's uniformly as weak as it's ever been at the lowest points in the past. this is the only r.e.m. album that has ever been even remotely disappointing. after bill left i planned on being disappointed with up, and while it had its weak points, it still had some of those truly great songs that you can still remember hearing for the first time. i thought reveal couldn't keep up, and while it didn't quite have the highs, it was a more solid effort overall. this just feels like a placeholder. just a bunch of songs, some decent, some boring, thrown onto a cd. whatever.… Expand

Not as good as other albums but electron blue is like a footballer who plays well but doesnt bask himself in glory

I just love all songs... one by one... a great album... Don't know & don't care for bad critics. R.E.M - Missed you... Its Good to be BACK!!!

Their most tuneful (by far) since automatic for the people

As rem releases go, I too am dissappointed with this offering. Once the mystery of m.stipe was removed the downward spiral proceeded. I have not been impressed with rem for some time, but this is going to be their new low water mark. I don't understand what the boys are trying to do here. I think MONEY & COMPLACENCY have taken its toll. Why should they give a f*ck. They clearly don't have a connection with vitality whatsoever. A big dissappointment is an understatement. … Expand

This is the most consistent and interesting album R.E.M. have released in over a decade. The subtle political overtones are a welcome relief from the in-your-face mud that fills up my living room these days. No, it's not my family! My advice to all the negative critics is- give this album more time.

Anyone who gives this a low rating reviewed this on first impression. This is a complex and at times moody set of somgs, but they have real depth that grows and grows. If you've given this a low rating, listen again, and again......

Are Buck and Mills even on this album? It sounds like computer-generated R.E.M. with Stipe over the top. For an album full of love-hate songs and political statements it's suprisingly flat. It's hard to the buy the raw emotion of the lyrics when the songs sound this painstakingly over-produced. Too much studio tinkering always kills the passion. Unless you're Eno and Lanois.

Ok, so it's not REM's best album but it's a helluva alot better thant he bullshit from the "Creed" type bands that copy each other's sounds and ride the current sound. REM is one of the greatest bands ever. Period. You have to respect their powerful and complicated lyrics. I am a bit disappointed in this album but overall a "relatively" poor album from REM is better than most albums. … Expand

i really liked this album especially electron blue

from all r.e.m records i think i love the idears from "up" the most. so nicely experimentaly searching. reveal and sun have the same lovely etherical mood and better songs. leaving new york is almost as cheesy as that famous track 4 from automatic and high speed train has some minutes of not nicely singing .. aftermath, the ascent of man, the outsiders, & final straw are all great songs in my opinion though. and it's an really relistenable record that keeps intriguing me. … Expand

Never a big REM fan here, but at least there music was not coma inducing before, like this crapola is.

Good album... REM is not affraid to invent and to mix new sounds. The Band don´t sell itself. It believe in something. Creative songs and brilliant keysboards. Listen with heart and brain...

It is simply unfathomable to me how so many critics panned this album. Michael Stipe's lyrics, as always, are different and dark, and he uses melody as simply a vehicle to deliver the poetry. There is some great stuff here: Q-Tip's verse on The Outsiders shows the band isn't afraid to try something new; Wanderlust is a strikingly inventive song, with a chorus in 7/4 meter, it sounds more like it's from outerspace rather than the trash heap like some critics suggest. And amid the eye-opening moments are light, tuneful, throughtful, beautifuls songs.… Expand

This is a bad r.e.m. album. it's not a bad album period, but for r.e.m., a band which had previously never made albums that were less than solid and were usually incredibly unique listening experiences, it's a let-down. Nothing about this album is unique or original, either in the short term or long term. the album retains the electronics and technicalities of up and reveal, yet where those albums sounded rich and even somewhat organic, this one sounds stale and compressed. In the context of rock history, damn, this album sounds like it could've been a #1 record in 1988 (Dream of Life, anyone?). Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA and even the more recent The Rising also come to my mind. The running order of tracks on Around the Sun, that's a whole new problem. seriously, who decided that leaving new york qualified as the opening track for the album (unless it was for the sheer sake of 9/11 sympathy)? It's a solid ballad with very passionate vocals from Michael Stipe - although it could've been sped up a little. Electron Blue sounds much more like an opening track, even though it isn't very good. the outsiders is just as dull and uninspired, but the q-tip cameo feels completely out-of-place in an r.e.m. world and is uncomfortable to listen to. Make it All OK sounds really similar to the previous song, and, alas, so too does the next song Final Straw. Finally we get an eventful-sounding redeeming piece with I Wanted To Be Wrong, which is pleasant earcandy and great for relaxing. (When the drums kick in, it reminds me very much of their song 'Tongue' off of Monster). Wander Lust is another sub-par song with stipey choosing the most awkward notes vocally. The Boy In The Well is okay, but its Aftermath that steals the show on this album. Definitely one of the more upbeat tunes here, the melody is memorable and stipe's vocals and lyrics are highly emotional. A real keeper of a song, despite the nearly distracting overproduction which is a mainstay on this album. High Speed Train is creepy but, again, isn't very original in context of the album and not very r.e.m.-like. The Worst Joke Ever is pretty good, another minor highlight, with some of stipe's best singing on the album. The Ascent of Man is the sound of 50-year-old men trying to sound sexy. it's not very impressive. Finally, Around the Sun ends the album on a decidedly uneventful note. This is a monotonous album, in one of the worst ways possible. almost every single song is a ballad of some sort, and most of the songs are largely drum-less (still understandable at this point) and SLOW. So flow is, eh... Again, this has a lot to do with the production, which is dedicated to making the band sound as urban, industrial and U2-esque as possible. The lyrics as well are less obscure and more in line with the kind of lyrics Bono would write around this same time. R.E.M. are a pop band, for sure, but only by coincidence. They were huge in the late '80s and '90s because they made songs that were really darn catchy, not because they 'sounded' like everything else (their biggest hit was carried by a chorus-less tune carried by a mandolin, for god sakes!). With this album, they sound like the stereotypical kind of pop music, a brand just like any boy band in the market. The elements of the original R.E.M. are for sure in here (buck's chiming guitar, mills' backing vocals and bass), but they are buried and hard to locate in the heavy mix of glossy synthesizers. More than ever, the lack of enthusiasm (and bill berry) shows. It seems that, for the majority of this album, Michael Stipe's voice is the only saving grace. For the not serious R.E.M. fan, these tunes should do just fine, but for the real fans, we deserve a better collection of songs. Thank god the band understood that and released their huge comeback in 2008 with 'Accelerate' (still had some overproduction issues, but this time the songs were actually REALLY GOOD!). Verdict: The worst R.E.M. made so far. Dull, monotonous, and sorely lacking in the old-fashioned R.E.M. style. It already sounds incredibly dated. Don't buy the album, unless you're REALLY curious and a risk-taker. Highlights: Leaving New York, I Wanted to Be Wrong, Aftermath… Expand

R.E.M.'s worst to date, despite quality material like "Leaving New York" sprinkling up occasionally. Most of these are just poorly written piano ballads that make me long for the days when an R.E.M. ballad meant "Perfect Circle," "Camera," "Wendell Gee" or most of Automatic for the People, not "I Wanted to Be Wrong" or "Boy in the Well."