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A Camp Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Around The Sun
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'Sun' is the 13th studio disc for R.E.M., who are joined here by frequent collaborators Ken Stringfellow and Scott McCaughey. Q-Tip also guest raps on "The Outsiders."
| LABEL: | Warner Brothers |
| RELEASE DATE: | 05 October 2004 |
| DISCS: | 1 disc |
| GENRE(S): | Alternative, Rock |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this album is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 88 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jonas H. gave it an8:
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.
Ross H. gave it an8:
Not as good as other albums but electron blue is like a footballer who plays well but doesnt bask himself in glory
Iban L gave it a4:
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.
Collings j gave it a10:
a master piece
Dax r gave it a6:
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.
Mark p gave it a3:
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
Jace N gave it a3:
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!

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