Lookback: R.E.M.’s Last 2 LPs, ‘Accelerate’ and ‘Collapse Into Now’ – Overlooked Gems?

I was basting up on the roof the other day, listening to my newly updated Summer/Sun/Beach playlist – if you can’t afford to go to the beach create one in your head – and I couldn’t help but think about, what else, rock n roll. I’ve written about a lot of bands over the years but as I lay there thinking about B&V and melting in the sun – I always feel like I’m a rotisserie chicken… alas I can’t afford to have someone apply butter to my skin as turn – I couldn’t help but think about all the great bands I love who I haven’t written anything about. I started this blog to write about artists who have been around a long time and are still putting out great, if sometimes overlooked music. So it makes sense that some of those great bands who split up a long time ago wouldn’t have made our pages.

Although, I had to admit to myself that was a weak excuse for not writing about certain artists. I have often done “lookbacks” at albums (like our recent post on the Police’s Synchronicity) or at different, defined era’s in a band’s history, be that their peak (Bob Seger or Aerosmith) or their beginning (the Allman Brothers). Even though I do those lookbacks I still haven’t written a single thing about (amongst others) the Doors, the Talking Heads or a band I really grew to love over the course of their career, R.E.M. – that wonderful alternative rock band from Athens, Georgia whose members were Michael Stipe (vocals), Peter Buck (guitars), Mike Mills (bass/keyboards/harmony vocals) and for most of their career Bill Berry (drums). R.E.M. was one of the first bands labeled as “alternative” and were a huge inspiration for bands that followed like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Hole and so many others.

It’s hard to believe that R.E.M.’s debut EP Chronic Town came out the month I went away to college in 1982. I never knew anybody cool enough to actually have owned that EP but I still put a track from Chronic Town on our 1982 Playlist. Unfortunately for me R.E.M. began as darlings of college radio and uh, I never listened to college radio… except by accident. But I have to admit they had an amazing string of albums at the start of their career. Murmur made our list of favorite debut LPs. Reckoning, their second LP, might be my favorite… although that honor may reside with Life’s Rich Pageant. Despite having one of the best first five or six LP runs, I never jumped on the bandwagon. I just didn’t hear that much R.E.M. when I was in college while they were ascending into everyone’s consciousness. Maybe it was the sketchy company I was keeping but I was busy listening to the Stones, Zeppelin and Van Halen. And here you had this band with a jangling guitar and shy lead singer with his hair combed over his eyes. I guess you had to be loud to catch my attention in those days.

It wasn’t until 1987 when I was living in exile in Arkansas, “the dark time,” that I finally discovered R.E.M. The album Document‘s lead single was a song called “The One I Love,” that like “Every Breath You Take” didn’t sound very loving. It hit me in the lower brain stem. I still own that album on vinyl. As much as I loved that record, it didn’t send me crashing through their back catalog as is my usual wont. It took another song that hit me hard before I got on the bandwagon. It was “Losing My Religion,” and probably it’s artsy video that got me on board with R.E.M. It was a real departure from what I’d heard from them before and while hated by the critics, it was my gateway drug into that band. By the time Automatic For The People came out, I owned every album in their catalog (on CD) save for Fables Of The Reconstruction, which I’m still not jazzed about.

I saw an interview with R.E.M. and they talked about how they’ve zigged and zagged creatively over the years and the audience’s taste has done the same and only at a few times in their career had the zigging and zagging of the audience and the band actually crossed. Automatic For The People was certainly one of those times. What an album. It kicked off a three LP run that really solidified me as a fan. Monster rocked so hard I went to see them live. After that they came out with New Adventures In Hi-Fi that was recorded at sound checks while they were on the road and again, I loved that LP. But at that point, after a series of disasters, founding drummer Bill Berry quit the band. As Joe Strummer famously said, and I never tire of quoting, “Never underestimate the chemistry of 4 guys in a room making music.” If you lose a fundamental, foundational piece like your drummer, something is going to change…

And change it did. R.E.M. went on a three LP run that, at the time, made me wonder if they were trying to burn everything in their career down. It started with Up, their foray into electronica. I was dating a girl who played it for me at the time and other than the pretty ballad “At My Most Beautiful,” there was nothing on that album to hold my attention. Reveal was probably better but I don’t recall any big single to help the LP gain any mindshare with the public. Around The Sun was, as I recall, another guazy, mellow affair. At that point, to me at least, R.E.M. seemed utterly lost.

Apparently, the band recognized it as well. They knew that it was time to wrap it up as a band but also wanted to go out on a high point. So many bands just fizzle out at the end. Like me in my 20s they just don’t know when to leave the party. Sometimes they descend into acrimony or worse, apathy. I think U2 is showing us how not to end a career…Say what you want about R.E.M., they went out rocking. But after those previous terrible LPs, I wonder if anybody even noticed? At that point, on the suggestion of the Edge, they hired producer Jacknife Lee and brought in drummer Bill Rieflin on drums and proceeded to deliver not one, but two of their finest LPs. Another thing they did that was key, was decamp to Dublin and actually play their new songs live, like they did in the early days, to work out the material. Those concerts actually resulted in a live album (released between these two following albums) Live At The Olympia, that made my list of favorite live LPs. Here are two LPs, everyone needs to hear:

Accelerate, 2008

As mentioned, by 2008 I had given up on R.E.M. It had been a whopping 12 years since they’d caught my attention. And then I heard “Supernatural Superserious.” I knew this band had life left in it and ran out and bought the CD (which in those days was the format). As soon as I heard that opening riff on “Living Well Is The Best Revenge” I knew Peter Buck’s guitar was back, the guazy synths gone. And let’s face it, living well is pretty damn good revenge. If you’d ask most people Monster is probably considered R.E.M.’s hardest rocking album but to me, this one gives it a run for it’s money. If the band was going out – it was going out loudly. There are so many rocking highlights on this album: “Man Sized Wreath,” the title track (my fav), and “Mr. Richards.” But R.E.M. also hit the mellow tracks out of the park. “Hollow Man” starts as a piano ballad but kicks in towards the end. “Until The Day Is Done” brings the acoustic side in. “Houston” about Hurricane Katrina is atmospheric organ and acoustic guitar. The album ends on the out of control rocker “I’m Gonna DJ.” I even love the bonus track “Red Head Walking.” There’s not a bad track on this album. If this was when they wanted to call it quits they could have walked away proudly… but thankfully they had one more LP left in them…

Collapse Into Now, 2011

Where Accelerate was R.E.M. find their feet again, Collapse Into Now is where they learned to soar again. As a final LP it comes across more of an encapsulation of their career – like Bowie on Heathen and Reality. It’s more experimental than Accelerate but at it’s core it’s rock n roll. Unlike the Beatles during the sessions for Let It Be or later Abbey Road, there was no acrimony here, R.E.M. was having fun and showing off a sheer joy of making music. “Discoverer,” and “All The Best” come roaring out of the gate. All swagger and guitar. “All The Best” reads as their farewell note… “I’ll give it one more time, I’ll show the kids how to do it fine, fine, fine, fine…” “UBerlin” is a beautiful, acoustic based track. “Oh My Heart,” another acoustic track with Stipe speaking the verses is a favorite. Listen closely in “It Happened Today” and you can hear Eddie Vedder doing backing/harmony (wordless) vocals. It ranges from raw boned rock to beautiful ballad moments. You have to love any hard driving song named, “Mine Smell Like Honey.” “Blue” was a perfect track to end it all on. Friend and mentor Patti Smith shows up to duet on that one. This is such a strong swan song.

If you’re like most people and you think that R.E.M.’s output after Automatic For The People isn’t worth checking out, I strongly urge you to go back and check out these last two LPs from one of America’s truly great bands, not to mentioned the live 2-disc Live At The Olympia. They went out with class and strength and really had hit a late career high point. Not many bands can pull that off at the end. Sure, Warren Zevon put out the incredible The Wind at the end of his career but he was dying. I could say the same thing about Leonard Cohen and You Want It Darker. At least these guys went out friends, went out rocking and remain on the right side of the dirt. Turn these albums up loud!

Cheers!