R.E.M.: Collapse Into Now

R.E.M.
Collapse Into Now
Rating: Meh

It is very difficult for me to be critical of R.E.M. I have grown up listening to them, I have all their albums, I have seen them live so many times I have lost count, and I even went to school at The University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, where they formed. I remember when I was in high school and college it was an event when a new R.E.M. album came out. I would sequester myself for days listening to the record over and over, trying to decipher all of Stipe's lyrics, letting the great guitars and melodies pass through my head until I could practically play them myself through sheer osmosis.

Since Bill Berry left after New Adventures In Hi-Fi, the band's releases have been spotty at best. Up! was too much experimentation and trying to figure out how to operate without Berry; Reveal featured stronger songwriting, but was still rudderless; and don't even get me started on their career nadir Around The Sun, which was torpid and listless. After regrouping, they changed paths slightly and released Accelerate, which was a return to form somewhat, relying less on expanding their sound than focusing on their strengths. It was not a favorite of mine, but it showed the spark they used to show.

Continuing the track laid down by Accelerate, R.E.M. returns with their 15th album Collapse Into Now, which shows flashes of the old R.E.M. but still misses the mark. It is the most "R.E.M." sounding album since Hi-Fi, but instead of it sounding organic and effortless, it is very forced and by the book, as if they were conscious of making it sound like R.E.M.

Collapse Into Now starts out strongly, with the 1-2 punch of "Discoverer" and "All the Best" taking the cue from Accelerate with driving beats and roaring Rickenbackers,





leading into their best song in years, the gorgeous ballad "Uberlin," featuring one of the strongest choruses they've ever done:



At this point of the album, I was thinking it might be the return of the R.E.M. I grew up loving. All the elements were there, great melodies, good lyrics, inspiration they hadn't had in years, however, the album began to flatline and never really recovered. Too many of the remaining tracks have pieces of them that on paper make them classic R.E.M. songs, but in actuality never really soar. "Oh My Heart," and "Every Day Is Yours To Win," ruin their gorgeous acoustic backing with muddled and dopey lyrics.



R.E.M. fails to utilize their guest vocalists in any meaningful way. Eddie Vedder and Peaches become lost in the mix on "It Happened Today" and "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter," respectively. And Patti Smith's gravelly voice on "Blue" only functions as evidence that the song is a pale companion to the far superior "E-Bow The Letter."



Things do perk up a bit here and there, but not enough to salvage what had already been lost. "Mine Smell Like Honey," which is by far the worst song title of their career, is classic barn-burning R.E.M, but still sounds like B-side material.



Which is also indicative of a more widespread problem with R.E.M. Instead of blazing forward and evolving their sound, they seem content to mine their back catalog for inspiration. Indeed, each song sounds like it could have been pulled from a different R.E.M era. Sometimes it works, as in the lovely "Walk It Back" and "Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I" which could easily fit on Automatic For The People:





But mostly it doesn't, as with the "It's the End of the World As We Know It" aping "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter:"



It distresses me that I no longer get excited by a new R.E.M. album. It has come to the point where I am just relieved it is not as bad as Around The Sun. I am, however, pleased that these last two albums have been more focused and direct. I am never going to count R.E.M. out completely, it has been too long a journey with them for that, I just would like them to focus less on trying to "sound" like R.E.M. and just "be" R.E.M.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.