REM #13: Around the Sun

Release Date: October 5, 2004

Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Mike Mills (bass, keyboards)

Additional Musicians: Scott McCaughey (keyboards, percussion); Ken Stringfellow (keyboards); Q-Tip (rapping on "The Outsiders); Bill Rieflin (Percussion); 

Produced by Pat McCarthy & REM

Track Listing: Leaving New York; Electron Blue; The Outsiders; Make It All Okay; Final Straw; I Wanted To Be Wrong; Wanderlust; Boy in the Well; Aftermath; High Speed Train; The Worst Joke Ever; The Ascent of Man; Around the Sun

"Leaving New York" opens Around the Sun, a poignant ode to New York City with melancholy post-9/11 subtext. Lyrically, the song speaks to the leaving the city and the end of a friendship. The electronica fused "Electron Blue" remains a favorite of Michael Stipes he described as a futuristic song that came to him in a dream. "The Outsiders" begins as a synth-pop song and ends Q-Tip providing a rap as a coda, which speaks to the political frustrations and inertia of the Bush era. "Make It All Okay" continues on in a similar vein speaking to miscommunication in a fraught relationship. 

"Final Straw" was written as a protest song about the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, but avoids topical references in favor of an oblique Socratic dialogue. Cultural and political disillusionment are expressed a bit more forcefully on "I Wanted to Be Wrong, Stipe sings "everyone is humming a song I don't understand." 

"Wanderlust" lightens the mood, with Stipe inhabiting a poetic wanderer in modern America, possibly imagining a reincarnated Kerouac. "Boy in the Well" conjures early REM with its minimal production and flickering Americana. "Aftermath" offers hope through gaining self-knowledge, REM at their stateliest. Atmospheric and moody, "High Speed Train" may actually work better if seeing it performed live. "The Worst Joke Ever" speaks to creativity and malaise. "The Ascent of Man" injects some much needed soul to counter the overcast mood of the record. "Around the Sun" ends the record on an upbeat note, promising to keep seeking for the answers as long as the world's still going. 

The album cover art features REM as fading shadows - and that suits Around the Sun. All members admitted to being bored and frustrated during the making of the record, sales were moderate, while reviews were tepid. The post 9/11 world, especially for idealists and Progressives, brought on disillusionment, and here REM flirts with succumbing to it, but not quite. The record can be read as a warm hug to their fans, pointing the way through introspection. 

REM #12: Reveal

Release Date: May 14, 2001

Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Mike Mills (bass, keyboards)

Additional Musicians: Scott McCaughey (keyboards, percussion) Joey Waronker (drums); Ken Stringfellow (keyboards)

Produced by Pat McCarthy & REM

Side One: The Lifting; I've Been High; All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star); She Just Wants to Be; Disappear; Saturn Return

Side Two: Beat a Drum; Imitation of Life; Summer Turns to High; Chorus and the Ring; I'll Take the Rain; Beachball

By 2001 REM had achieved carte blanche in terms of their career. They were a rich rock band with total creative freedom and a loyal fan base supporting their tours and buying their records. Their legacy was set in stone. Musically, rock and pop no longer commanded the youth market like in decades past. The way consumers were interacting with music was in flux with the internet becoming a Wild West for free downloads and with streaming just around the corner. Part of REM's new mission was assuaging their fan base through reissues, live albums, and collections of unreleased tracks. 

New albums were no longer the centerpiece of a REM's existence, with them becoming cottage industry on their own. Reveal is a stellar album, less experimental than Up, yet seemingly tailor made to be what one would expect from REM. But a subtle unease traverses through the slick lyrics and hypnotic melodies. 

Like most REM tracks, "The Lifting" benefits from multiple listens. Written as a prequel to "Daysleeper" from Up, it's about an office drone who once had high ambitions about life. With its dreamy pop intro that could open a Cardigans song, but there's an emphatic frustration with the character, a figure who imagined a life of color, but it's still black and white. It also contrasts dreams with mundane nature of life, drawing a comparison to " A Day in the Life." 

"I've Been High" applies a retro '80s pop sound, with recurring REM imagery of water, the sky, and falling. "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna be a Star)" follows a familiar character, a young woman trying to break into show business, musically it feels like a spiritual sequel to "Man on the Moon." Michael Moore directed the playful video for the song, following REM as they visit a Catholic High School in Brooklyn and mingle with the students. 

"She Just Wants to Be" could possibly be about the same character from the previous song, a track celebrating experiencing the world, but also complicating the sentiment. "Disappear" follows a world- weary character on other side of the spectrum of the young person in the precious song, always on the elusive search for meaning and finding nothing, eventually preferring to leave the world. "Saturn Return" continues in a similar vein, the lyrics are labyrinthian with Stipe's haunting vocal and the rich soundscape creates a sublime mood. 

Some have read "Beat a Drum" as a tribute to Bill Berry who left the band to become a farmer, weary of touring and shaken after a brain aneurism, Berry chose the quiet life. The song's themes of transcendentalism also draw parallels to Emerson and Thoreau. "Imitation of Life" could be read as the band satirizing themselves, with its overtly sweet optimism. "Summer Turns to High" also revels in darkly sweet imagery, with hints of Pet Sounds. "Chorus and the Ring" is lyrically the most adventurous. A melancholy resignation sustains "I'll Take the Rain." "Beachball" ends the record on a low key vibe in a jaundiced vision of paradise. 

Musically and lyrically Reveal offers everything one would expect from REM, bright melodies, and sublime lyrics. I marginally prefer Up because of its less constrained style, there's an uneasy insularity on Reveal, a safe record in the best possible sense. 

REM #11: Up

Release Date: October 26, 1998

Members: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitars); Mike Mills (bass, keyboards)

Additional Musicians: Scott McCaughey (keyboards, percussion) Joey Waronker (drums); Barrett Martin (drums)

Produced by Pat McCarthy & REM

Side One: Airportman; Lotus; Suspicion Hope; At My Most Beautiful; The Apologist; Sad Professor; You're in the Air

Side Two: Walk Unafraid; Why Not Smile; Daysleeper; Diminished; Parakeet; Falls to Climb

With the departure of drummer Bill Berry, REM continued on as a trio, employing a handful of session musicians on keyboards and percussion. Up was recorded throughout 1998, with members working more as individuals and exploring electronica sounds under the influence of Radiohead. Barely on speaking terms at times, it took a three-day retreat in Idaho for the band to air out their differences and deciding whether to continue. 

Up opens with "Airportman", a gently melodic soundscape of electronica, influenced by Krautrock. "Lotus" introduces the spiritual themes on the record, with its surreal lyrics and pop-electric sound. "Suspicion" is in a neo-psychedelic mode, with stream of consciousness lyrics, in one of Stipe's most evocative vocals yet. "Hope" borrowed its melody from Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne", lyrically the song is directed at someone unsure if they should go in the science or religion route in trying to make sense of mortality.

"At My Most Beautiful" is a pristine piano ballad inspired by Brian Wilson. Aural waves and reverb sustain "The Apologist," with its moody themes of compromise and control. "Sad Professor" is a character sketch of melancholia similar to REM's earlier interest in eccentric characters. 

"You're in the Air" is a love song, baroque, and haunting thought Stipe's vocal. "Walk Afraid" marinates in existential angst, a secular prayer. "Why Not Smile" drowns in earnestness and honesty, which makes the sentiment even sadder. "Daysleeper" offers poetic reflections on modern life, globalization eating away at the soul of Gen X, prescient in its sentiments and somewhat reminiscent of "Fakin It" by Simon and Garfunkel. "Diminished" is the longest track at six minutes, lyrically ambitious with more wordplay and striking imagery, in the fadeout Stipe performs a fragment of "I'm Not Over You." 

"Parakeet" is a metaphorical in how we can trap ourselves, "Falls to Climb" brings the introspective themes of Up to a proper conclusion. 

Up offers a variety of dreamy melodies and rich themes. Musically, REM was updating their sound with elements of Brit Pop and electronica, while maintaining their thematic preoccupations on life and how to live it. Stipe continued to expand his vocal range, often inhabiting the characters in the songs. New Adventures in Hi-Fi was their farewell to the 1990s, Up had them looking forward to the 2000s. Record sales declined in the US, but the record performed better in Europe. With their days of mainstream success behind them, Up signaled REM was settling into becoming a niche band. 

The Albums of 1973: The Isley Brothers: 3+3

 

Release Date: August 7, 1973

Members: Ronald Isley (vocals); Ernie Isley (lead guitar); Marvin Isley (bass); O'Kelly Isley (vocals); Rudolph Isley (vocals); Chris Jasper (piano, synth)

Produced by Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley

Side One: That Lady; Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight; If You Were There; You Walk Your Way; Listen to the Music

Side Two: What it Comes Down To; Sunshine (Go Away Today); Summer Breeze; The Highways of My Life

The Isley Brothers had a remarkable run of records during the 1970s - and 3+3 was one of their best. Consisting of originals and memorable covers of pop hits, 3+3 is a standout from the crowded year of 1973.

The record opened with "That Lady," an update of their 1964 hit reimagined as 1970s funk. Jimi Hendrix had toured with the Isleys in the mid-1960s, Ernie Isley's guitar on this track took inspiration from Hendrix, earning the group a Top Ten hit. James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" is performed wonderfully as a quiet soul song. "If You Were There" is upbeat and melodic, "Walk Your Way" is gospel inspired. The Isely's took the Doobie Brother's hit "Listen to the Young Music", maintaining its festive spirit while incorporating a synth sound that builds to a memorable fadeout.

"What it Comes Down To" was another hit single highlighted by Chris Jasper's synthesizer. "Sunshine (Go Away Today) was hit for singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards, a post-60s lament, the Isley's expanded on the notion with their moodier version. The Isley's had covered Seals & Croft's "Love the One You're With" a few years before, here the they took on "Summer Breeze", expanding the song to an epic six minutes, adding a note of unease accentuated by distorted guitars. A lovely piano intro opens "The Highways of My Life," an introspective track to close the record.

In its nine tracks 3+3 incorporated a variety of emotion and styles, the production left behind a timeless sound.

The Albums of 1973: Bruce Springsteen: The Wild, the Innocent, & the E Street Shuffle

Release Date: November 5, 1973

Produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos

Side One: The E Street Shuffle; 4th of July Ashbury Park (Sandy); Kitty's Back; Wild Billy's Circus Story

Side Two: Incident on 57th Street; Rosalita (Come Out Tonight); New York City Serenade

Bruce Springsteen's sophomore record The Wild, the Innocent, & the E Street Band built upon the homespun sound of his debut Greetings from Ashbury Park. 

"The E Street Shuffle" is lyrically similar to the New Jersey scenes on the first record, a celebratory opener full of consequence. "4th of July Ashbury Park" paints a portrait of a specific moment in time of the Jersey shore, cinematic in its scope with its heightened reality, even sounding archaic with references to "greasers" and "factory girls". The song is addressed to Sandy to whom the singer is confessing a heartbreak, and expressing a sense of time passing that will never return, at least for him. "Kitty's Back" is a bittersweet farewell to another legendary figure who enraptured the imagination of many in an ambitious composition moving from folk, R&B, and gospel. "Wild Billy's Circus Story" eulogizes a traveling circus in a curious hybrid of Dylan and Bradbury. 

Side two featured three 7+ minute epics critics often cite as Springsteen emerging as one of the great American songwriters. "Incident on 57th Street" tells a sprawling tragic love story of "Spanish Johnny" and "Puerto Rican Jane." The theatricality of the song would continues through Springsteen's work during the 1970s. "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) is similar in sentiment, with Bruce switching to the first-person perspective. A standout from his early live shows, certain to send the audience out on a high note. "New York City Serenade" is the most abstract lyrically, more kaleidoscopic, and musically the most adventurous. 

While the record sold moderately, critical notices were strong, and it got a lot airplay in the Northeast. It's easy to view Wild & Innocent as mere prelude to Born to Run, but the album stands on its own with its sprawling romanticism and swashbuckling theatrics, one's left with no doubt Bruce and the band left it all on the record. 

The Albums of 1973: Paul McCartney and Wings: Band on the Run

Release Date: December 5, 1973

Lineup: Paul McCartney (vocals, bass, guitars, piano, keyboards, percussion); Linda McCartney (vocals, keyboards, percussion); Denny Laine (vocals, guitars)

Produced by Paul McCartney

Side One: Band on the Run; Jet; Bluebird; Mrs. Vanderbilt; Let Me Roll It

Side Two: Mamunia; No Words; Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me); Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five

Band on the Run bookended a challenging and prolific year for Paul McCartney and Wings which began with the release of Red Rose Speedway. In search of creative inspiration, McCartney with band members Linda McCartney and Denny Laine recorded most of the record at EMI studios in Lagos, Nigeria. Planning for days on the beach and recording at night, they instead found the country in political turmoil following a civil war that had ended in 1970 with a military dictatorship in charge. The change of scenery and some of the dangers that came with making the record resulted in a record even McCartney's most begrudging critics praised. 

The album also bore a striking resemblance to the concept records of the late Beatles period, although McCartney never intended it as such, although are recurring romantic themes of escape and adventure. "Band on the Run" opened the record with one of Paul's best songs since the Beatles breakup. Conceived as a mini suite opening with weary guitar melodies, then into a crescendo of resolve, and transitions into an anthemic pop song.

Another FM staple, "Jet" was inspired by the McCartney family dog. The non-sensical lyrics and big production were primed for arena rock shows. "Bluebird" is wonderfully produced and performed, both subdued and fantastical. "Mrs. Vanderbilt" also spans genres from rock-pop to Paul's fondness for writing singalongs. Many noticed "Let Me Roll It" sounded like a John Lennon pastiche, even with lyrics possibly aimed at his old bandmate. Musically, McCartney was proving he could still write rockers with the best of them.

Inspired by a famous hotel in Marrakesh, "Mamunia" has drawn comparisons to "Rain", also similar in sentiment to "Mother Nature's Son." Co-written with Laine, lyrically "No Words" could be on a lounge singer's repertoire but works fine as a pop song. Reportedly written on a dare by Dustin Hoffman, "Picasso's Last Drink" is another mini suite with a reprise of "Jet" and "Mrs. Vanderbilt" tying both sides of the record together (and works as a quirky tribute to the legendary artist). There's a Sci-Fi edge to "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" to close out the record, a bit of prog rock on the fadeout.

Band on the Run never ceases to be entertaining, a retro extravaganza and celebration of '70s pop.

The Albums of 1973: The Allman Brothers Band: Brothers and Sisters

 

Release Date: August 1973

Members: Gregg Allman (vocals, guitar); Dickie Betts (guitars, vocals); Berry Oakley (bass); Jai Johnny Johanson (percussion); Butch Trucks (percussion); Chuck Leavall (pianos, vocals); Lamar Williams (bass)

Produced by Johnny Sandlin

Side One: Wasted Words; Ramblin' Man; Come and Go Blues; Jelly Jelly

Side Two: Southbound; Jessica; Pony Boy

The Allman Brothers Band were recovering from the loss of two founding members of the group, Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley had both died in motorcycle accidents within a year of each other. With some lineup changes and a determination to continue on they recorded Brothers and Sisters through the summer of 1972. It was released a year later to high acclaim. 

"Wasted Words" opens the album on a rollicking note with its blend of blues, rock, and soul that pack a punch and highlights all aspects of the band. "Ramblin' Man" was written by Dickie Betts and became a hit single for the band, even though they were initially reluctant to record it believing it was too much of a departure from their signature sound. The lyrics present a Southern sojourn from one who's been everywhere and seen it all. "Come and Go Blues" was a Gregg Allman composition and achieves a more epic effect in its appraisal of a relationship. "Jelly Jelly" is more in the traditional blues and soul style and breaks into a slightly extended jam. 

Side two opens with two iconic jams: "Southbound" and "Jessica." Both written by Betts, "Southbound" is fueled by an erratic energy and "Jessica" has no lyrics and it doesn't require them, the music is expressive enough. Another Betts composition, "Pony Boy" closes the record. Inspired by Robert Johnson, channels traditional blues and ends the record on a homespun note.

A chaotic tour in 1973 would follow and as the decade progressed the band's output fell off with internal group conflicts and members pursuing their own projects. Brothers and Sisters finds the Allmans at the peak of their powers.