I have just come back from town and I was in Borders Bookstore here in Bournemouth and I saw R.E.Ms new CD Around The Sun and I was wondering if anyone can tell me if its good or not!!

Is it worth buying??

Thanks!!

i've only read bad reviews of it. if there are any enthusiastic reviews of it at all out there, i'd like to read them, because i was actually kinda sorta interested in getting the new one just to see what they're up to these days, but all i keep hearing about is how boring and uninspired it is.

I bought it last week, if you liked the last two CDs (UP & REVEAL) it's kind of like those, but weaker I'd say. I liked UP & REVEAL, but I'm not listening to this new one much. The worst part is a song on there, #3 I think, which has a rap done by Q-Tip on it. I wasn't impressed by that at all.

illusion7 said:

I agree. That rap is stupid and pointless. Plus it sounds like it was just tacked onto the end of the song.

I got this CD yesterday and have so far listened to it twice. Maybe my thoughts on it will change with future listens, but for now I'd have to say it isn't a horrible album but I wasn't impressed much, either.

My problem is there was no one song that I felt any real immediate connection to and I just didn't feel much of anything for the CD as a whole. Definitely not like I did with many of their previous albums that I would listen to non-stop after getting them home. This one left me just kinda 'eh'.

There are a couple songs I liked well enough, such as "Boy In the Well" and "Wanderlust". , that maybe will grow on me with time.

But overall this CD - for me, at least - seems soulless and , and like Anxiety said...just uninspired.

Michael Stipe's voice sounded kinda bad, too, imo.

Go read the reviews on Amazon.com. They're more indepth and descriptive, and there are actually a good number of rather positive ones, which surprised me.

I'd still get it if I were you but don't expect too much from it or you might be disappointed.

I bought it on street date and have only played it once. They are one of my favorite bands and this is the first album I really did not care for. I knew it was a mellow record, but so was AUTOMATIC and that was a brilliant record. This one, as someone stated earlier, very uninspired.

I still love them and hope one day they blow us a way again...if not...I'll rock out to MURMUR and cry to AUTOMATIC and be happy!

peace

I've only listened to it once through, and all I can say is I sadly agree with all the posts above me. Uninspired, blah.

raveon2tnek said:

really?????

Everytime I hear Michael Stipe's voice I am just bored to death. Or irritated. Or both.

I think it's really sad what happened to R.E.M. They haven't made a great album since New Adventures In Hi-Fi. It's definitely time for them to get over keyboards. The last three albums (Up, Reveal and the new one) all have the same basic sound. Of course it's true that many of their other albums had the same basic sound, but it worked then. I don't think it's working this time. And would it kill them to release a few more uptempo numbers? I honestly find it kind of hard to get through their newer albums without nodding off.

Anxiety said:

The German Rolling Stone was really enthusiastic about it. I don't quite get what all the fuzz about them is about. From what I know they have written some great and propably a few classic songs, but it's all just so radio, so basic. In the end, boring.
[Edited 10/17/04 3:51am]

I loved R.E.M.'s early stuff. It was very Post-Punkish and very much influenced by The Byrds or The Beatles. The Smiths were a lot like them.

calldapplwondery83 said:

I'm judging by this post that you are only familiar with their 90s work and on?

Their albums through the 80s were all strong and groundbreaking, IMO. And, if those albums have lotsa radio sounding songs on them, it only speaks to the influence REM had on the sound which came to define alterna-radio by the late 80s.

SnowQueen said:

this is so me. Here and in the reviews I've read people TRASH this track. But it's one of the few that I liked on my first listen. I heard it this morning and liked it even more. It's dark and brooding and the rap flows perfectly with the song, IMO.

endorphin74 said:

As long as it's not Michael Stipe rapping. He did it on Trout, a collaboration with Neneh Cherry, and the results were scurry!

RipHer2Shreds said:

i liked Trout.

i liked the whole Homebrew album.

raveon2tnek said:

I would strongly recommend any R.E.M. album besides Around The Sun.

TheFrog said:

Neneh Cherry is one of my favorites, and I love Homebrew, but I dunno...I like the intent of the song more than the song itself.