Accelerate : R.E.M. : Review : Rolling Stone

When their original drummer, Bill Berry, quit in 1997, R.E.M. became more than "a three-legged dog," as singer Michael Stipe famously put it at the time. Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills actually turned into a pair of trios, two very different bands, for the next ten years. One was the studio R.E.M. of Up, Reveal and Around the Sun: wounded but determined, making a stately, reflective pop rich in psychedelic luster and heavy with ballads about faith and doubt. Then there was the concert R.E.M. Armed with longtime second guitarist Scott McCaughey and, in recent years, ex-Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin, Stipe, Buck and Mills charged the musical exploration and internal debate on those records with the dirty-silver jangle and get-in-the-van surge of R.E.M.'s quartet-era classics, such as 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant and 1987's Document.

Accelerate is the first studio album by that post-Berry stage band, and it is one of the best records R.E.M. have ever made. Much of Accelerate was cut in live-band takes and even tested onstage during a run in Dublin last summer, and it shows. Guitars are front and center, in slashing-chord and rusted-arpeggio crossfires, as if you've got R.E.M.'s 1982 EP Chronic Town and the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks spinning in your CD tray at the same time. "Man-Sized Wreath," "Supernatural Superserious" and "Horse to Water" rattle and zoom like buried treasures from an old club-tour set list. And there is nothing soft or shy about the slower darkness either. In "Houston," a stark snapshot of post-Katrina exile ("If the storm doesn't kill me/The government will"), crude fuzz drones and ham-fisted organ chords roll over Buck's acoustic guitar and the fighter's will in Stipe's voice ("I was taught to hold my head high. . . . Make the best of what today has") like oily floodwater.

But the R.E.M. on Accelerate is also the one I saw at New York's Madison Square Garden right after 2004's Vote for Change Tour — and two nights after Bush's re-election. Bummed but unbowed, they opened the show with loud, fast defiance — "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" — and they do the same thing here, with "Living Well Is the Best Revenge." "Don't turn your talking points on me/History will set me free/The future is ours, and you don't even rate a footnote," Stipe sings in a rapid, ecstatic near-shout over flying fists of guitar and racing bass and drums. And that's just the start of the blowback. "Nature abhors a vacuum/But what's between your ears?" he snaps in "Man-Sized Wreath," a bitter laugh at empty pomp and sound-bite patriotism, aimed at sheep and herders alike. And whoever "Mr. Richards" is, he gets his just desserts — "Mr. Richards, your conviction/Had us cheering in the kitchen" — served with Buck and McCaughey's bristling-glam guitars.

Stipe has not sounded this viscerally engaged in his singing and poetically lethal in his writing since the twilight of the Reagan administration. But he is not merely protesting the mess of the nation. Accelerate is total-victory rock, Stipe making promises he knows he can keep — "You weakened shill . . . Savor your dying breath" ("Living Well") — because he's not alone. The apocalypse is obvious in "Sing for the Submarine," an urban-holocaust update of Crosby, Stills and Nash's hippie-escape plan "Wooden Ships." So is the strength in numbers. "It's all a lot less frightening/Than we would've had it be," Stipe insists, as Mills swoops way behind him in guardian-angel harmony. (Mills' vocals, too often taken for granted, are frequent literal high points on the album, the reassuring sunlight on Stipe's gritty delivery.) And in "Hollow Man," Stipe concedes his own needs and fuck-ups, then calls for help — "Corner me and make me something" — in a stunning mix of tender-piano ballad and big-guitar chorus that sums up the commitment that makes true loves, democracies and great rock bands possible.

Ultimately, the best thing about Accelerate is that R.E.M. sound whole again, no longer three-legged but complete in their bond and purpose. "Music will provide the light you cannot resist," Stipe crows at the end of the record, in the atomic frivolity of "I'm Gonna DJ." And you can believe him — because he and his band believe in themselves again.

DAVID FRICKE

(Posted: Apr 3, 2008)

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Give us your review of Accelerate

Review 1 of 22

4of 5 Stars

I'm glad to hear REM rocking again and making short pop songs. Some of the choruses on their last few albums drag on and on. There are several great songs on this record, and its easily their best since Up, but its definately not a classic like Fables or Reckoning. Possibly the fact that they chose the sappy Hollow Man as their second single (instead of the obvious highlight Living Wells the Best Revenge) makes me like this album a little less. They're still better than all the crap the local "Modern Rock" stations like to cram down our throats.

Jul 11, 2008 18:05:42

Review 2 of 22

5of 5 Stars

Being a fan of R.E.M. since 1985, why do all of you supposed music critics (yes, you too, RS!) have to look into the the lyrics of every f'n song from every CD and try to find any hidden meaning and/or make a statement?

Ignore Stipes supposed political lyrics (does anyone really care?) and enjoy the music. Accelerate is the best CD that R.E.M. has put out since New Adventures. I will put this CD up against Document #5 as my favorite of all time.

CSR
"Living well is the best revenge." - Stipe

Jun 7, 2008 20:37:47

Review 3 of 22

3of 5 Stars

four stars or three...I sat for a minute and deicided. First off, I am a devoted fan. Second, I do attempt to evaluate everything as unbiased as possible. I like the album. "Living Well.." is a perfect REM Song, as is "Supernatural.." Lyrically and musically unique, distinctive, passionate, articulate, whimsical...all at the same time. The ballads are very good. "Man Sized Wreath" is another winner, along with "Horse To Water"...honestly, I can't stand "Im Gonna DJ"..yes, I get it....thematically, it is just where it needs to be on the album....but even then it's too trite all around, and too derivative of Iggy Pop.... I truly feel everyone is getting carried off by the fact that they decided to go back to garage sound that created them. Believe me, I am happy too..... But saying it's the best thing I ever did, or even did in a decade or more? Come on! Their ability to meld almost any genre from punk, to folk, to country, to even hip hop and have it be valid makes them able to be to accepted whether they're rocking or lamenting... I love Around The Sun.....there. I said it..... Up is basically some of Stipe's best lyrics with a karaoke machine behind them... Thankfully, everyone agrees that Automatic...is the highest achievement, and that Monster is sloppy...But if you want good example of the rockier stuff that is much better than this, look no further than Life's Rich Pageant! Even the uneven Document has some gems. Truth is, for every throw away song, there's three or four that are golden on even their least successful work... Murmer and Fables are definites on my desert island discs.... I can't say Accelerate would be put in that category.... I'll say this much, at their worst they have never made an out and out clunker CD....Monster even has some wonderful stuff on it...

Apr 30, 2008 10:16:05

Review 4 of 22

4of 5 Stars

i think accelerate is kind of an old fashioned sound a very retro sound from the 80's
i like the songs living well is the best revenge, supernatural superserious, accelerate because these song are kind of fast song and the guitar arrangements and voice arrengment give an impression of a dark sound kind of more profound lyrics and melodies that make you feel inspired the lyrics are very supportive.

we have a band and we played rock and we love rock and this album kind of inspired us to write and play in a similar way to the REM songs it inspired in many different ways we decided to try to explore different sounds and lyrics that to us seem very deep and we think it can inspire more people.

Apr 16, 2008 11:52:08

Review 5 of 22

5of 5 Stars

HELL YES.

I cannot remember the last time I sat in a room with no other distractions and listened to an album. And listened and listened and listened.

Apr 4, 2008 20:53:59

Review 6 of 22

3of 5 Stars

Being a huge fan of R.E.M. since around 1984, I always get psyched when they have a new record coming out. This is because I know they can turn on a dime and go in a direction that I never would have anticipated. That's the best part. And this pretty much held true up to and including New Adventures in Hi-Fi.
After that record, they put out a collection of rich, well-crafted but rather relaxing records that pretty much sounded the same to me. Up, Reveal, and Around the Sun all had their really bright spots for me, but nothing reached out and grabbed me like works before, and there were songs I just didn't like. I think losing Bill Berry made them a different band, and left them trying to find their identity without him. Michael started singing in a monotone crooning kind of way most of the time with a bunch of "I" and "You" songs (songs where most of the lyrics start with I or You) that would just not hold my interest. Keep in mind though, R.E.M. has definatly earned the right to put out whatever they want. My humble opinion is pretty much meaningless here.
Anyway, here comes Accelerate. Heavy guitars and rough around the edges. Fast bass lines and Michael souinding pissed off. About time. A definite change in direction. Something that eludes to the energy of their live shows. While the title song is the only one that clicked for me right away, I'm glad they found their rock again because I like my R.E.M. innovative and rockin'. I don't think the record has the presence and power of their Bill Berry works, but it is absolutely as step in the right direction for them. I've only listened to it a couple of times now and I'm looking forward to hearing it some more.

It makes me wince when I think of R.E.M. as an easy listening band- all that power and all that talent to kick ass being used on Wanderlust? :-(

So I will absolutely see them again when they tour like I always do because I am a fan and I love to see them play live. I will listen to Accelerate looking for peices of it to click with me knowing that R.E.M. has once again changed direction, wondering what's next for one of my all-time favorite bands....

Apr 4, 2008 08:00:48

Review 7 of 22

4of 5 Stars

I rushed out and purchased Murmur back in 1983 after I had chanced to hear "Radio Free Europe" while listening to the local rock station late one night. I liked all or part of every REM album from then until Bill Berry's departure after New Adventures in Hi-Fi.

Even though I did not like Up and the two albums which followed, I cannot say that I hated everything that the three-legged dog version of REM did between 1998 to the present. I've always thought that "Daysleeper" was one of their best ballads, for instance.

Having said all of that, it sure is nice to have a guitar-driven band with a full set of drums on all tracks for this outing. It doesn't have to be Life's Rich Pageant or Document to sound punchy and fresh, and it certainly doesn't need to be a masterpiece the stature of Automatic for the People to be enjoyable. It is good to hear REM sound like the band that they can become in a live setting. For a group of men at or nearing 50 in the twenty-sixth year of their recording careers, I think that Accelerate is quite an achievement.

Apr 3, 2008 19:54:23

Review 8 of 22

4of 5 Stars

REM, the band, releases their first album in 10 years. REM, the poet, activist, and artist, has never left us……for proof go give a listen to Up, Around the Sun, and Reveal. The Stipe solo album days are over...for now.
Accelerate sounds like the band went to Ireland to “play like no one is listening” …..and just happened to stumble into a pub turned studio staffed by Jacknife Lee. Buck had his guitars this time. Mills remembered his mic and I can almost imagine Bill Berry sitting in on drums for a few tunes.
Regarding Stipe…..there’s a quote I heard once that said “Depression is anger without the enthusiasm”. REM’s last 3 albums were depressed…but Accelerate is a return to an angry and enthusiastic Stipe on sudafed, caffeine, and a 3 beer buzz. Listeners will find songs that sound like they could of fit on some of REM’s earliest albums like Man-sized Wreath on New Adventures in Hi Fi or Living Well is the Best Revenge off of Life’s Rich Pageant. Mr. Richards sounds like Stipe singing for Collective Soul on a new version of the song Hope off of Up. The album ends with two back to back live-recorded bar songs called Horse to water and I’m gonna DJ which reel us back into rock n roll waters after a sleepy Stipe waxing political in a solo tune about Submarines. The majority of the album “feels” like REM of old. Welcome back.
--Steve Gilbert

Apr 1, 2008 16:36:39

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