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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Review 1 of 8

3of 5 Stars

Accelerate has elements of some of REM's better albums from the last 15 years, but it never rises above any of them. "Living Well" and "Horse to Water" could have been lifted from Monster or Hi-Fi, while "Houston" and "Til the Day is Done" would have been strong tracks on Automatic. Most of the rest of the album is pretty middle of the road, at least compared to the high standard they've set for themselves. But the return of Mike Mills is nice :) The album is solid, enjoyable, and for a long-time fan, a welcome shot in the arm. But let's get real...one of REM's best albums ever? That's a JOKE. Somebody needs to go back and listen to REM's (basically flawless) first 5 albums, then try and make that claim again. And after that, you still have a pretty daunting trio of Green, Out of Time and Automatic to contend with. So maybe it's their 9th best album ever? I still like New Adventures in Hi-Fi more, but Accelerate is a pretty good synthesis of their post-Berry era. If you've ignored their last couple albums, now's the time to return to the fold. And BTW, this band is still GREAT live!!!

Jun 26, 2008 09:23:45

Review 2 of 8

5of 5 Stars

Its almost shocking how good this record is. I have followed REM for 20 years and this could be their best album. Buy the bonus track release...

Apr 22, 2008 09:20:12

Review 3 of 8

4of 5 Stars

This is a fine R.E.M. recording, their best since the excellent New Adventures in Hi-Fi. "Living Well is the Best Revenge," "Man-Sized Wreath," and "Horse to Water" are first-rate songs, and several others ("Supernatural Superserious," "Hollow Man," "Houston," "Until the Day is Done," and "Mr. Richards") are good, too. It's great to hear these guys rocking again!

Apr 21, 2008 07:42:53

Review 4 of 8

2of 5 Stars

Puh-lease!

It's common knowledge that these guys haven't made a great album since Automatic. Album, people. Not a couple of good songs, surrounded by shite that wouldn't have been good enough to be a B-side when they made great albums.

As for this stinker, they could've (and should've) kept the two good songs (mr.richards and horse to water) and put out a single

Apr 17, 2008 12:10:04

Review 5 of 8

4of 5 Stars

I think that this CD is kind of different than the others but R.E.M. is well know as a band that follows their principals, thats what makes this band different than the others.

I like 3 songs in this new album one of them is "Living Well Is The Best Revenge", "Supernatural Superserious", and the one that i like the most "Mr. Richards".

I also want to congratulate you all for always bring the people good reviews and news about new music and new bands that came up to the world.

Apr 17, 2008 06:51:09

Review 6 of 8

5of 5 Stars

Michael Stipe is back. Through a lot of ups and downs the band has had they got it done here. This album is the jolt of energy so many lifelong R.E.M. fans like myself have been wanting for so long. "Hollow Man" is a brilliant song.

Apr 12, 2008 10:55:54

Review 7 of 8

4of 5 Stars

A lot more agressive, Previous efforts were mellow college music. This compiltion seems much more mainstream. Not a bad song on the disc.

Apr 11, 2008 08:43:01

Review 8 of 8

4of 5 Stars

Michael Stipe blasted himself and REM when talking about "Around The Sun". I suppose anyone can learn from failure. I would guess that they took a good look at themselves and decided on a direction.

"Accelerate" is what "Monster" should have been: A quick, mature uptempo/ballad mix that fits like a tight glove. Lyrically, the political anger is mixed with the understated hope of this decade. "Houston" (The government's lack of attention to Katrina) is a passioned plea for someone to listen to a plea for help. What makes the song is those lyrics blended with a haunting melody that echos in itself an understated plea. "Mr. Richards" is anger focused. These days our government is so out of touch with the people who elected them and there is no accountability. Bush and company will go on with their lives with the same Cheney "So" attitude they have had since the start of the Iraq war. "Mr. Richards" points out that they have a lot to answer for and many will not forget to hold them accountable. This song could be a great metaphor for any elected official these days.

Add the slower tempo songs to the mix like "until The Day is Done" and you have matured from "monster". I enjoyed the chord structure during the chorus. Some bands create subtle changes that work so well (James' "We're Gonna Miss You" for example. The lyrics are abstract enough for a ballad but still pack the punch.

Musically, REM is whole again. Peter Buck is one of the only guitarists who can make such an impact with understated playing. Make that sophisticated playing. Laid back, even with the electric uptempo, distorted style. Mike Mills is his usual multi-talented self providing the musical accent to Buck. Add the talents of Scott McCaughey as the supporting gutarist and Bill Rieflin as the drummer and you have a tight musical mix.

The understated support of this effort has to be Mills' backing vocals. Or counterpoint vocals. They accent Stipe like his bass etc. accents Buck.

"Accelerate" works. It is that simple.

Apr 7, 2008 18:14:30

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