Collapse Into Now
by R.E.M.

I really like this album even though stylistically it is all over the place (but then again so was AFTP). The first two songs sound like outtakes from Accelerate, and actually fit better on that album than this one, being better than some of the songs on Accelerate, and would have made it a full album, instead of a slight album of 11 short songs. Songs #3 thru 10 are very good especially Uberlin, It Happened Today and That Someone is You. The only problem with It Happened Today and That Someone is You is they are too short - even after having heard them many times I always feel a little disappointed that they end when they do. Track #11 Marlon Brando is not my favorite but it is eyeopening that REM would do such an obvious tribute to Neil Young - this song is essentially a sequel to Pocahontas. The last song Blue does not do much for me and leaves me morose about the fact that they broke up. What I've done is added Hallelujah and We All Go Back To Where We Belong (which were recorded immediately after this album and appear on the compilation Part Lies, Part Heart...) at the end of this album on my playlist. That makes it an even better sendoff for a fantastic band, that I'm still hoping one day will get back together.

Surprisingly good

From RoundTheBend TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/11/2016 22:39 | #168481 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I love how this album ends the way it starts... I dunno, it's a super simple idea, but I'll be honest, it gave me chills.

These songs really grew on me to be quality:
Discoverer
Oh My Heart
It Happened Today
Walk It Back
Alligator Aviator...

Nice goodbye. No it's not their magnum opus peak of their career... would you really expect that from anyone after doing this for 30 years? The lyrics for the most part (some were lame) were indeed some very thought provoking.

Still a quality album.

The final, and probably the most disappointing REM album. Collapse into now, is thought of a record that incorporates all the different sounds and styles that have been attributed to the band over the years. Unfortunately, they give us some of their worst songs of their career, to experience this by. However, the first three tracks are very good. Discoverer, all the best, and uberlin, give you hope that this could be a fine album. Unfortunately, the next track, oh my heart, is awful. This is a problem with all the ballads on this album, every day is yours to win, and walk it back, are extremely average at best. Other tracks are just rehashed versions of old songs. Blue, is ok, but it's certainly inferior compared to, country feedback. The up tempo tracks here, are better than the slowies, but the majority of them are hardly examples of REM at their best. It was probably the right time for them to bow out, they gave it a good shot after Bill Berry left, but they never quite managed to lift themselves to the heights of their previous work. It's not a bad album, but it's arguably this band's worst.

It's almost impossible to not be satisfied with a work by R.E.M. but this album was the closest I got. Blue and Überlin are the two standout tracks but everything else seems like a poor attempt to replicate older material, if you listen carefully you can hear the ghosts of songs from the period of AFTP to Accelerate. Most of these songs are misses rather than hits but R.E.M. are so talented in what they do that even their misses are decent songs, still my least favorite album by the boys.