Up
by R.E.M.

Different sound to their preceding albums, it didn't start off great with Airportman which is by far the worst track on the album for me. Thought I was in for a slog after that but there was some good stuff to come. My favourites were You're in the Air and At My Most Beautiful. I reckon the album will grow on me with subsequent listens.

At the time it was a let down.
As a three members band without a drummer, something was missing.
Daysleeper was a great single, and At My Most Beautiful a shiny tribute to Beach Boys.

From ExTeaSea 10/27/2021 01:55 | #275428

Haha third favorite? Now I consider it my favorite pretty much tied with Automatic and then Pageant. It's beautiful!

From ExTeaSea 08/08/2018 18:16 | #219424 | TOP COMMENT

Love this album! Different than their old sound for sure but in a wonderful way. Might have been liked more if it was a Stipe solo album instead. I've never been against a change in sound just as long as a band can make it work. It's my third favorite REM album. Definitely consider it underrated.

From planetneutral 01/07/2018 17:03 | #204823

I don't get it. They pretty much lost me at Automatic for the People. I'm sure I'll give this another chance though.

From Brad1770 12/26/2017 10:45 | #203915

A friend of mine once said ' I just don't get UP' !
I've never forgotten that and I could not disagree more , Up is a really solid album deserving a listen . But lets be honest here its not R.E.M's best album as mentioned in previous posts , it just isn't and TBH doesn't come close.
So yeah I totally GOT Up and return to it from time to time . Oh and At My Most Beautiful is one of my most favored R.E.M tracks .

You know, each song on "Up" is pretty decent. However, considering that this album is over one hour in length, it almost feels like an eternity. Pleasant sounds throughout, but the songwriting is extremely monotonous.

Cant believe this is 11th. Like Gary this is my favourite REM album ahead of Automatic Murmur and Fables. For me its flawless and a beautiful sound. maybe not enough energy for some but I think its a masterpiece.

I must confess, this is my favourite REM album. After Bill Berry left the band had to do something different and this a great leftfield turn. There's certainly no rockers on here, it's more of an electronic album. I wouldn't say there's any great individual tracks, maybe apart from at my most beautiful, a wonderful Beach Boys pastiche, but it's got a real album feel. Daysleeper, is about the only song on the album that has that conventional REM sound, but that's a good thing, it's what the band needed to do. Opener, airportman, is probably the weirdest thing the band ever did. In fact, if it wasn't for Michael Stipe's voice you wouldn't know it was REM at all. It's definitely their best without Berry with, you're in the air, sad professor and walk unafraid personal faves. Other good tracks are the lovely, suspicion, the apologist, and closing track, fall to climb. Diminished, and, hope(which features the music from Leonard Cohen's, Suzzanne), are also excellent. Great album if you give it enough spins. Their last great album.

More low key and there's a bit of an electro vibe involved here. Gets off to a slow start but once it finds its rhythm it's extremely beautiful