Be Mine – R.E.M.
New Adventures in Hi-Fi is, without a doubt, the last great R.E.M. album. In fact, apart from Automatic for the People, it might actually be their best.
Their career progression was a bit odd. They went from mumbly-vocals and jangly guitars to massive, international superstars. In that process, many bands would have taken a more ‘pop’ turn, churned out some ballads, and produced songs more easily digestible by the masses. For R.E.M., though, this was their most productive and brilliant period. Their sound certainly changed, but growing craftsmanship is very different from reduced quality.
Sure, there’s a few missteps along the way (the ‘rap’ on “Radio Song” – yikes. And “Everybody Hurts” is certainly a pretty song but it’s also lowest-common-denominator pablum). But the run of albums that includes Document, Green, Out of Time, Automatic for the People, Monster, and New Adventures in Hi-Fi is just stunning. I’m not even a big fan of Monster, but it’s a got a couple great tracks. And the rest are all huge.
What marks the division between this record and the ones that came after? One possible answer is the departure of Bill Berry. I don’t know exactly how much of a role he played in writing and constructing their songs, but he certainly might be the X factor.
It also might simply be that the musical milieu was starting to break apart. By this reading, R.E.M. might have collapsed into their post-1996 form (a mediocre band with the occasional great song) far earlier if they weren’t riding the crest of a massive wave of musical creativity. Spurred on by a cultural explosion of rock music back onto the mainstream, and a ton of bands releasing great records, they upped their game to compete. This is the sort of argument that says Revolver was only possible because the Beatles were challenged by Pet Sounds to do something stunning.
Whatever the cause, the distinction is clear in the sound. Hi-Fi is full of jagged edges and brilliant turns. It’s long, extremely varied, and takes plenty of risks. It was also recorded basically live – the versions on the album were recorded from sound checks on a tour – which is a gimmick that doesn’t normally appeal to me that much, but works wonderfully here. “Be Mine” is my favorite track–mostly for the glorious wall of sound in the final minute and a half–but you could just as easily go with the incredibly atmospheric “E-Bow the Letter,” the straightforward punch of “Bittersweet Me” or “So Fast, So Numb,” the wistful elegance of “Electrolite” or the pitch-perfect piano fills of “How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us.” They’re all great.
Up is the last great REM record.