You know that it sounds childish that you dreamt of alligators

Continuing my trip across the output of Athens' finest...

Up (1998)

I listened to this quite a lot at the time, but have barely been back to it in the intervening years - I remember a lot of it being quite samey but the good tracks are very fine indeed.

Side one – "Upside"

1. Airportman
It's quite lowkey and shimmery and feels it should probably go somewhere, which it patently didn't.

2. Lotus
This would have been a better opening track - a bit more upbeat and it's got a chorus.  It's not a great song, but it'll do to be going along with.

3. Suspicion
Hmmm - this is a bit lowkey as well.  Next!

4. Hope
Well, this is more like it!  It's very electronic, but for the first time on the album we have the cryptic lyrics that we know and love - this manages to sound REMish whilst sounding completely different as well.  A guitar based version in their earlier style would be very interesting to hear.

5. At My Most Beautiful
And so, on one of my least favoured R.E.M. albums, we come to one of my favourite R.E.M. tracks.  It's very much not in their style, but it's got such beautiful lyrics - Michael basically lists things that his other half does that make him happy and vice versa.

I read bad poetry into your machine.  
I save your messages just to hear your voice.  
You always listen carefully to awkward rhymes. 
You always say your name like I wouldn't know it's you.

It's just lovely!

6. The Apologist
This wants to be like "Hope" but doesn't quite make it.

7. Sad Professor
Nope, this is boring too.

8. You're In The Air
This one is pretty slow as well, but there's a bit more musical content than we've seen on some of the previous tracks

Side two – "Downside"

1. Walk Unafraid
Another one I like - it builds nicely to the chorus.  Again, an early style R.E.M. version of this would be interesting - it would be about three times the speed.

2. Why Not Smile
Boring.

3. Daysleeper
This is a bit better, but still a bit fey.

4. Diminished/I'm Not Over You
This is a bit interesting because it's two completely different tracks - but unfortunately neither of them are that interesting.

5. Parakeet
Nope - this is pretty dull too.

6. Falls To Climb
I generally stuck with the album until the end though, because of this track - it's intriguing and good to sing along to (unlike most of the rest of the album).  Cool lyrics as well - "romantically, you'd martyr me and miss this story's point - it is my strength, my destiny, this is the role I have chosen".

So whilst it has some good tracks on it, the main problem with this album compared with Monster is that whilst that album has a few tracks on it where it sounds like they're not really trying, this album merely has a few tracks on it were it sounds like they were.  It does make it easy to pick the tracks I want for the playlist though - "Hope", "At My Most Beautiful", "Walk Unafraid" and "Falls To Climb" (and it feels lucky to have made the hallowed ranks of a four track album).

Wikipedia has considerably less on the album than previous offerings, most of it commenting on how different it is from what came before - simultaneously claiming this was due to Bill Berry's absence whilst also stating it was absolutely nothing to do with that.  Pat McCarthy stepped into the producer's chair (for this and the next two albums as well), assisted by Nigel Godrich (of Radiohead production fame).  Mike Mills accepted it wasn't commercial but told us "the point is to keep it fresh and interesting and alive" - how did that work out for you, Mike?  Especially since they later admitted they nearly broke up recording it - but I can totally appreciate it must have been a difficult process.  It was a first for the lads though in one aspect though - they printed the lyrics out for us.  Radical move, dudes!

Critical reception was generally positive - Q pointed out it might not suit "those who only own Automatic for the People and repeat-play the hits" but anyone more familiar with their canon should "manage to listen to Up without his head exploding or tossing herself off a tall building".  It did well commercially initially - #2 in the UK and #3 in the US, but it didn't have the staying power of previous offerings, although it still managed to sell 1.5 million copies globally.  And, if you like it, next month there's a 25 (TWENTY FIVE!) year anniversary version coming out - it's a nice pink colour as well!

This album has some fine tracks on it and it's interesting to see them trying to do something different - but maybe just not so much of it.  A lot of it is just too lowkey, both in terms of the music and the lyrics - there's just nothing there to get hold of it.  The good news is that they did learn some lessons from it and things get generally better on the next album.

New Adventures in Hi-fi - A woefully under-appreciated album
Reveal - A somewhat unfairly overlooked album