It's hot around the sun. Click on this link to get away from it and to the main R.E.M. page... Around the Bun Overall Album Score: 7.7 out of 10 I'm wondering something ... CRIPES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What on Earth happened to this crazy freaking band called R.E.M.???? I suppose it is true that pretty much every great rock act succumbs to BLAH in their middle age. I mean ... The Rolling Stones were pretty crappy 22 years after they broke onto the scene (remember Dirty Work? That was 22 years after their debut! And it was crap with a capital K). It's been 22 years now for R.E.M. and, well, they're not quite as bad as Dirty Work, but they are reeeeeeealllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy mellowing out. And ... ohhh, you know it. Commercial. This really isn't an awful album, though. (Heck! It's a lot better than the average album out there ... It's not even the worst album by this band ...Monster gets that distinction.) It does decidedly pass on my scale (with a C). There are enough good songs on here to have kept the song score at a solid 8. "Leaving New York" is utterly splendid. "Aftermath" and the soaring "Make it OK" are also excellent. But these really are the only standouts in this OVERLONG album. There are too many other tracks that just leave me underwhelmed and wonder: "Whatever happened to the fun of Lifes Rich Pageant? Oh man! This band used to be FRIKINNN AWESOMEEEEEE!!!!!!" Nevertheless, these are hardly cheap songs. It took the band three years to come out with this ... certainly the melodies could have used a lot of work, but these numbers were far from having been thrown together. The quality level of the tracks' arrangements have hardly deterred from Up and Reveal. The fun-factor hadn't changed from those two albums either, dang it. The boring-factor did, though, unfortunately. This is certainly worth getting for the seasoned R.E.M. fan (and they don't need me to tell them that), but even they could only be mildly sustained from the release. This is no reason to kneel down on the floor and thank Michael Stipes' fabulous brain for coming out with another stunner ... 'cause this is merely another Reveal, except worse. Overall Album Score: 7.7 out of 10 (Even worse ... R.E.M. are drowning in a bathtub of pottery clay ... if that makes sense. I'm sure it doesn't, but I'm keeping it there!) Average Song Score: 8.0 (There are some good songs in here ... but mostly this is just bloated filler.) Album Tilt: 7.5 (A few genuinely good moments scattered in this album ... but the overall album is tiresome.) Artist Rating: 7.5 (They haven't totally given up on themselves as far as song arrangements go. They're still rather exquisite! Nevertheless, they are merely shadows of their former selves.) Track Reviews Leaving New York 10/10 A really good song! ... R.E.M. proved at least one thing to me about their albums. They're usually good for at least one good song! This one has the same type of thing going for it as "Man in the Moon" had (heck, this might even be a clone of that song, but ... so what?). It has a good melody, and once the chorus gets going, it just takes offfffffff!!! Electron Blue 8/10 This song is underwhelming. ... The instrumentation quality, however, does manage to keep it interesting, though. The melody doesn't have any impressive hooks in it, and it just repeats itself over and over. Hmm. The Outsiders 8.5/10 The beginning of this song, at least, is pretty good! The instrumentation really does a great job accentuating those hooks in the melody ... Not a *perfect* song, but it really is quite pleasant. The downfall comes toward the end when a rapper comes in and starts ... rapping. That doesn't add anything at all to this song. Make it all OK 9/10 I don't know why R.E.M. has to be all dramatic all of the sudden. ... Well, I guess, really, the band hadn't an energetic album ever since Out of Time. But there was a time when this band used to be FUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!! ... Not that this is a terrible song or anything. The melody has a few good hooks in it, and I like how the song crescendos. Final Straw 8/10 This is the band's not-infamous I Hate George W. Bush song ... I guess it kind of makes sense that this thing resembles an old early 60s protest folk song. This thing isn't pretentious enough for me to hate it ... but, just like many early 60s protest folk songs, this is boriiiiiiiiinggggggggggg. Is this the best R.E.M. could come up with? No wonder Bush got re-elected! I Wanted to Be Wrong 6.5/10 This is even more boring than old early 60s protest folk songs! (DOWN WITH DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER!!!!!) This one is slow and pretty much toneless. Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah. This band used to be so awesome. Wanderlust 8/10 This one features a bouncy rhythm section (that doesn't totally work). The melody is pretty good, though, with few hooks. The crescendo is rather inspired. But ... this band used to be awesome. Boy in the Well 7/10 THE BOY WAS NOT IN THE WELL! HE WAS HIDING IN A BARN! IT WAS A HOAX! ... Uh ... I'M LOOKING FOR THE ARMY OF THE...... But we're not talking about movies here. We're talking about songs. I'm listening to a song called "Boy in the Well" by R.E.M., and I think I'd rather be talking about movies. This is another underwhelming contribution by R.E.M. It crescendos like so many of the other songs on here, except this doesn't seem very inspired. Hmihmoeitmo! The arrangements were done nicely, though. Aftermath 9/10 Yes! YES! YESSSSSSSSS! Now this is where it really begins. All those other albums that came before this are now practically dismissable and ignorable. Now, we finally have an album that has NO covers. And, I say it's about time! Ever since Out of Our Heads, we knew that the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards song team were capable of writing EVERYTHING in their albums. And, now! It finally happened! And the album is great! I'm so bloody happy! Whoops. I'm sorry. I thought I was reviewing a Rolling Stones album. That's what I get for falling asleep in the middle of listening to an album. ... Well, this is a pretty good song, actually, even though that Stones album is even betterer. I kind of like the synth-pop thing going (...you know, that pulsating synth that you hear every once in awhile... That was a good touch, don't you think?) The melody is pretty good, too. Yay! High Speed Train 8/10 Why do I always get the feeling that this is going to turn into Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive?" ... I don't know, but if you'll have to live by a similar principle if you're going to jump on a high speed train. The Worst Joke Ever 8/10 The chorus is pretty good I guess, but this song is otherwise rather bleeeeakkkkkkkk. ... It's a more echoey version of most of the other songs on here. And ... I don't care anymore. The Ascent of Man 6/10 Michael Stipe sings "yeah" a lot. And this is another remarkably bleak song. The melody isn't very hooky ... but the instrumentation is passable, I guess (I kind of like that electric organ). Quit saying YEAHHHHH, though. I do that all the time, and I don't get nominated for Grammy awards. Around the Sun 7.5/10 The track is a bit overblown ... Although, the beginning is delicate and heartfelt. The middle is absolutely bloated with sound (and doesn't add anything to the song). The end is, again, rather bleak and still sort of overblown. ... I'm bored. Chairman of the bored. (Oh, Iggy Pop, I love thee.) EAT MY BRAINS here.

All reviews are copyrighted by Michael Lawrence. He's got a fistful of fusilli.