DUELING REVIEWS: R.E.M., Monster, (Warner Brothers)
- Justin Higgins / Bob Gajarsky (Justin first)
Well, I finally got out to buy Monster, the newest CD from REM. Frankly, I'm a little disappointed in this album. I think a lot of the fans that they made from Automatic for the People will probably feel the same way. This album has much harder, almost violent music. Distortion effects abound as well as loud smashing guitars.
I personally prefer to be able to clearly understand the lyrics of a song, but it is hard to do that with the songs on Monster. Usually the guitars drown out what most of Michael Stype is singing. But upon closer listening, I realized that the lyrics aren't all that great anyway. Really just more of your standard mainstream music fare.
I don't see any songs on here that stick out, although "What's the Frequency Kenneth?" and "Bang and Blame" are both played a lot on the radio. My problem with Bang and Blame is that, aside from the chorus, it sounds too much like R.E.M's "Losing my Religion".
I think that the main reason this album is on the top of the charts right now is more based on the fact that a lot of people trust REM to make a good album and liked their other stuff. If you like plain, generic rock, then you probably will enjoy this album. You'll also like it if you don't really like to think too much about a song. By the way, this album is 50 minutes long, but only contains 12 tracks. I would much rather listen to 20 good quality songs that cut out the long guitar solos and rambling on the keyboard, than only 12 tracks which repeat the same thing over and over.
Overall, I would say that this album isn't really worth buying. You'll hear most of it played on the radio and that will probably be enough for you. If you are a die-hard R.E.M. fan, then you probably will buy it. And you'll listen to it over and over until you grow to like it. Or just get sicker of it. As has been said many many times before, R.E.M. definately let loose a Monster, but in the past (Frankenstein, etc.) this has not always been a good thing. (Bob's turn)
I have to disagree strongly with Justin's review of the R.E.M. disc. I had started to do it on my own, with some ideas in my head, when I got his review. So, here are my own thoughts on it:
It's the album that really tests the world. Imagine your local neighborhood band's sound - improve it tenfold, but keep the raw energy and enthusiasm from that local band. Throw in a touch of the Rolling Stones and then present this hard album to a world whose largest R.E.M. base is from the last 3 albums.
I'm blown away that they dared to do this. There are no obvious singles here, other than "Star 69" and "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" - but there are no reasons, other than how big R.E.M. is, that the single should be tearing up the pop charts. It's a great song - but R.E.M. is, with this album, singlehandedly breaking all their stereotypes and continuing to force top 40 radio to play to *their* hand, instead of vice-versa.
The biggest surprise is that this album follows two albums with marked pop songs ("Stand", "Shiny Happy People") and a third album which could be performed unplugged. Peter Buck notes that "I played guitar really loud; it was a little like Spinal Tap - you know, crank it up to eleven."
The experimentations also shine through. Buck continues that, "At one point, I took a Sparklett's bottle, drilled some holes and played into that." Lead singer Michael Stipe remarks, "The vocals on 'I Took Your Name' were recorded through a Walkman. Some of the backing tracks were sung into a telephone".
The band will be out on a worldwide tour in most of 1995. Just be prepared to enter a new world of R.E.M. sound with Monster.
