R E M Reveal CD

 Rivals Some of Early R.E.M
Might be their best since Life's Rich Pageant. A real sleeper. Much better than it's predecessor Hi Fi or follow-up "Around the Sun"!
Submitted by mheinen3 (Oklahoma City, OK, USA)
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 Listen more than ONCE!
This is one of those cds that when you first hear it, you don't like it. But after a few spins, it starts to grow on you. Atleast that was my reaction to reveal. At first, I couldn't stand it and now, I can't put it down. It's usually the first r.e.m. cd I reach for! I'll admit that it's not in the same class as 'AFTP','D',or'LRP', but its better than a majority of stuff they've done! I can't get enough of the songs 'The lifting','Disappear','Imitation of life' and 'Beachball'. This is one cd that I highly recomend!
Submitted by reviewer (indiana)
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 Better than "Up", but still pretty bad
This record got the guys moving in the right direction, but they veered down the wrong street. "Imitaion Of Life" is the only song on here that sounds like true REM to me, the rest had potential, but too many bells and whisles got in the way. I remember the first time I heard "The Lifting", a beautiful electric-edged track from a live concert CD I found in a import shop, but when the album came out, what I found was a weak, keyboard laden version missing the guitar crunch and vocal prowess of Michale Stipe, he sounds lifeless and bored throughout alot of the album. Their new CD "Around The Sun", finally, sounds like REM again, and while it's not the best, it's the first thing they've made since "New Adventures In HI-Fi" that I felt happy with having purchased.
Submitted by Carrick (VA Beach, VA)
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 More cheerful than Up, but lacks drive
I really want to love this disc, as R.E.M. has been a favorite of mine for almost 17 years now. I jumped on the bandwagon in between Reckoning and Fables and have bought all the rest on the first day of release since 1984. I'm not sure why, but I just do not feel that the last two discs have been as exciting and vibrant as all the ones before. Maybe its because I can read the lyrics, maybe I miss Bill Berry, but it somehow comes up just a bit shy. I sincerely hope it is not because I won't change, as I have adapted with many artists over the years and encourage change and risks. I heard Michael Stipe say in an interview promoting Up that "It is really, really hard work to make an album that doesn't suck." Maybe that's it, maybe this is starting to sound like work instead of joy and revelation. There are still some wonderful tracks here. All The Way to Reno, I'll Take the Rain, and Summer Turns to High are catchy and breezy. Imitation of Life is a great song that holds its head high with other strumming beauties from the REM canon, like Fall on Me and Man on the Moon. I am an R.E.M. fan for life, they have made wonderful music for years that is just at such a high level that perhaps the bar is now set too high. I will continue to play Reveal. Perhaps, as its title indicates, there may be more to grow with each listen.
Submitted by a reviewer (Ashville, OH)
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 A Great Album!
A must for any REM Fan. The songs are great, the music is wonderful!
Submitted by a reviewer (Seattle)
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