The 2007 Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have brought back the 80’s sound in this album, but have managed to make it seem current. They didn’t try to connect to the dance/electropop crowd or the root music craze; they are doing what they did when they started out in 1980, making music that fans will love. If you were a fan then, you will be again with their music. It is not bad, it’s just ……a bit nostalgic in a good way.
Only time will tell if it is alternative enough to bring them a younger audience, but they have certainly pleased their faithful fans with one of their best efforts to be sure. R.E.M. has been fundamental in the development of the ALTERNATIVE ROCK genre. They lead the way when post-punk transitioned into alternative, and it has continued to evolve ever since.
Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stripe & Bill Berry the original band stayed together until 1996 when Bill Berry left the group. He had suffered a brain aneurysm in 1995 while on tour with a full recovery, but the “Rock Star” was no longer who he wanted to be, and left the group. The remaining members, Buck, Mills, & Stripe still hold the group together.
In 1996 they re-signed with Warner Brothers the biggest record deal in history at that point. They were to receive $80M plus five albums. COLLAPSE INTO NOW completes the deal and speculation has been bantered about that this will be their last album for the aging alternative rock group. If this is true, they have given their fans, a record they will remember.
For R.E.M. fans this album is a must have, and maybe, just maybe they will pick up a new generation of fans and continue to record and tour into the sunset. http://remhq.com/index.php
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