Monster

Performer: R.E.M.
Artist: Thurston Moore
Engineer: Pat McCarthy; Patrick McCarthy
Producer: R.E.M.; Scott Litt
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: R.E.M.: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitar); Mike Mills (bass); Bill Berry (drums). Additional personnel: Bertis Downs (keyboards); Jefferson Holt, Sally Dworski, Ane, Lynda, Lou, Rain. Recorded at Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles, California; Criteria Recording Studios, Miami, Florida; Crossover Soundstage, Atlanta, Georgia; Kingsway Studio, New Orleans, Louisiana. MONSTER was nominated for a 1995 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. Recording information: Ocean Way Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA. Unknown Contributor Roles: Ane; Bill Berry; Lou Barlow; Lynda; Michael Stipe; Mike Mills; Peter Buck; Rain; Sally Dworsky; Thurston Moore. A return to big guitars and big statements following the dark, intimate AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE.

Rolling Stone (10/6/94, p.84) - 4.5 Stars - Excellent - "...MONSTER is a deeply felt, thematically coherent, consistently invigorating challenge to 'evolve or die,' with all the courage of its convictions..." Spin (12/94, p.76) - Ranked #6 in Spin's list of the '20 Best Albums Of '94.' Spin (11/94, p.91) - Highly Recommended - "...this is its most implacable --and convincing--music since MURMUR....Even as MONSTER flirts with unreason and breaks down old taboos, it observes the strict protocols of the forms it plays havoc with..." Entertainment Weekly (9/30/94, pp.56-57) - "...MONSTER proves no one cranks the amplifiers and mumbles lyrics in quite the same thrilling way as the originators..." - Rating: B+ Q (11/94, p.118) - 3 Stars - Good - "...MONSTER is a balder and starker bit of landscaping and whether everything in the garden remains lovely is up to debate..." Vibe (12/94-1/95, p.142) - "...Lulled by the aural Prozac of their more melodic tunes, it's easy for one to forget that R.E.M. are a rock 'n' roll band. Their new MONSTER puts them back on the block of their noisy origins and Stipe's buried-in-the-mix lyrics..." Musician (11/94, p.91) - "...the band hasn't really changed at all: the songs still stress melody over meaning, the playing still emphasizes the unit over the individuals, and the sound remains as fresh as it was a dozen years ago..." Village Voice (2/28/95) - Ranked #3 in the Village Voice's 1994 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll. Mojo (Publisher) (p.110) - 4 stars out of 5 - "With '92's AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE, R.E.M. reached their creative peak." New York Times (Publisher) (1/5/95, p.C15) - Included on Jon Pareles' list of the Top 10 Albums Of '94 - "...Peter Buck's guitars blare and buzz to carry the pioneering collegiate-rock band into the age of grunge." New York Times (Publisher) (1/5/95, p.C15) - Included on Neil Strauss' list of the Top 10 Albums Of '94 - "...This is R.E.M.'s big, dumb rock record. Except it's not dumb at all..." NME (Magazine) (12/24/94, p.22) - Ranked #14 in NME's list of the 'Top 50 Albums Of 1994.' NME (Magazine) (9/29/94, p.47) - 7 - Very Good - "...At best stunning, at worst merely diverting, MONSTER sounds like the album they 'had' to make, to clear out their system..." Blender (Magazine) (p.106) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "MONSTER is music of a moment -- '90s alt-rock perfected."

This Athens band's initial mix of Velvet Underground strum, Byrds-like Rickenbacker jangle, and charismatically oblique singing, became the sound of the 1980s as legions of bands followed suit. But even as imitators codified R.E.M.'s approach into the money-making "alternative rock" sound, the group refused to stand still, constantly changing and developing without ever abandoning their underground principles. Somehow they became superstars along the way, but it's never affected their commitment to their music. In 1997, drummer Bill Berry left the band, but Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills soldiered on in his absence.

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