Reveal

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Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4thed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734. The good news is that R.E.M. are still R.E.M. Every song on Reveal possesses that inimitable stylistic element present in all of their work to date. And in many ways, Reveal is a comforting listen. While it does rely more heavily on synthesized sounds than any of their past albums, the songs themselves bear a stronger resemblance to the archetypal R.E.M. song than anything post- Monster. Slightly different mixes and/or instrumental changes in "I've Been High" and "She Just Wants to Be." Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (R.E.M.; 'Reveal ')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 2011-02-18. Expanding on the Beach Boys inspiration that had defined some of Up's finest moments ("At My Most Beautiful,""Parakeet"), Reveal is the summery counterpart to its wintry predecessor. And while it isn't quite a triumph on the same level (yeah, read my review), Reveal is an excellent album in its own right.

That album, Reveal, turned 20 on Saturday. At the time, some wrote about it as if this was R.E.M. returning to some core element of their sound after drifting off on Up. Rather, Reveal was another transformational pivot, building on some elements of Up but also answering others in a new tone. It has little to do with the core R.E.M. sound, and yet does feel somehow more endemically R.E.M.-esque than Up. It sits right in the middle of the group’s wandering years, and thus still explored a lot of new territory. But perhaps most importantly: In a career lined with the long shadows of multiple iconic albums and cult favorites alike, Reveal just might be the most underrated album in a hallowed catalogue. Oficjalna lista sprzedaży:: OLiS – Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. 2001-05-20 . Retrieved 2011-03-12. Reveal received a warm reception from the critics, with Q awarding it five stars and the Los Angeles Times’ Robert Hilburn suggesting it represented R.E.M.’s “return to its signature sound after a lengthy period of sonic experimentation”. The band’s fanbase also gave the record a hearty thumbs up, and Reveal’s overall worldwide sales eventually hit an extremely healthy four million, with the LP’s sturdy lead single, “Imitation Of Life,” going Top 10 in the UK and providing the band with their very first Japanese No.1. With early comparisons to Automatic for the People, the critical reaction to Reveal was warmer than the notices which greeted Up in 1998, particularly in the UK, where it reached #1 with healthy sales, reaching platinum status there. In the United States, Reveal peaked at No.6 (with 10 weeks on the Billboard 200) and was certified Gold (500,000 units). [27] The album was also certified Gold in Canada (50,000 units) in 2001, [28] and Gold in Germany (150,000 units). [29] Legacy [ edit ]australian-charts.com R.E.M. - Reveal" (ASP). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 2012-01-25. The conclusion and summary of those two albums, even if they wouldn’t rank against R.E.M.’s classics from the ’80s and ’90s, has meant that the period of 1998-2008 is often understood as a kind of wilderness era. A three-legged dog moving listlessly, not defiantly. Accelerate arriving just shy of exactly 10 years after Up creates a concise arc: The journey outwards began here, ending with the band losing their way entirely and eventually needing to rediscover the fire that had driven them in more halcyon days. Much has been made of ‘Reveal”s similarities to 1992’s ‘Automatic For the People’ (there are traces of ‘Try Not To Breathe’ in ‘Disappear’, ‘Nightswimming’ in ‘Beat A Drum’), but it’s actually much closer to ‘Up’. Collapse Into Now debuted at No.5 in the US Billboard 200 and also peaked at No.5 in the UK Top 40, where the record went on to go silver. However, while the band conducted a series of promotional interviews, they remained true to their word about not touring the record. On 11 September, six months to the day of the LP’s release, R.E.M. officially announced their amicable split, with Mike Mills telling Rolling Stone, “There’s no disharmony here, no falling-outs, no lawyers squaring-off. We’ve made this decision amicably and with each other’s best interests at heart. The time just feels right. The band’s legacy Technician [Technical Assistance] – Bob Weber, Bob Whittaker, Dan Brewer, Eric Humphries, Kevin Sweeney*, Mark Mytrowitz, Microwave (9), Octavio Arizala

That is, until two years later, when the In Time retrospective was released. A mixed bag of the band's latter-day output, which skipped most of my favourite songs from the era, but in listening to it in my car for some time, the songs that I found myself returning to frequently were "All the Way to Reno" and "Imitation of Life", the two songs from Reveal. The big western guitar style of "All the Way to Reno". The soaring choruses, the stateliness of the songs. After Up's deeply personal, soul-cleansing exercise, Reveal carries an aura of reconnection with the greater world. As incredible as Up was, the primary impression it leaves is its very insular sound and mood, where you have to dig a little deeper to find the still strongly beating heart of R.E.M.'s songwriting. Reveal, then, presents as much of an 180 turn as Up did. The traditional band roles in more prominent display again again (including an increased presence of session drummers), even if there's still a lingering element of R.E.M. taking cautious steps forward as a three-person incarnation in tune with Up's soundscapes, with programmed drums, frequent synthesizers and emphasised keyboard parts making up much of the album. But as albums, they're night and day - where Up was the melancholy late hours spent awake lost in thought; Reveal is the brand new morning. It's a decidedly more upbeat album, full of harmonies rather than controlled chaos. There's a clear desire for the band to smile again, resulting in a shift in gears to a more traditionally R.E.M.-esque album. Even the opening song welcomes you in: "Good morning! How are you? The weather's fine, the sky is blue..." R.E.M./Athens, L.L.C. Under exclusive license to Craft Recordings. Manufactured and distributed by Concord, 10 Lea Avenue, Suite 300, Nashville, TN 37210.

Contributions

Hilburn, Robert (May 13, 2001). "R.E.M. Recaptures Sound to the Letter". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016 . Retrieved January 22, 2012. Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2001" (PDF). IFPI. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 17, 2008 . Retrieved February 1, 2023. The meticulous attention to detail that R.E.M. deployed on Up and Reveal would ultimately sound labored over by the time of 2004's Around the Sun. Following a solid-but-unremarkable two-album course correction, the band would break up in 2011.

Ivie, Devon. "The Most Heartfelt and Goofy of R.E.M., According to Mike Mills". Vulture . Retrieved September 14, 2023. Stipe’s voice comes out thin and weak at the beginning of “I’ll Take the Rain”, matching the despairing lyrics. However, at that point, the instrumentals (well-developed, if not particularly strong) hint at the cheerful nihilism of the upcoming chorus. It pairs self-empowering but melancholic lyrics with optimistic instrumentation and vocals, yielding a sound like sunlight filtering between clouds on a rainy day. In a bouncy and bassy recreation of Western music, “All the Way to Reno (You’re Gonna Be a Star)” features the addition of bubbly synthesizers and a delightful guitar riff to close out the verses. “You know what you are / You’re gonna be a star”, says Michael Stipe. Whether it’s genuine or sarcastic, he slams you in the face with his quiet sincerity. Michael Stipe on R.E.M.’s Legacy and Writing Music Again | The RS Interview" – Rolling Stone 's YouTube channel, April 1, 2021 The Official Charts Company– R.E.M.– Reveal" (PHP). Official Charts Company . Retrieved 2012-01-25.All the defining REM characteristics are in place. The effortless grasp of melody, the vertiginous emotion, the comforting appreciation of beauty and the preservation of sanity in a world which hurts and confuses at every turn. The characters that populate the songs are all questing – a travelling businessman soul-searches in woozily spectral opener ‘The Lifting’, a failed entertainer travels to Nevada in the jangly ‘All The Way To Reno’, a drifting woman realises [I]”now is greater than the whole of the past” [/I]in ‘She Just Wants To Be’. Like Stipe, they are taking a look around, evaluating, and switching on the optimism. Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados > 2000–2003. Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. The almost 1960s-sounding “Beat a Drum” is anachronistic with its soaring, nearly Pet Sounds/ Sgt. Pepper’s-esque chorus instrumentation paired with Michael Stipe’s distinct vocals. The verse guitar is particularly spangly, perhaps even early Kinks-like, especially when supported by the shining, watery keyboard.

Graphics [Dvd Audio Graphics Coordinator], Coordinator [Dvd Audio Graphics Coordinator] – Raena Winscott Albums– År 2001". Swedish Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19 . Retrieved 2012-01-25. Musician [Additional] – Glen Brady, Jamie Candiloro, Joey Waronker, John Keane, Ken Stringfellow, Scott McCaughey In a career lined with the long shadows of iconic albums and cult favorites alike, Reveal might just be the most underrated album in a hallowed catalogue." - Stereogum The February 2001 master of Reveal differed from the March 2001 master of the album, which ended up being the final version. Compared to the official, the differences of the Reveal Advance 2001 disc include:Afterward, an ’80s influence is particularly apparent on “I’ve Been High”, with soaring keyboards and emotional, nearly ballad-like lyrics such as “Make my make-believe believe in me”. Throughout, there’s a certain spangly percussion present that’s kind of tongue-in-cheek. Instrumentally and lyrically, it reads like a loving parody of a certain genre of ’80s music. Up’s opener isn’t the only place where theoretically positive sentiments are rendered upside-down. In the desperate “The Apologist,” Stipe keens: “I’m good/All is good/ All’s well, no complaints,” his voice almost breaking before the faux-resolution of “When I feel regret/ I get down on my knees and pray.” There’d be no mistaking the actual origin behind such lyrics. R.E.M. did not sound OK.