Product Description

MONSTER has nothing in common with the elegant, mannered sounds R.E.M. has been producing since GREEN. While you can discern allusions to hard rock icons from Neil Young and Mott The Hoople through Television and Nirvana, MONSTER is neither a faddist grunge album nor a laundry list of influences--but certain subliminal references seem to spark R.E.M.'s muse, inspiring a dozen powerhouse songs.
The classic R.E.M. sound is churned through a meat grinder and served up raw and bleeding on MONSTER. From the opening power chords of "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" through the desperate raga rockof "You", Peter Buck is the hero of MONSTER. Buck's pealingrhythm guitar and bassist Mike Mills' melodic counterpoint are mixed front and centre, so that vocalist Michael Stipe has to shout to be heard...imagine a typical P.A. arena mix.
Meanwhile, the enigmatic Stipe experiments with a varietyof new vocal guises. He plays a haughty rock star on the prowl with a droll Bowie delivery on "Crush With Eyeliner", while unveiling a Gabriel falsetto on "I Don't Sleep, I Dream", Southern soul mannerisms on "Tongue", and Jaggerish menaceon "I Took Your Name". But the best thing about MONSTER is that in their quest not to repeat themselves, to push the envelope on their performance style--to change their sound--R.E.M. has dipped back into their roots and emerged with a truly classic rock album.

Track Listing

1. What's The Frequency Kenneth
2. Crush With Eyeliner
3. King Of Comedy
4. I Don't Sleep I Dream
5. Star 69
6. Strange Currencies
7. Tongue
8. Bang And Blame
9. I Took Your Name
10. Let Me In
11. Circus Envy
12. You

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12108 in Music
• Released on: 1994-09-26
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
R.E.M. pushed the jangle out of the picture with Monster, replacing it with reverberating snaps, crackles, and pops. An album that wraps itself to 1970s glam finery while reaching out to the flannel-clad post-Nirvana throngs, it largely succeeds at demonstrating that these Georgians still know how to rock. The MTV fave "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" kicks things off on a high note as Peter Buck's distorted power chords set the tone for the 12-song set. "Strange Currencies" may be alarmingly reminiscent of the Automatic for the People hit "Everybody Hurts," but it's actually the superior song. "Let Me In" is a heavily distorted nod to the fallen Kurt Cobain. While Monster is far from R.E.M.'s most consistent effort, it stands as a ragged and risky respite from safe and sound alterna-rock. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

The very definition of "grower"
I still have vivid memories of the disgust I felt when I put this album on my stereo for the first time. My only prior experience of their vast catalog was Automatic for the People and Out of Time (with AFTP being perhaps my favourite album at that time - perhaps it still is, but I digress), so this disc was a complete shock to me. Its big, fat, distorted bass sounds, jarring, overdriven electric guitar and "treated" vocals were at least a million miles away from the stripped down acoustic perfection of AFTP.
When I spoke with my friends about it, I was unable to put into words just how much I hated everything about the record. However, after a few more listenings, I found that Strange Currencies appeared to have some redeeming qualities... Crush with Eyeliner followed... then Star 69, Circus Envy and Bang and Blame - so that after a couple of weeks I'd come to terms with at least half the album.
Of course, a dozen listenings later I loved the whole record, even King of Comedy.
Naturally, I went out and got the rest of the back catalog and got to know every song in time for their summer of '95 gig at Slane Castle (in Ireland), one of the dates in their huge Monster tour, and one of the best nights of my life... Ah, happy days.
The point of this ramble, is that if you hate this album, don't worry! This is natural, and part of the process of coming to terms with any R.E.M. album. My only thought for the 1-3 star reviews is that they are in phase 1 of the process of getting to really know this record. I'm only glad that there was (as far as I was concerned) no internet back in '94, or I'd probably have hastily slated Monster with a 1-star review and a diatribe before I'd really given it a chance.

A Brilliant, Unpredictable Monster Of An Album
Of course, I could be completely predictable and recommend the stunning and near perfect pieces of work in R.E.M.'s catalogue, Automatic For The People and Out Of Time, but where would my sense of wanting to spread the word and share the lesser masterpieces be? Monster is one of those greats which somehow slipped under the critical radar which, considering the content, is almost puzzling.

The question, of course, is "If it's so damn good, why isn't it more popular?" and the answer is that it was a question of expectation and timing. Stipe, Mills, Buck & Berry had just made arguably two of the most perfect, gentle, delicate and beautiful albums ever committed to shiny silver disc, so perhaps the world wasn't quite expecting or receptive to a full-on, bombastic guitar rock album. Personally, I'd say that was the world's problem and no reflection upon an album absolutely crammed full of brilliant, raw songs. Out go the Byrds influences and in come sounds that Neil Young, Kyuss and Nirvana would have been proud to release.

Thing is, the melodies and the majesty of the previous albums were still there, just slightly hidden behind fuzzy guitars, ambitious solos and a carefree abandon of the patented R.E.M. sound. There were some people horrified because Mr. Buck threw the mandolin in the trash and cranked his guitar up to 11, but I'm sure that those people probably only owned two R.E.M. albums anyway otherwise the fact that this group weren't afraid to re-invent themselves shouldn't have come as a shock at all.

The first three tracks are all classics. What's The Frequency, Kenneth, is the perfect album opener. Catchy as hell, the backing track seems to vibrate and throb as Michael yelps lyrics based upon a bizarre assault which happened to CBS newsreader Dan Rather, amongst other things. Crush With Eyeliner is a Bowie-esque swagger, with pulsating guitars and a fantastic disjointed solo which easily could have come from Cobain's fingers. King Of Comedy is a very different beast. Loud, brash, almost sloganeering - it's infectious, dark, excellent and downright evil.

Other highlights of the album include Strange Currencies, a close relative to Everybody Hurts, but different and uniquely appealing enough to be able to comfortably share styles, like two equally attractive cousins, Tongue, a rather gorgeous, soulful track which is probably unlike any other song I have ever heard and Bang and Blame, a clear choice for a single, being a rock/pop heavyweight.

Of course, not everything on this album is 24-carat gold, but it's all inventive, intelligent and each track will, eventually, creep under your skin. If it's a safe, comfortable listen you're seeking, then Monster isn't the album for you, but if you are interested in hearing a dirty, sexy almost seedy album with only barely hidden beauty, enviable artistry and unlimited passion then you may just want to give this album a try.

"This monster in me makes me retch" - Circus Envy
1994. R.E.M. have enjoyed almost two quiet years out of the limelight, bar a two-song stint at the 1993 MTV awards, but come back roaring. The acoustic guitars, bongos and mandolins that frequented Out of Time and Automatic For The People have been put a way temporarily and in their place are loud drums, odd guitar effects and Michael Stipe delivering 12 tales of identity crises, lust, loss, betrayal and love. And lust. Yes, this is definitely R.E.M.'s lust album.

Lead single "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" reminded longtime R.E.M. fans that they could still rock, though the lyrics will have baffled most. It concerned CBS newsreader Dan Rather being mugged in New York by two men, one of whom wished to know "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" between punches. He'd got the wrong guy as Dan did not have a clue what the frequency was.

Band And Blame has the only acoustic guitar on the CD and was the second single, while Crush With Eyeliner, released 4 months after the CD, sees R.E.M. don an overtly 70s style. Strange Currencies, the tune of which was written by drummer Bill Berry and sounds remarkably similar to R.E.M.'s cover of the Velvet Underground song Femme Fatale, was also a single. During the 1995 UK tour, Tongue, an odd track built around a bass and pump organ motif with a falsetto Michael Stipe vocal, received a single release.

Away from the singles, the other tracks clamour to stand out. King Of Comedy shows what R.E.M. sound like after too many listens to U2's technorock, while I Don't Sleep, I Dream sees Michael in playful mode as he tosses lines such as "Do you give good head? Am I good in bed" to his audience.

The rockier stuff can be found among I Took Your Name, a kind of I Wanna Be Your Dog (Iggy Pop) for the 1990s, Star 69 and Circus Envy. Final track You is a highlight for me.

Let Me In was much talked about at the time of release as it was described by Stipe as being "to, for and about Kurt Cobain," a personal friend who had committed suicide during the recording of the record. The death of Stipe's close friend River Pheonix was not mentioned on the record though he did receive a dedication on the sleeve. There were suggestions he was immortalised in song one album later on New Adventures In Hi-Fi's "Departure," which features the line "You will be young forever."

Monster is not R.E.M.'s greatest album but it was the album they felt they had to make.