REM hit the studio with Jackson Lee

[floydsu]

R.E.M. will record its 14th studio album this spring with Irish producer Jacknife Lee, best known for his work on U2's "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" and Snow Patrol's "Final Straw." The project is expected before the end of the year via Warner Bros.

 

The new album will be the follow-up to 2004's "Around the Sun," which was afford a chilly critical reception and has sold just 232,00 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

 

"I don't think in terms of directions, but I think this next record might have a little more rock to it," bassist Mike Mills told Billboard.com last fall. "I like 'Around the Sun,' but I think, honestly, it turned out a little slower than we intended for it to, just in terms of the overall speed of songs."

 

 

On Monday (March 12), R.E.M. will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. The group will perform at the New York ceremony with drummer Bill Berry, who retired from R.E.M. in 1997.

[remphish1]

Wow...only 232,000 copies of Around the Sun! Wilco is now officially more popular then REM! Im looking forward to their new album but wow is their popularity dwindling...hopefully they will play smaller venues on the next tour!

[MrRain422]

Wow...only 232,000 copies of Around the Sun! Wilco is now officially more popular then REM! Im looking forward to their new album but wow is their popularity dwindling...hopefully they will play smaller venues on the next tour!

 

Is that official now? I bet REM still sells a million in back catalogue every year.

[Chris_H_2]

Worldwide, REM is still huge. The Euros love that band.

 

And Mike Mills' comment about being a more "rocking" album has been repeated since Automatic For The People. He says that before recording every album.

 

They haven't been able to do much since New Adventures in Hi-Fi -- one of their best albums.

[jakobnicholas]

I've been an R.E.M. defender over their last handful of records....Up I think is very under-rated and Reveal is a step down, but has some great moments.....but Around the Sun is just a colossal disappointment. As much as I tried, I can't even say the record is average. "Bland" is the best word to describe it.

 

Stipe's lyrics seemed so forced (with exception of Final Straw and I Wanted To Be Wrong....I liked those)...and the music....c'mon Peter Buck....you're the guy with the amazing guitar riff in Flowers Of Guatemala. And I hope Mills trashes all his Brian Wilson discs...they served as great inspiration for a couple songs, but be done with it.

 

 

I don't think it will happen, but I hope they just get in the studio and rock out...they're thinking WAY too much in the studio.

[quarter23cd]

And Mike Mills' comment about being a more "rocking" album has been repeated since Automatic For The People. He says that before recording every album.

I think that's the standard line whenever they go to make a new record. Wasn't "Around the Sun" originally described as a fiery, political album that was like a throwback to the "Document" era? Didn't really work out that way. Oh well.

[tweedfolds]

Around the Sun was very bland...what my exgirlfriend would call "Dad rock" (sorry to the dads on the board). I loved Up and Reveal though.

 

Anyone ever see the documentary about the making of UP? Its pretty good as far as rock-docs go.

[Analogman]

Worldwide, REM is still huge. The Euros love that band.

 

And Mike Mills' comment about being a more "rocking" album has been repeated since Automatic For The People. He says that before recording every album.

 

They haven't been able to do much since New Adventures in Hi-Fi -- one of their best albums.

 

 

I agree with that - I got rid of the two albums after that and did even bother with the last one.

[MrRain422]

Reveal was good, not great. I never really listen to it. Not very interested in anything they've done since NAIHF, really.

[deepseacatfish]

with Irish producer Jacknife Lee, best known for his work on U2's "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" and Snow Patrol's "Final Straw." The project is expected before the end of the year via Warner Bros.

This alone makes me very wary of the sound. I like rawer, edgier R.E.M.

 

I did like Up, Reveal is ok when songs from it come up on shuffle, I didn't purchase their latest.

[fortuneinmyhead]

Bring Back Bill Berry!!

 

[TheMaker]

Up > New Adventures in Hi Fi. (Somebody had to say it.)

 

But yeah, AtS is one of the worst frigging records I've ever heard. AOR without any spark. Just embarrassing, really. What killed me was that the following tour was quite good. Here's hoping for some of that old-school spark this time around...

[Analogman]

You like Up and Reveal?

 

The main problem I have with them now - is - just like U2 - the lyrics have changed from being challenging and political to a bunch of easy love songs.

[street spirit]

Up > New Adventures in Hi Fi. (Somebody had to say it.)

 

But yeah, AtS is one of the worst frigging records I've ever heard. AOR without any spark. Just embarrassing, really. What killed me was that the following tour was quite good. Here's hoping for some of that old-school spark this time around...

 

I agree that Up is terribly underrated, but I also think that you are terribly wrong about how it fairs against New Adventures.

[jakobnicholas]

You like Up and Reveal?

 

The main problem I have with them now - is - just like U2 - the lyrics have changed from being challenging and political to a bunch of easy love songs.

 

 

I like Up's lyrics, as they seem to document a time of the band when Stipe thought it'd be there last record...so all the songs are about hanging in there and characters overcoming obstacles.

 

Reveal IS a pretty cheesy record, but it has a few shining moments.

[Coltrane]

I would suggest to REM that they spend less than a year in the studio this time playing around with the songs. Are we really supposed to believe that it took a year and a half to write and record Document?

 

Whatever the songs are I just don't think that veteran bands like REM benefit from huge amounts of studio time. Just go in and bang it out. That's never going to happen, but it would be cooler if it did.

[Coltrane]

I like Up's lyrics, as they seem to document a time of the band when Stipe thought it'd be there last record...so all the songs are about hanging in there and characters overcoming obstacles.

 

Reveal IS a pretty cheesy record, but it has a few shining moments.

I agree with everything you said. You didn't mention Around the Sun, but it's awful.

[Calexico]

I love REM more than any other band and I have been sadly disappointed in the output since Bill left the band. Some stuff on each album was ok but the majority of the music on the three albums was bland to say the very least. Bill was such an important figure in REM.They still put on a great live show but now seem to be living on their laurels. This generation's Rolling Stones...great live shows and disappointing studio albums. A very sad way to go, they would have been better off calling it a day.

[myboyblue]

I generally try and stay out of the REM-bashing threads and generally fail. I agree that Around the Sun isn't their best album but there are many solid songs on the album. They are far from being The Rolling Stones. Leaving New York, Final Straw, Make It All Alright are all very solid. I also think think that they are still capable of putting out a very solid album.

 

I don't believe that any other band has put out such a solid catalog spanning the amount of time that REM has been around. Yes, their latest isn't the strongest of their history. However, in my opinion, at least they are adding good music to their catalog. I, for one, am glad that they haven't called it quits.

[jakobnicholas]

I would suggest to REM that they spend less than a year in the studio this time playing around with the songs. Are we really supposed to believe that it took a year and a half to write and record Document?

 

Whatever the songs are I just don't think that veteran bands like REM benefit from huge amounts of studio time. Just go in and bang it out. That's never going to happen, but it would be cooler if it did.

 

 

 

I totally agree.

 

They should try a White Stripes approach to recording their next record. The Stripes usually take about 2 weeks at most to record.

 

 

 

And about Around the Sun, I really tried to figure the thing out, but I gave up. Here's my break-down:

 

Songs I like: The Ascent of Man, I Wanted to Be Wrong, Final Straw, Around the Sun.

 

Songs I TRIED to like because of nice elements, but just seemed WAY TOO over-thought and ultimately forgettable: Worst Joke Ever, High Speed Train, Boy in the Well, Aftermath.

 

Songs I think are total CRAP: Leaving New York, Electron Blue, The Outsiders, Make it All Ok, Wanderlust.

[Analogman]

R.E.M. Reluctant To Pin Down New Album Direction

R.E.M.

August 31, 2007, 3:30 AM ET

Gary Graff, Detroit

R.E.M. is "two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through" its next album, according to the group's Mike Mills, which means it's on target for a 2008 release, most likely some time in the spring.

 

"We've got another three weeks of recording and singing and what little overdubbing we're gonna do," Mills tells Billboard.com. "Michael's got a bunch of singing and I've got some backgrounds to do, and we've got a couple songs we hope Michael will finish. And then after the next three weeks or so is the mixing phase."

 

Mills' comment that "there isn't a whole lot of overdubbing on this record" supports reports -- as well as aural evidence from recent "working rehearsal" shows at Dublin's Olympia theater -- that it will be a guitar-dominated, hard-rocking record. For now, however, Mills says that he, Stipe and Peter Buck "made an agreement we weren't going to say what it is or not because we don't want to have expectations out there in any direction. But, of course, you can go on YouTube and listen to some of the Dublin shows and get a pretty good idea of where we're going."

 

Those concerts, he adds, did have a positive impact on the new material. "They did all the things we wanted in terms of not only generating excitement for the record but also helped us, I think, to make a better record," Mills says. "It just really kicked us into a higher gear."

 

Mills says working with producer Garret "Jacknife" Lee has been "fantastic. He's just what we needed at this stage of our career. He's very willing to experiment. He keeps things loose. It's a fun process; he just realizes this is something we're all lucky to be able to do, and we're all enjoying it as much as possible." R.E.M. has been recording with touring members Bill Rieflin and Scott McCaughey, but Ken Stringfellow hasn't been involved, Mills says, because "we're not using very many keyboards, and what we're using I do."

 

R.E.M. is hoping that its next release, the CD/DVD concert package "R.E.M. Live" from a 2005 show at Dublin's Point Theatre, will also provide "a springboard" for the new album. Mills says of the Oct. 16 Warner Bros. release, "it's actually so good that it's gonna whet people's appetite. It's nice to show people that we're still out here doing great work.

[cryptique]

R.E.M. has been recording with touring members Bill Rieflin and Scott McCaughey, but Ken Stringfellow hasn't been involved, Mills says, because "we're not using very many keyboards, and what we're using I do."

Sad that Ken's not involved, but his talent is pretty much wasted in R.E.M. anyway ... I mean, keyboards? Seriously? You've got one of the best vocalists in rock 'n roll (this side of Stipe himself), who also happens to be a talented guitarist and an endlessly energetic stage presence, and you're going to stick him on a stool behind the keyboards?

 

As for the new album ... I'll believe it's more rocking and guitar-based when I hear it. To me, R.E.M. hasn't been the same band since Peter Buck decided he no longer wanted to play constant barrages of eighth notes, which was about the time they jumped from I.R.S. to Warner.

[EL the Famous]

as i've been waiting for a proper rock/guitar album from REM for a while, i was hesitatnt to believe it was actually forthcoming.

 

then I watched the videos of said Dublin warm-up shows and i beacme excited about an REM record for the first time in close to 10 years:

[the carlos]

I liked quite a few of the new tracks played in Dublin. They have been getting a lot of play in our house.

[EL the Famous]

if buck is allowed to turn up the guitar a little more and the album follows suit...they could easily hook me again.