My Amazon Reviews: R.E.M. "Collapse Into Now"

Show the Kids How to Do It  
4 Out of 5 Stars

R.E.M. went to a pair of extremes for the two albums before "Collapse Into Now." "Around The Sun," an album I actually really liked a lot, was the laconic, introspective band that made songs like "Everybody Hurts" and held a cool blue sound all the way through, then "Accelerate" stomped the gas pedal to the floorboards with a full-on Stooges attack. It was relentlessly aggressive, and rammed the band back into prominence. "Collapse" seems to be an attempt to land on the center point between the two, and seems more like the effortless album of the three.

I should mention that it took me about a week's worth of listens before "Collapse Into Now" finally registered with me. It's not as thoughtful as "Around" nor as blunt as "Accelerate," so it has to work its way into your thought-stream. Which, come to think of it, is how the best R.E.M. albums tend to commit themselves. Michael Stipe has been more assertive lately, finally coming to grips with his place in the pantheon of singers/writers. When he barks out on "All The Best" "let's show the kids how to do it," it almost sounds like a drill sergeant making a call to arms. Old pal Patti Smith drops in to make her other worldly voice a part of "Discoverer" and "Blue" (her best bud Lenny Kaye adds guitar to the latter), to add to "Collapse's" old school Athens vibe.

That look back echoes throughout the album, with Peter Buck pulling out the Mandolin more often than any album since "Automatic For The People." Stipe seems to be less strained on the lyrics. adding playfulness to "Mine Smell Like Honey" and "All The Best." He also reverts to "E-Bow The Letter/Country Feedback" when drawing the album to a close with the mystic sounding "Blue." Chanting poetry over Patti's cry, he finally states "I want Whitman proud, Patti Lee proud!...this is my time and I am thrilled to be alive!" The band then breaks into an exuberant coda of "Discoverer" and R.E.M. leave with "Collapse Into Now" being another affirmation that they are one of the best bands of the last three decades.