Details
Moving into electronic music-influenced territory after delivering the challenging New Adventures in Hi-Fi in 1996, Up alienated critics, fans of the band's 1980s work and casual listeners used to the band's more-commercial early 1990s output. However, some saw it as one of the band's bravest and most sonically daring records to date, and the record was even cited by Radiohead, who would release their own largely electronic and highly acclaimed effort Kid A in 2000. Ending a 10-year relationship with co-producer Scott Litt, R.E.M. engaged the production assistance of Pat McCarthy, who was assisted on most tracks of Up by engineer Nigel Godrich, Radiohead's producer.
With Berry's departure, the sessions for Up were indeed strained, with R.E.M. subsequently admitting that they came close to breaking up during its recording. Not surprisingly, the album is considered to have a labored and melancholic feel to it. In spite of the tension, "Daysleeper", became a Top 10 UK hit, and subsequent singles included "Lotus", The Beach Boys-influenced "At My Most Beautiful" and "Suspicion."
Breaking with a tradition that stretched back to the band's 1983 debut Murmur, Michael Stipe elected to have his complete lyrics included in Up's CD booklet, a practice Stipe would maintain on all subsequent R.E.M. studio albums.
Read more about this topic: Up (R.E.M. album)
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