Up
The album cover has a series of squares
Studio album by
R.E.M.
ReleasedOctober 26, 1998 (1998-10-26)[1]
RecordedJanuary–July 1998
Genre
Length64:31
LabelWarner Bros.
Producer
R.E.M. chronology
R.E.M.: In the Attic – Alternative Recordings 1985–1989
(1997) 		Up
(1998) 		Man on the Moon
(1999)
Singles from Up
  1. "Daysleeper"
    Released: October 12, 1998[2]
  2. "Lotus"
    Released: December 7, 1998[3]
  3. "At My Most Beautiful"
    Released: March 8, 1999[4]
  4. "Suspicion"
    Released: June 28, 1999[5]

Up is the eleventh studio album by American rock band R.E.M., released on October 26, 1998, by Warner Bros. Records. It was the band's first album without drummer Bill Berry, who retired from the group in October of 1997.[6] In his place, R.E.M. used session drummers like Joey Waronker and Barrett Martin, as well as programming drum machines. The band has said that the album probably would have sounded much the same with Berry, as initial rehearsals with him had commenced, but his departure almost “broke” them and "hung over" the resulting recordings.[7][failed verification]

Details

It was different, but we had already planned on it being somewhat different. [Guitarist] Peter [Buck] had been buying drum machines and vintage keyboards and odds and ends for some time in preparation for making a different record. It was definitely in the works. When [drummer] Bill [Berry] left, we just continued. We had already decided that a lot of the old rules were out, especially when it came to songwriting and creating the songs. When Bill left, it just really hyper-accelerated that process.

—Bassist Mike Mills in 2023 on recording Up and the group dynamics changing due to drummer Bill Berry leaving R.E.M.[8]

Up saw R.E.M. move into electronic music-influenced territory after delivering New Adventures in Hi-Fi in 1996. Ending a 10-year relationship with co-producer Scott Litt, the band engaged the production assistance of Pat McCarthy, who was assisted on most tracks by engineer Nigel Godrich, Radiohead's producer. The single "Daysleeper" became a Top 10 UK hit,[9] and "Lotus", The Beach Boys-influenced "At My Most Beautiful" and "Suspicion" were also released as singles.

"There are certain things I set out to do," Michael Stipe noted. "Rough ideas that I wanted to play around with. One of them was the religious-spiritual versus science-technology-modern-age. There are several songs on the record that, to me, address that. I don't know how other people are going to take them. It's taking off a little bit from 'Undertow' and 'New Test Leper', with the freedom of 'E-Bow the Letter' and 'Country Feedback' – songs that just come out. What I really wanted was more of that automatic, unconscious stuff… greatly inspired by Patti Smith and various others… Bert Downs said the record's about people falling down and getting back up again. He said there's a lot of that imagery. I'm like, 'Really?'"[10][11]

Breaking with a tradition that stretched back to the band's 1983 debut, Murmur, Stipe elected to have his complete lyrics included in Up's CD booklet, a practice he would maintain on all subsequent R.E.M. studio albums. "[Mike Mills] was reading the lyrics," he explained, "and he said, 'These are really great – we should print them on the record sleeve.' It was a really good night and there were eight or nine songs on the wall. I said, 'Yeah, we will'… I thought it was a nice way of saying that we are a different band now."[10]

R.E.M. subsequently admitted that they came close to breaking up while recording the album.[12]

A 25th-anniversary edition was released on November 10, 2023.[13]

Sales and critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[15]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[16]
The Guardian[17]
Los Angeles Times[18]
NME7/10[19]
Pitchfork6.1/10 (1998)[20]
6.9/10 (2023)[21]
Q[22]
Rolling Stone[23]
Spin8/10[24]

Up reached number 3 in the U.S.[25] (with 16 weeks on the Billboard 200) and #2 in the UK, but didn't have the staying power of the band's previous albums, and thus had the band's lowest sales in years. "The things that we have to do creatively for the band may not be the most commercial things," Mike Mills observed. "That isn't the point. The point is to keep it fresh and interesting and alive."[10]

"It will certainly sound strange to those who only own Automatic for the People and repeat-play the hits," wrote Danny Eccleston in a 4-star review for Q.[22] "Conversely, anyone who has a healthy number of R.E.M. records – let's say four – and plays them regularly, should manage to listen to Up without his head exploding or tossing herself off a tall building or any of the weird things people are meant to do when faced with music they don't quite understand. This is R.E.M. after all. We couldn't even hear the lyrics until album five."[22]

Although R.E.M. initially intended not to tour for the album, after many successful promotional concerts upon the album's release, the band quickly arranged a four-month arena tour of Europe and America during the summer of 1999. As of March 2007, Up has sold 664,000 units in the U.S.[26]

In 2005, Warner Bros. Records issued an expanded two-disc edition of Up which includes a CD, a DVD-Audio disc containing a 5.1-channel surround sound mix of the album done by Elliot Scheiner, and the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes.[27]

Accolades

In 1999, Nude as the News ranked the album at number 74 in its list of "The 100 Most Compelling Albums of the Decade".[28] That same year, Australian magazine Juice ranked it at number 38 in its list of the "100 Greatest Albums of the '90s".[29] In 2005, journalist Jude Rogers included the album in The Word's list "Hidden Treasure: Great Underrated Albums of Our Time", whose inductions were chosen by celebrities.[30] It also appeared in at least 22 magazine lists of the greatest albums of 1998.[citation needed]

Track listing

All songs by Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, except "Hope" by Buck, Mills, Stipe and Leonard Cohen. Cohen was not directly involved in the writing of "Hope" but was given a writing credit by the band due to similarities in melody and lyrical pattern to his song "Suzanne".

Upside

  1. "Airportman" – 4:12
  2. "Lotus" – 4:30
  3. "Suspicion" – 5:36
  4. "Hope" – 5:02
  5. "At My Most Beautiful" – 3:35
  6. "The Apologist" – 4:30
  7. "Sad Professor" – 4:01
  8. "You're in the Air" – 5:22

Downside

  2. "Walk Unafraid" – 4:31
  3. "Why Not Smile" – 4:03
  4. "Daysleeper" – 3:40
  5. "Diminished" – 6:01
    • Includes a hidden track entitled "I'm Not Over You" starting at 5:00, with Stipe soloing on acoustic guitar, after the song's conclusion.
  6. "Parakeet" – 4:09
  7. "Falls to Climb" – 5:06

25th anniversary edition bonus tracks

Disc 2 – Party of Five Recording

  1. Introduction
  2. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"
  3. "Lotus"
  4. "Daysleeper"
  5. "Country Feedback"
  6. "Walk Unafraid"
  7. "Losing My Religion"
  8. "Parakeet"
  9. "The Apologist"
  10. "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
  11. "I'm Not Over You"
  12. "Man on the Moon"

Disc 3 – Blu-ray

Studio B-sides

Two non-album tracks from the Up sessions appeared as single-only releases, as well as alternate versions of four album tracks.

Personnel

An elaborate light display
R.E.M. touring for Up in 1999

R.E.M.

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Up
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[52] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[53] Gold 25,000*
Belgium (BEA)[54] Gold 25,000*
France (SNEP)[55] Gold 100,000*
Italy — 150,000[56]
New Zealand (RMNZ)[57] Gold 7,500^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[58] Platinum 50,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[59] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[60] Gold 40,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[61] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[62] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[63] Gold 664,000[26]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[64] Platinum 1,000,000*
Worldwide
Oct. - Dec. 1998 sales 		— 1,500,000[56]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Up – R.E.M." AllMusic. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  2. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. October 10, 1998. p. 29. Misprinted as September 12 on source.
  3. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. December 5, 1998. p. 23.
  4. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 8 March, 1999: Singles". Music Week. March 6, 1999. p. 25.
  5. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 28 June, 1999: Singles". Music Week. June 26, 1999. p. 25.
  6. ^ "R.E.M. Talk About Loss Of Drummer Bill Berry". MTV News. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Up Turns 20". October 29, 2018.
  8. ^ Greene, Andy (2023-11-02). "R.E.M.'s Mike Mills Looks Back on 'Up': 'There Were Some Very Dark Times'". Music > Album Reviews. Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  9. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  10. ^ a b c Cavanagh, David: 'Come On, He Was Only The Drummer', Q #146, November 1998, pp96–104
  11. ^ "Mike Mills Tribute » Interviews: Come On, He Was Only The Drummer". mikemillsfan.com. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  12. ^ "R.E.M. Rock Archives". www.remrock.com. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  13. ^ "Up 25th Anniversary Reissue Coming November 10!". R.E.M. 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  14. ^ Schoemer, Karen. "REM: (various reissues)". Blender. Archived from the original on June 21, 2006. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  15. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  16. ^ Browne, David (October 30, 1998). "Up". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  17. ^ Sweeting, Adam (October 30, 1998). "R.E.M.: Up (Warner Bros.)". The Guardian.
  18. ^ Boehm, Mike (October 25, 1998). "R.E.M. 'Up' Warner Bros". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  19. ^ Segal, Victoria (October 21, 1998). "REM – Up". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  20. ^ Ambroz, Duane. "R.E.M.: Up". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 5, 2000. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  21. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (11 November 2023). "R.E.M.: Up (25th Anniversary Edition) Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  22. ^ a b c Eccleston, Danny (December 1998). "R.E.M.: Up". Q (147): 112. Archived from the original on November 15, 1999. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  23. ^ Powers, Ann (November 12, 1998). "Up". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  24. ^ Jacob, Sally (December 1998). "R.E.M.: Up". Spin. 14 (12): 176. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  25. ^ a b c "allmusic ((( Up > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  26. ^ a b Gundersen, Edna. "R.E.M.: A 25-year rockin' role". USA Today. March 11, 2007.
  27. ^ "R.E.M. - Up". Discogs. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  28. ^ "Nudeas90orangeindex.gif". Archived from the original on 2011-03-06. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  29. ^ http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/juice.html#100 Greatest Albums
  30. ^ "Rocklist.net...Steve Parker...The Word Lists..." www.rocklistmusic.co.uk.
  31. ^ "australian-charts.com R.E.M. – Up" (ASP). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  32. ^ "austriancharts.at R.E.M. – Up" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  33. ^ "ultratop.be R.E.M. – Up" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  34. ^ "ultratop.be R.E.M. – Up" (ASP). Hung Medien (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  35. ^ "dutchcharts.nl R.E.M. – Up". dutchcharts.nl. MegaCharts. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  36. ^ "finnishcharts.com R.E.M. – Up" (ASP). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  37. ^ "lescharts.com R.E.M. – Up" (ASP). Hung Medien (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  38. ^ "Album Search: R.E.M. – Up" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2012-03-05.[dead link]
  39. ^ "1998/46 heti Album Top 40 slágerlista" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  40. ^ "Highest position and charting weeks of Up by R.E.M." oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  41. ^ "charts.nz R.E.M. – Up" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  42. ^ "norwegiancharts.com R.E.M. – Up" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  43. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  44. ^ "swedishcharts.com R.E.M. – Up" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  45. ^ "R.E.M. – Up – hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  46. ^ "The Official Charts Company – R.E.M. – Up" (PHP). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  47. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Jahreshitparade 2001" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  48. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1998". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  49. ^ "JAAROVERZICHTEN – ALBUM 2001". Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  50. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  51. ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  52. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  53. ^ "Austrian album certifications – R.E.M. – Up" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  54. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1998". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  55. ^ "French album certifications – R.E.M. – Up" (in French). InfoDisc. Select R.E.M. and click OK. 
  56. ^ a b Sibilla, Gianni (December 3, 1998). "R.E.M. Up Album Selling Big Overseas". MTV. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  57. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – R.E.M. – Up". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  58. ^ "Norwegian album certifications – R.E.M. – Up" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  59. ^ Solo Exitos 1959-2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados > 1995-1999. Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392.
  60. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  61. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Up')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  62. ^ "British album certifications – R.E.M. – Up". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  63. ^ "American album certifications – R.E.M. – Up". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  64. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1998". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-03-05.

External links

R.E.M.
Authority control databases
Categories