[tigerthelion]

I cannot recommend the R.E.M. album. I downloaded it, as I always do, because I couldn't wait for it to come out in stores. And this is the FIRST album by a band/artist I like in five years of pre-release downloading that I will not buy. I simply can't bring myself to put burn 20 beans.

The songs are there. The songwriting itself is as good as Reveal. But the production, my god, it's like Reveal squared. Somebody needs to beat Peter Buck over the head with his own guitar to remind him it's there. The whole album is a big swampy soup of techno effects, keyboard layering and god-awful instrumentation. I truly hate it. And not like I dislike The Hip's IVL, which I can actually listen to - between Reveal and this album, I can safely say I have written off R.E.M. Unless they get rid of Pat McCarthy as producer, I will never buy another album. I'd still pay to see these songs live, where hopefully - HOPEFULLY - they rely on organic musicianship and not Japanese video game arcade-sounding electronica.

Interesting comments. I've only listened to the song you sent me and thought it was good. I didn't think it was great however. The only thing about REM that kind of turns me off is when they are stuck in first gear. Some REM stuff I love but some just doesn't reach another gear, and seems to just drag on. BTW, what did you think of Monster?