Reveal (album)

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Reveal
Reveal cover
Studio album by R.E.M.
Released May 14, 2001
Recorded May 2000
Vancouver, BC, Canada
August–October 2000
Dalkey, Ireland
October 2000
Athens, GA, USA
Genre Alternative rock
Length 53:43
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Patrick McCarthy and R.E.M.
Professional reviews
R.E.M. chronology
Up
(1998)		 Reveal
(2001)		 Around the Sun
(2004)

Reveal is the twelfth album by the American band R.E.M., released in 2001 on Warner Bros.. After having adjusted to former drummer Bill Berry's departure and releasing Up to mixed response in 1998, R.E.M. released the more upbeat Reveal, which was co-produced with long-time collaborator Patrick McCarthy.

In 2002, R.E.M. allowed each track of the album to be remixed by different producers and members of the music industry. The resulting remix album, r.e.m.IX, is available as a free download from R.E.M.'s official website. In 2005, Warner Bros. Records issued an expanded two-disc edition of Reveal which includes a CD and a DVD, as well as the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes. The CD (as with all in this series) was not remastered.

Contents

[edit] Music

The lead single, "Imitation of Life", became another UK Top 10 hit as well as their first number one single in Japan, but floundered at the bottom of the U.S. singles charts. Further singles from Reveal are "All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star)" and "I'll Take The Rain". Building on examples from earlier albums, "Beat A Drum", "Summer Turns To High" and "Beachball" are musical homages to The Beach Boys, of whom both Mike Mills and Peter Buck are major fans.

[edit] Reception

Although it was promoted as a return to form, with early comparisons to Automatic for the People, Reveal actually sounds more like a cross between the sunny sounds of Out of Time and the electronica of Up.[citation needed] R.E.M. has since been accused of trying a little too forcibly on Reveal to recreate what had come naturally to the group in the past.[citation needed] However, the critical reaction to Reveal was warmer than the notices which greeted Up in 1998, particularly in the UK where it reached #1 with healthy sales. In the United States, Reveal peaked at #6 (with 10 weeks on the Billboard 200) and went gold, still selling below expectations. As of March 2007, Reveal has sold 415,000 units in the U.S. [1]

"When a band that's been around as long as R.E.M. are still doing their best work, that's really unusual," said U2's Bono in 2003. "I think Reveal is one of the best records they've ever made: beautiful melodies, beautiful singing, and really evolved songwriting."[2]

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.

  1. "The Lifting" – 4:39
  2. "I've Been High" – 3:25
  3. "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" – 4:43
  4. "She Just Wants to Be" – 5:22
  5. "Disappear" – 4:11
  6. "Saturn Return" – 4:55
  7. "Beat a Drum" – 4:21
  8. "Imitation of Life" – 3:57
  9. "Summer Turns to High" – 3:31
  10. "Chorus and the Ring" – 4:31
  11. "I'll Take the Rain" – 5:51
  12. "Beachball" – 4:14

[edit] Reveal version 1.0

The February 2001 master of Reveal differed from the March 2001 master of the album, which ended up being the final version. Compared to the official, the differences of the Reveal Version 1.0, as it is nicknamed, include:

  • Two tracks that never made it to the finished version: "Fascinating" and "Free Form Jazz Jam".
  • An alternative version of "Beat a Drum" called "All I Want".
  • A longer version of "Imitation of Life".
  • A version of "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" with an alternate ending, and simply titled "Reno".
  • Slightly different mixes and/or instrumental changes in "I've Been High" and "She Just Wants to Be".

Neither of the unreleased tracks or any of the alternative mixes have ever been released commercially. However, the band allowed the Murmurs.com fan community to offer downloads of "Fascinating."

[edit] Charts

[edit] Album

Year Chart Position
2001 The Billboard 200 6 (10 weeks on chart)
2001 UK album chart 1 (15 weeks on chart)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gunderson, Edna. R.E.M.: A 25-year rockin' role. USA Today.
  2. ^ The South Bank Show, May 12, 2003.

[edit] External links

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