I remember first seeing this album was released by swinging into Borders. I was kind of busy around this time, but it speaks volumes that I didn't even know the group had an album release. I somehow missed 'Leaving New York' hitting the radio, I wasn't really following online info, and I definitely wasn't watching TV. It seems like this era of R.E.M. corresponds with a grey area in communications, the ramp up to complete internet dominance. The songs released off this album simply didn't capture the public's imagination, perhaps it's another effort that is out of time with tastes. The band doesn't care for the album much in retrospect, with Peter faulting the band for fiddling in the studio too long and being interrupted by compiling a best of, Mike feeling they were trying too hard at times. Only Michael has a soft spot for some of the songs--his favorite being 'Electron Blue'--and when he first presented a list of his favorite R.E.M. songs to the Guardian, there were 3 off this album and none pre-1990, which they made him change. He claims not to remember which albums most of the songs are drawn from. He has also noted that the lyric to 'Worst Joke Ever' is one of his proudest accomplishments.
So what's going on here? A lot of die hard fans malign the album and the sales were terrible. No songs charted in the U.S. (although the album did well in the UK) which is crazy to me, but looking at the releases it makes sense--I can't believe they didn't release 'The Outsiders' or 'The Boy in the Well.' There are some rough moments on the album, but overall the songs are solid, it's more accessible than REVEAL, and the band seems pretty settled in without Bill--maybe too settled, perhaps there's a malaise that creeps into the songs. It's clear that the group needed to make this album in order to get to their last two rockers, and ATS is such a growing pains album--UP was pastiche, REVEAL thematic, and ATS combines something in between. Perhaps it's just an odd collection of songs without focus.
Personally, I was going through a very tough period and this album was my constant companion. When I listen to the tracks I can remember a bittersweet time and thank the album for keeping me afloat during 'that sinking feeling.' The songs are not among their very best, there are seeds that could've evolved into something and although they mean something to me I can understand why the album is given short shrift. However as I often have posted here, if you are a die hard fan of the band you have to take this album with the rest and I like most of the songs because R.E.M. just does it for me. I suspect a lot of fans have the same experience--how can anything be as good as MURMUR or NAIHF? They've created the expectations and I've enjoyed the heights of their creative power, for that reason I'm into anything they do creatively.
Pre-diving into the album I'm looking forward to finding depth where I might have overlooked it as I did with tracks from UP and REVEAL, particularly personally out of favor songs like 'Final Straw,' 'Wanderlust,' and the title track. Incidentally, R.E.M. only wrote two title track songs in their oeuvre, this one and ACCELERATE. It's hard to see the band you love fail on a grand scale (and by fail I mean more of a commercial drop than aesthetic) but in a sense they were able to work under the auspices I first found them, a sense of under the radar, alternative thought takes hold after this and the band hits the road to find themselves and sail into the sunset after finding something they lost. After this there is an edge to the band, but for now (like the blurred image of Michael on the album cover) we have a hazy focus. I hope my fondness for the album holds.
This is a fascinating look at what is still my least favourite R.E.M. album, yet one which has grown on me considerably over the years.
ReplyDeleteLike you I was going through a pretty bad time when this came out, although at the time I actually (and unfairly) attributed a lot of that unhappiness to the disappointment in the album that I felt at the time. I really really hated this record and felt utterly let down and bereft.
In fact after my first listen I didn't play the CD again at all until a full 6 months later, and even then it was only after seeing the band play live in Glasgow and realising a new (and better) way to feel the songs and accept them as they were on the record.
It's interesting that on your post about Electron Blue you chose a live version, because that was one of the songs that most stood out for me at that Glasgow gig, and one of the first moments where I began to think, "actually, I should really give ATS another listen, this is better than I remember it".
Anyway, thanks for this, and the entire blog which I have only discovered today and have been binge-reading through for about 3 hours!
Kudos on getting through it all, and on writing with such wit and insight on my favourite band. I can't play guitar at all, so the tabbing is lost on me, but even just having someone carefully pick through the lyrics is wonderful.