R.E.M.

Up is part one of the band's quest for a direction after the departure of founding drummer Bill Berry. Though the album was widely derided by long-time fans (actually, by just about everybody, including a few band members), you may find something to love in some of the songs if you stick 'em on an MP3 player with hundreds of others you like and hit shuffle. Or you might just hit fast forward.

Rock ballads are the songs you play after the night has burned itself out. Soft music takes
you down from the party, filling the dawn's empty breathing space with forgiving beauty.
"As the sun comes up, as the moon goes down, these heavy notions creep around," sings
Michael Stipe in "Walk Unafraid," one of the fourteen rock ballads (plus a lone rocker,
"Lotus") that comprise Up, R.E.M.'s first album since the departure of drummer Bil... More >