Around the Sun

by R.E.M.

Overview

Since the careening, ragged Reckoning followed the hazy, dreamlike Murmur, each R.E.M. album had an element of a surprise, offering something different than what came before. That's not the case with Around the Sun, which refines and polishes the blueprint of Reveal. This is as slow and ballad-heavy as Automatic for the People, but where that album was filled with raw emotion and weird detours, Around the Sun is tasteful and streamlined. It offers no weighty themes and is emotionally removed. With their layered, low-key production, R.E.M. seem hell-bent on leaving behind anything that could be construed as their signature sound, so keyboards and drum machines are pushed to the front as Buck's guitar strums instead of jangles and Mills' background vocals are buried in the mix under Stipe's double-tracked harmonies. All the quirks in the production have been sanded down and glossed over. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	07/14/2023
Label:	Craft Records
UPC:	0888072426269
Rank:	28274

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Leaving New York
2. Electron Blue
3. The Outsiders
4. Make It All Okay
5. Final Straw
6. I Wanted to Be Wrong

Disc 2

7. Wanderlust
8. Boy in the Well
9. Aftermath
10. High Speed Train
11. The Worst Joke Ever
12. The Ascent of Man
13. Around the Sun

Album Credits

Performance Credits

R.E.M.   Primary Artist
Q-Tip   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals

Technical Credits

Pat McCarthy   Audio Production,Mixing,Producer,Recording
Mike Mills   Group Member,Composer
R.E.M.   Audio Production,Mixing,Producer
Jamie Candiloro   Audio Engineer,Mixing,Engineer,Musician,Recording
Patrick McCarthy   Mixing,Producer
Ted Jensen   Mastering
Bill Rieflin   Musician
Ken Stringfellow   Musician
Peter Buck   Composer,Group Member
Q-Tip   Musician
Michael Stipe   Composer,Packaging,Group Member
Oswald Bowe   Assistant Engineer
Hahn Rowe   Musician
Scott McCaughey   Musician
Javier Valverde   Assistant Engineer
Bertis Downs   Advisor
Bob Whittaker   Technical Assistance
Alex Dixon   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Jimmy Briggs   Assistant Engineer
Kirk McNally   Assistant Engineer
Thomas Roman Dozol   Cover Photo,Photography
Bryan Gallant   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
DeWitt Burton   Technical Assistance
Chris Bilheimer   Packaging
Jim Briggs   Assistant Engineer