R.E.M.
Monster - Warner B. 1994 Comments:R.E.M. 1994 album "Monster" must be one of the noisiest and hard rocking albums in the catalog of the band. Most songs are dominated by loud, distorted guitar tones, which works quite well on some songs (the best on the album), but overall it gets a bit tiring along the way on this nearly 50-minute long album. Especially towards the end, I lose interest, as none of the last four songs are particularly memorable, and moreover not very melodic.
R.E.M. were at the peak of their popularity at this time, and the opening track "What's the Frequency", which as a single was quite successful, is a perfect opener that sets the tone for the whole album.
Very much in the same genre is "Crush with Eyeliner", which was also released as a single. This single also did deservedly well.
Besides these two fine tracks the melodic “Strange Currencies” is a favourite. No wonder this track was also released as a single and became a pretty big hit in the UK.
Finally, there is "Bang and Blame", which may lead the mind towards "Losing My Religion", and which is a really nice number and that also became a big hit.
Another single was taken from "Monster", namely the track "Tongue", which is a rather unusual track for the group, with soul-falsetto vocals - a bit like Sam Cooke or Otis Redding. Quite good, although not a favourite.
The rest of the album is, for me, more or less forgettable.
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