Up

Up is the 11th album by the American band R.E.M. It was the band’s first album without original drummer Bill Berry, who left the group amicably in October 1997 to pursue his own interests. In his place, R.E.M. used session drummers or drum machines to fill the void.

Moving into electronic music-influenced territory after delivering the challenging New Adventures in Hi-Fi in 1996, Up alienated both critics, fans of the band’s 1980s work and casual listeners used to the band’s more-commercial early 1990s output. However, some saw it as one of the band’s bravest and most sonically daring records to date, and the record was even cited by Radiohead, who would release their own largely electronic and highly acclaimed effort Kid A in 2000. Ending a 10-year relationship with co-producer Scott Litt, R.E.M. engaged the production assistance of Pat McCarthy, who was assisted on most tracks of Up by engineer Nigel Godrich, Radiohead’s producer.

With Berry’s departure, the sessions for Up were indeed strained, with R.E.M. subsequently admitting that they came close to breaking up during its recording. Not surprisingly, the album is considered to have a labored and melancholic feel to it. In spite of the tension, “Daysleeper”, became a Top 10 UK hit, and subsequent singles included “Lotus”, The Beach Boys-influenced “At My Most Beautiful” and “Suspicion.”