5/5 Love it
  by C. Comstock (Illinois)
I love REM. And after listening to this CD a few times, I still love them! It did take about 3 plays for me to catch onto it, but I do not have to skip any songs. I have been listening to it for about a week non-stop in my car. Every song (in my opinion) is catchy. If you enjoy REM you will most likely enjoy this CD.

1/5 I want my money back; unlistenable CD master!
  by Seba Aethiad (Savannah, GA)
In all honesty, this is the worst mastering job I've probably ever heard in my life. I can usually stomach a fair amount of compression if I have to, but this is just completely unlistenable and unexpected from a band such as REM. I know they have little control over the final product, but if I were them, I would be ashamed at the quality of this record if my name were on it...it's just a complete waste of money, and it's a shame because this is actually their best set of songs since New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Too bad they seem to have forgotten what "hi-fi" means since that time...

...don't waste your money unless you find instant ear fatigue a pleasant sensation.

2/5 Accelerate to where? Far away from where they came from!
  by G. Kline (Hoboken, NJ)
I don't really quite understand what happened to R.E.M. They've really changed a lot over the years. Of course, bands must change to some degree, otherwise they stagnate. But it seems like once Stipe became such a public figure in music, everything began to slide downward. I have to admit I'm more of a fan of their earlier work and in my opinion, their peak happened with Eponymous. After that they kind of leveled off with "Out of Time" and "Automatic For the People", then began to morph into something quite different with "Monster." After that... well, the sales speaks for itself. "UP", "Reveal", and "Around The Sun" haven't made it beyond gold. Monster was the last 4xPlatinum album. Going on two years now, "Accelerate" is still silver.

Praise Amazon for providing listening samples, so people can get a sense of what they'd be buying. I did get a chance to listen to the full songs... and I just don't get this new "comeback" for REM. They're so different from what they were before. If you're more into REM's older works, you probably won't like this album.

Like much music sold through Amazon, this release has been stuffed with glowing reviews that are difficult to trust. Listen to the music and make your decision based on your own impressions. I just wish R.E.M. would get back to their roots and revisit the sound that made them so welcome in the music world.

4/5 Back to basics
  by H. Jin (Melbourne, Australia)
'Accelerate' is quite simply the best thing REM have done since 'New Adventures', and possibly since 'Automatic for the People'. Cynics might argue that's not saying much, but 'Accelerate' is a strong album and a welcome return to form for the band.

Rather than persue the over-produced art pop of their last three albums, REM go back to basics to reinvigorate themselves. They strip away the electronics, keyboards and heavy production, and push the guitars and vocals to the fore. The result is their most straightforward rock album since the late 80's. In many ways, 'Lifes Rich Pageant' and 'Document' are the templates for the album, both in the direct rock sound and the strident, often political, lyrics. Fans of these albums will find plenty to love on 'Accelerate'.

The one criticism I would have is that perhaps they've gone too far, stripping away not only the fuzzy electro influences of 'Up', but also the quirks that made up their signature sound. It's a very direct album, with little of the subtlety and detours of their classic work. As for the politics, I'd suggest it's not exactly brave or subversive to attack GWB when he's on the way out. Nevertheless, 'Accelerate' is a very good album; the comeback REM fans began to fear they'd never make.





4/5 Accelerate
  by Bjorn Viberg (European Union)
Accelerate being REM's 14th album and their 2008 release was met with positive reviews by the critics and Allmusic, Spinn and The Guardian gave it 4 stars. I agree the album is a wast improvement compared to their 2004 release Around the sun. The album also did well with the public peaking at #1 in several countries, i.e., Ireland, Greece, UK and Belgium and Norway. The album spawned four singles "Man-Sized Wreath", "Supernatural Superserious", "Hollow Man" and "Until The Day Is Done". The booklet has all the lyrics and some strange graphics on the front. 4/5.