0119. R.E.M.
Green
I can't believe it took almost 120 albums 'til R.E.M. showed up again. I liked the previous album (well, liked, is an understatement) so much that it's bound to be a hard act to follow.
But they manage quite well as they start with Pop Song 89, setting the bar high. A level they don't always manage to keep due to tracks like Get Up and You Are The Everything, but remedy with songs like the Stand, with it's take on 60's pop, and Orange Crush, with it's harmonies about the Vietnam War.
Mixing slide-guitar with flamenco-style castanetas in World Leader Pretendis a bold move, but it works (actually works better than the following multi-layering of mandolins in The Wrong Child).
Most of the songs are good, which makes Green not as great as Document, but that still a very good album.
