Just because ’’Monster’’ isn’t quite as good as some of R.E.M.’s other work doesn’t make it bad... Even R.E.M.’s B-Sides and throw-aways are 10X times better than most bands best work... and ’’Monster’’ is definitely better than their throw-aways! A lot of people seem to think that R.E.M. should stick to one type of music... i.e. acoustics like in ’’Automatic...’’ or their early, ’’jangly’’ sound. But, wouldn’t 12 albums full of the same sounding stuff get old? R.E.M.’s success and talent lies in a big part in the fact that they are always trying different things, doing what no one expects of them. And ’’Monster’’ is a good example of that - coming from two largely acoustic, introspective albums into the hardest rocking album as a whole that they’ve ever done... the album that made some grunge bands who thought alternative rock had nothing to offer turn their heads in surprise. Every track has something to offer:
’’What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?’’ is a great album opener, although radio has played it enough that it’s not as good as it used to be.... ’’Crush With Eyeliner’’ is one of my favorites on the album - it has attitude, and truly rocks... ’’King Of Comedy’’ is my least favorite - I realize that it’s a good song, I just can’t get into its groove enough to enjoy it much... ’’I Don’t Sleep, I Dream’’ is a little slower song, Stipe using falsetto for the chorus... ’’Star 69’’ is back to fast hard rock with an echo on the vocal... ’’Strange Currencies’’ is a beautiful ballad, shows that electric guitar feedback can really give feeling to a ballad if introduced at the right time... ’’Tongue, ’’ another of my favorites, has Stipe singing falsetto throughout the song (I once heard that this is a Carol King impression, is that correct?)... ’’Bang And Blame’’ is, well, not my favorite, but by no means bad either... ’’I Took Your Name’’ is another of my favorites, kind of a Stones sound to it... ’’Let Me In’’ is a heartfelt tribute to Kurt Cobain... ’’Circus Envy’’ is about as dark as R.E.M. gets, with dark lyrics and feedback/fuzz on top of the song the whole way through... ’’You’’ is a good closer, a little slower but with a good tune that makes you want to listen to the album again