review 1

This is R.E.M.'s best since New Adventures in Hi-Fi in 1996. My favorite song on here is "Uberlin," which is Michael Stipe's finest vocal performance in many years. Collapse Into Now successfully mixes mid-tempo tracks like "Uberlin," "Oh My Heart," and "It Happened Today" (the last of which has the greatest harmony vocals on any R.E.M. album) with good slow songs like "Walk It Back" and "Me Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I" and faster, more rocking songs such as "All the Best" and "That Someone is You." Highly recommended! Collapse    

 ( http://www.metacritic.com/music/collapse-into-now/rem )

review  2

If you like REM because of the songs "Man of the moon", "Electrolite", "Imitation of life", "Everybody hurts"... then don't go for this album. Fast electric guitar songs which aren't high-quality. Only the last two tracks and tracks 3,4,5 are worth listening. Collapse

( http://www.metacritic.com/music/collapse-into-now/rem )

REM played their first concert in Athens, Georgia, USA, on 19 April 1980. Their line-up consisted of four drop-outs from the University of Georgia; Michael Stipe (b. 4 January 1960, Decatur, Georgia, USA; vocals), Peter Buck (b. 6 December 1956, Berkeley, California, USA; guitar), Mike Mills (b. 17 December 1958, Orange County, California, USA; bass) and Bill Berry (b. 31 July 1958, Duluth, Minnesota, USA; drums). Without the charisma of Stipe and his eccentric onstage behaviour, hurling himself about with abandon in-between mumbling into the microphone, they could easily have been overlooked as just another bar band, relying on the harmonious guitar sound of the Byrds for their inspiration. Acquiring a healthy following among the college fraternity in their hometown, it was not long before they entered the studio to record their debut single, "Radio Free Europe", to be released independently on Hibtone Records. This was greeted with considerable praise by critics who conceded that the band amounted to more than the sum of their influences. Their country/folk sound was contradicted by a driving bassline and an urgency that put the listener more in mind of the Who in their early mod phase. Add to this the distinctive voice of Stipe and his inaudible, perhaps even non-existent, lyrics, and REM sounded quite unlike any other band in the USA in the post-punk era of the early 80s.

 my own review  

i had never seen this before , i thi