Monster | 
 enlarge | Artist: R.e.m.
Label: Warner Bros / Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $7.98
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $7.97 (100%)
New (77) Used (629) Collectible (30) from $0.01
Rating:  164 reviews
Sales Rank: 10580
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 45740
UPC: 093624574026
EAN: 0093624574026
ASIN: B000002MU3
Release Date: September 27, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
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| Tracks:
| • | What's the Frequency, Kenneth? | | • | Crush with Eyeliner | | • | King of Comedy | | • | I Don't Sleep, I Dream | | • | Star 69 | | • | Strange Currencies | | • | Tongue | | • | Bang and Blame | | • | I Took Your Name | | • | Let Me In | | • | Circus Envy | | • | You |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
R.E.M. pushed the jangle out of the picture with Monster, replacing it with reverberating snaps, crackles, and pops. An album that wraps itself to '70s glam finery while reaching out to the flannel-clad post-Nirvana throngs, it largely succeeds at demonstrating that these Georgians still know how to rock. The MTV fave "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" kicks things off on a high note as Peter Buck's distorted power chords set the tone for the 12-song set. "Strange Currencies" may be alarmingly reminiscent of the Automatic for the People hit "Everybody Hurts," but it's actually the superior song. "Let Me In" is a heavily distorted nod to the fallen Kurt Cobain. While Monster is far from R.E.M.'s most consistent effort, it stands as a ragged and risky respite from safe and sound alterna-rock. --Steven Stolder
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| Customer Reviews:
Stardom and the Aftermath: Monster Roars December 3, 2008
Tim Brough (Springfield, PA United States)
R.E.M. used to be a band that shunned spotlights in an almost perverse fashion, to the point that they refused to even show themselves in their videos. Yet after the successful trilogy of albums Green, Out of Time and Automatic for the People, they'd become one of the biggest rock bands in the world, scored number one albums, top ten singles, the cover of the Rolling Stone, and sold out world tours. So when it came time to recorded "Monster," they did what gives most record company suits a migraine; they delivered an album that didn't sound anything like the previous three.
Given that, since "Green," R.E.M. had moved more and more towards pastoral folk and heavy introspection, the glam inflections of "Monster" shocked all the fans that had come on board once MTV helped propel "Losing My Religion" into the stratosphere. Yet when "Automatic" came out, it was almost a reaction to the onslaught of grunge. Even if "Man on The Moon" name dropped Mott The Hoople, it was probably the closest thing to an anti-Nevermind of its time.
Between then and the times of "Monster," a lot had changed. Michael Stipe and Peter Buck had befriended the Nirvana members (with Stipe forming a tight bond with Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love) and there was even talk of collaborations in the future. Cobain's 1994 suicide laid those plans to rest, and his ghost haunts many of the songs on this CD. In particular, the eulogy of "Let Me In," a feedback and organ drenched song worthy of Jesus and Mary Chain, pays tribute to their lost friend, while the piled on overdriven guitars show how much Seattle influenced the Athens boys this time around.
Success also is a running theme. "I'm not commodity" bleats Stipe on "King of Comedy." Questions of how much the public gets to know about the men who make the music run prevalent in "I Don't Sleep I Dream," "Star 69" and "Circus Envy." The whip-crack of Peter Buck's guitars (esp on "Crush With Eyeliner" and "Circus Envy") are the hardest head ever played until Accelerate some 14 years later. But this wild mood swing also gave view to a band losing it's balance. Drummer Bill Berry (who was pushing for the band to make a rock album to tour behind) had his brain aneurysm while touring behind "Monster" and was only partially involved with the by-the-numbers follow-up, New Adventures in Hi Fi. After that came the increasingly erratic period before 2008 put the band back into a rocking mood again. Put into perspective, the fame-confusion present on "Monster" was the last time the band was of one mind for almost a decade to follow.
CD Arrived On Time hahaha September 30, 2008
Glenn L. Hornbeek (Arizona)
CD arrived on time, in perfect condition. Except for a scratch on the CD case. I will make sure I recommend you to all my family and friends. JUST KIDDING!
I hated this album the day it came out. HATED it. Listened to it yesterday in order to test my resilience to all things relevant and to my suprise I loved it. All of those selling this for a penny (Im talking to you used CD store owners with a boatload of copies of this CD)-- I ould suggest just handing them out in any parking lot you may happen to find yourself in. Going to get groceries? --see that kid over there? He doesnt have a copy of REMs Monster....
I prefer This album instead of "Accelerate" April 12, 2008
pichichim (Spain)
Monster is a more complete album than accelerate,more styles and more melody.Monster have Ballads and Rock songs.Accelerate only Rock songs.Monster(49 min) have more music than Accelerate(this only 28 min)
Monster is a very underappreciated album April 6, 2008
HCQ
Monster is definitely a departure from R.E.M.s formulaic sound but it's not necessarily a change for the worse either. Monster is, by far, R.E.M.'s loudest, sexiest and most aggressive album by far. With "Strange Currencies", "Bang and Blame", and "I Don't Sleep I Dream" being my favorite songs on the CD.
 Scratch That Name on The Record Player February 13, 2008
Jack Baker (LeRoy,IL)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
After the brilliant Automatic for the People, R.E.M. could have chosen to rest on their laurels and made a similar sounding album, or chosen to tour in support of AFTP. Instead, they took an adventurous left turn into the land of dirty guitars and snarling vocals, emerging from the studio with this 12 song set.
Peter Buck's Big Muff equipped guitar is given center stage here, but other effects and instrumentation give each track its own unique sound. Reverb, echo, tremolo are all employed to add color to the distorted landscape. Michael Stipe's vocals range from Iggy Pop-esque glam/punk rock to tender balladeer depending on the mood of the song.
There are so many incredible songs on this CD, but standouts are the achingly beautiful "Tongue", the heartfelt Kurt Cobain-inspired "Let Me In", the eastern flavors of "You", and the mysterious "I Don't Sleep I Dream." I also really enjoyed "Bang and Blame" which features a tremolo drenched guitar part that almost seems incomplete, giving the song an odd sense of urgency. But in truth, there really aren't any songs on this album I dislike. I tend to skip the opener, "What's The Frequency Kenneth?" as you couldn't turn on MTV, VH1, or the radio without hearing it when the album was released.
The sound is turbulent and the lyrics are enigmatic, sometimes borderline ridiculous, but that's part of what makes this album so great. This is the sound of a band enjoying playing together, which must have been very cathartic after the intricate production that went into the previous album. Some of AFTP's songs boasted guitar parts alone in the double digits, so I imagine this album to be their way of blowing off steam after such a labor of love. In the process, they created an album equally as engaging, just for different reasons.
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