Monster is indeed R.E.M.'s long-promised "rock" album; it just doesn't rock in the way one might expect.
Instead of R.E.M.'s trademark anthemic bashers, Monster offers a set of murky sludge, powered by the heavily distorted and delayed guitar of Peter Buck.
Michael Stipe's vocals have been pushed to the back of the mix, along with Bill Berry's drums, which accentuates the muscular pulse of Buck's chords.
From the androgynous sleaze of "Crush With Eyeliner" to the subtle, Eastern-tinged menace of "You," most of the album sounds dense, dirty, and grimy, which makes the punchy guitars of "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and the warped soul of "Tongue" all the more distinctive.
Monster doesn't have the conceptual unity or consistently brilliant songwriting of Automatic for the People, but it does offer a wide range of sonic textures that have never been heard on an R.E.M. album before.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What's the Frequency, Kenneth?Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 2 | Crush with EyelinerBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 3 | King of ComedyBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | I Don't Sleep, I DreamBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 5 | Star 69Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 6 | Strange CurrenciesBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | TongueBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 8 | Bang and BlameBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 05:31 | 12 MB | 32 MB |
| 9 | I Took Your NameBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 10 | Let Me InBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | Circus EnvyBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 12 | YouBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 49 mins | 113 MB | |||||
| 49 mins | 324 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Berry | Composer |
| 2 | Peter Buck | Composer |
| 3 | Scott Litt | Producer |
| 4 | Pat McCarthy | Engineer |
| 5 | Patrick McCarthy | Engineer |
| 6 | Mike Mills | Composer |
| 7 | Thurston Moore | Guest Artist |
| 8 | R.E.M. | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 9 | Michael Stipe | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |