Monster - R.E.M.

In September 1994 we went on our first 'big' holiday. It was big in name and size only. Not only would we be crossing the Atlantic but we would also be visiting New York. America, and in particular The Big Apple, had a particular hold on me. It was a foreign country but at the same time so familiar. A home from home even though I'd never been there. Through music, TV and the movies it felt as if I'd been a frequent visitor. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't think for a New York minute that it would be just like an episode of Cagney and Lacy. Nor did I expect to bump into Robert de Niro in Tribecca.... well maybe a little. But I was expecting it to be loud, fast, dirty and exciting. I was also expecting it to be cheap. In particular I had convinced myself that I'd be coming home with a suitcase of CDs, in particular the new R.E.M. album. I wasn't out in the UK but I'd casually assumed that the US would be months ahead.

New York lived up to my expectations and then some. It is a fabulous city. Yes it's loud, dirty, exciting and it didn't let up for one minute. And, true to form, it felt like I'd been there before. So familiar - a living, breathing movie set. But at the end of an exhausting five days, I didn't meet Robert de Niro, didn't have a single CD and not even a sniff of a new R.E.M. record. Disappointed.

We arrived back into the UK and Autumn had well and truly arrived; grey, cold and damp. Tired and jet lagged we crawled into bed with the aim of sleeping until June. Except I couldn't. I knew that 'Monster' was released that very day. How could I sleep when there was a R.E.M. record to buy? So after a fruitless hour of trying to forget about it, I begrudgingly pulled my shoes onto my tired feet and set off into town....

'Monster', it's fair to say, is not a classic R.E.M. album. How could it be when the previous releases had set the bar so high? It divided critics and some, rather unjustifiably, saw this as the end if their purple patch and signalled the start of their commercial and critical decline. Absolute nonsense but it is the curse of a hugely successful band that everything they do will forever be compared to past achievements. To do so, though, is to miss the point. By a New York mile. How can an album with such great guitar tracks be a disappointment? 'What's The Frequency Kenneth?' and 'Crush With Eyeliner' are up there with Peter Buck's best riffs and 'Strange Currencies' is every bit an equal to 'Everybody Hurts'.

I've not been back to America since but when I do I'll set my sights a little lower. Maybe I won't bring back a suitcase of CDs but it would be nice to meet Robert de Niro!