The band did not tour their previous release “Out of Time”, opting instead to head straight back into writing new songs.
I actually find that quite admirable. Often, bands get sucked into the treadmill of write-record-tour then, when their schedule says so, they have start being creative again to start that cycle again… whereas they might not be in a creative place at the time. Better to nut out a string of albums in quick succession while you’re feeling inspired.
Anyhoo, the band wanted to write an album of rockier songs to contrast their previous album, but when guitarist Bill Berry, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Peter Buck got together, they just weren’t coming up with many songs in that vein. The band were continuing their method of switching instruments to get themselves out of their comfort zone and write in different ways and ended up often not working with drums in the mix at all.
The result was that the music they produced was quite pared back, with the drum parts being minimal, or in some instances, non-existent. Berry stuck to clean guitar sounds, acoustic guitars and mandolins. String arrangements from Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones would eventually garnish 4 of the album’s tracks.
Singer Michael Stipe responded to the new subdued material with lyrics of sadness and loss, with some lighter moments provided by track “Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight”. Listening to the album as a whole, you really do appreciate what a great collection of songs it is, with even well-worn singles like “Everybody Hurts” and “Man on the Moon” feeling fresh within the context of the album-as-whole.
With regards to “Man on the Moon”, it had been written fairly early on but had remained an instrumental for the duration of recording. Stipe felt he couldn’t get his head around it lyrically and thought it should stay instrumental. It was only when his bandmates begged him to finish the song that he went out for a walk around the neighbourhood with the music in his headphones and came back with lyrics.
As with “Out of Time”, the band decided not to tour the album. Making its success (presumably helped by radio/video-play and the band’s existing fans) all the more impressive.
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