Reveal is the 12th studio album by American rock band R.E.M. It was released on May 14, 2001, through Warner Bros. Records and was the second of three albums by the band to be produced with Pat McCarthy. It was R.E.M.'s second album as a three-piece following the departure of drummer Bill Berry and includes contributions from the band's touring members Joey Waronker, Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow. The band recorded the album in various locations, including Dublin, Miami, Vancouver, and their hometown of Athens, Georgia. The album saw R.E.M. continue to experiment with electronic music as they had on their previous album Up (1998), utilizing keyboards and drum machines, while also retaining elements of their earlier sound.
Reveal was a critical and commercial success. The album reached the top 10 in the United States while topping the charts in the UK and throughout mainland Europe. Three singles were released: "Imitation of Life," "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" and "I'll Take the Rain"—with the former reaching the top 10 throughout Europe. Reviews were generally positive, with many highlighting the album's melodic nature and combination of R.E.M.'s classic sound with electronic elements. The band did not tour in support of the album, with promotion consisting mainly of television appearances, music videos, and a number of free concerts within major cities.
Background
In 1998, R.E.M. released Up, their eleventh studio album and first without drummer Bill Berry. While not as commercially successful as previous albums, it still sold well and spawned the hit singles "Daysleeper" and "At My Most Beautiful". The recording of Up was a troubled process, due in no small part to Berry's absence, and the band almost disbanded as a result. Stipe has said of the album's mixing process: "when we were mixing Up, we decided that it was all over. That record broke up the group."Black 2004, chap. 18 After mixing for Up had completed, manager Bertis Downs organized a week-long meeting in Idaho in an effort to keep the band intact. Described as a "self-administered group therapy session" in Reveal: The Story of R.E.M. by Johnny Black, the band recognized the changes and struggles caused by Berry's absence and their reaction to his departure, while also deciding they wanted to continue as a band. Stipe has stated that at the time, he had, "for the first time, [been] forced to imagine life without R.E.M. and it was terrifying. As we talked, I think each of us realized just how much the band meant to us."Black 2004, chap. 19
Upon release, Up divided critics, attracting both praise and criticism for its change in sound and experimental material. At the time of its release, the band's popularity had been shifting; Up sold faster and in comparatively better numbers in many European nations compared to the US. The band originally intended not to tour in promotion of the album, instead focusing on promoting through television performances. These included appearances on Later... with Jools Holland, VH1 Storytellers, and Sesame Street, while the band also performed a live set for the sitcom Party of Five.Buckley 2002, chap. 11 However, they changed their minds and in February 1999 announced 45-show-long-tour of Europe and America. In April and May 1999, R.E.M. composed the soundtrack for Man on the Moon, which included the single "The Great Beyond", which would become their biggest UK hit, peaking at number three. Ken Stringfellow and Joey Waronker joined as permanent touring members at the time of the Up tour, alongside Scott McCaughey who had performed live with the band since the Monster tour. Touring commenced from June through September 1999, which included a performance at the Glastonbury Festival. The band found the tour to be much less stressful than their previous trek supporting Monster (1994), while Stipe later credited the performances with "affirm[ing] our [the band's] confidence in wanting to work with each other and wanting to keep on doing this."
Writing and recording
In February 2000, R.E.M. began rehearsals at West Clayton Street in Athens in preparation for a new album, with further rehearsals occurring in March at Royaltone Studios in Hollywood.Black 2004, chap. 19 The band began recording the basic tracks for the record in May, choosing Vancouver for the location due to its proximity to Seattle, where both guitarist Peter Buck and McCaughey lived.Fletcher 2013, chap. 23 Additionally, for the recording process, Stipe wanted to work outside the United States, both because he felt the album would be "more at home away from home" and to avoid writer's block, which had previously plagued him during the writing of Up. While in Vancouver, the band laid down tracks for more than 20 songs, with some being described by the band as "embryonic" and others being "fully-realized." At this point in recording, Stipe described the album as "kind of pick[ing] up where Up left off" and stating "some of it is pretty strange."
In June, Buck left for Seattle, leaving Stipe to complete lyrics. While writing, Stipe would travel to prevent writer's block from reoccurring, which he has credited with helping him complete "All the Way to Reno" and "Disappear". The band reformed in July at West Clayton Street to continue work. The bulk of the album was recorded between August and October at Dalkey Lodge in Ireland with Pat McCarthy returning as producer. String parts, arranged by Johnny Tate, were recorded on October 3–4, 2000 at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, while the final recording sessions were done at John Keane Studios in Athens. Mixing was then done on October 31 at The Hit Factory in Miami.
Mills stated that while recording Reveal, the band made an effort to use synthesizers to create sounds that possibly "hadn't been heard before" and were not presets built into the synthesizers. While Stipe's intention during the sessions was "to be really melodic", Stringfellow would be asked to create a more dissonant, experimental counterpoint. The members of R.E.M. were particularly enthusiastic about Stringfellow's contributions: "The more off into my own personal vision of the deep end, the more they liked it," Stringfellow stated in Perfect Circle: The Story of R.E.M. by Tony Fletcher. "All sorts of messed up crazy distorted things run through pedals, they were loving that." Waronker noted that Buck's demos would frequently already feature fully-fledged drum parts programmed with drum machines, causing him to focus on "what not to play" or how to add to these programmed parts which stood on their own. After tracks were recorded, Buck would frequently bring tapes to his Seattle home and record overdubs by night.
Waronker noted that as opposed to Up, in which material tended to be pieced-together, Stipe created lyrics and melodies as the material for Reveal was being developed. The first track to be recorded for the album was "She Just Wants to Be" during the May 2000 sessions in Vancouver. "Imitation of Life" was developed from a 1999 demo variously referred to as "Fake Trumpet Chorus" or simply "Trumpet Chorus."Buckley 2002, chap. 12 The "fake trumpets" originally featured on the track were later replaced by a string section, which is heard on the final version. While working on the song, the band moved through a variety of tempos and instrumental palettes before settling on the acoustic guitar-centric arrangement of the final version. "Saturn Return" was written by Buck on piano. Parts of the recording were taken from a demo dating back to February 2000, which was combined with effects which were looped and played backwards. The band recorded "The Lifting" as a live take with Mills, McCaughey, Stringfellow, and Jamie Candiloro all on keyboards.Black 2004, chap. 20 The final version of "I've Been High" includes synth parts which were originally intended for "Imitation of Life"; these were replaced on the latter song by a keyboard solo by Stringfellow. "Chorus and the Ring" was recorded in a single take and developed from an improptu jam. Mills had not yet heard the song at the time of recording, and so Buck led him through the chords as it was being recorded and his bassline was improvised. "Disappear" evolved from a demo entitled "Underwater Acoustic", while other working titles included "32-Chord Song" (later "Summer Turns to High") and "Jimmy Webb on Mars" (later "All the Way to Reno").
During the recording sessions, the band recorded a track entitled "Fascinating", which was removed from the record at the last moment. While Mills described the track as "very beautiful", the band felt its inclusion made the album "too long" as well as "too slow in the middle." Buck also felt the song would have "worked perfectly" on the record, but the band made a conscious choice to not release another album with a length of 64–65 minutes, leading to the song's exclusion. "Fascinating" was later covered by the duo Fischerspooner in 2009, while the R.E.M. version was finally released in 2019. Another song, "Free Form Jazz Jam," also appeared on early potential track lists but did not make the final album.
Once recording was complete, Stipe compared the process favorably to that of Up, calling it "remarkably happy" and stating the band had "become acclimated to new conditions and potentials." McCaughey echoed this, speaking fondly of the experience recording in Vancouver for its relaxed environment and the atmosphere in the studio. McCaughey noted that since Stipe already had some of the lyrics while songs were being recorded, the band would track with his vocals, which he credited with causing the Reveal sessions to feel more like a "real band" working in the studio as opposed to those for the previous album.
Composition
Reveal features a meld of electronic and live instrumentation, with the material being more melodic and accessible than on Up. The album has generally been regarded as a more optimistic and upbeat album compared to its predecessor. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine has compared the album to U2's successful 2000 release All That You Can't Leave Behind, calling it a "conscious return to [R.E.M.'s] classic sound". Fletcher describes the album as consisting mainly of "mid-paced songs that could easily pass as ballads, full of ethereal sound effects", while Ryan Leas of Stereogum sums it up as an album of "sad beach songs" which "play with electronic and synth textures... all glowing, sunburt, flickering." Buck has described the sound of Reveal as "warm and layered and analogue" while also having "a distance and breath to it that's modern and complete and liberating... like a beautiful vacuum." Stipe intended for Reveal to be a "summer record", which Fletcher notes is displayed in song titles such as "I'll Take the Rain", "Beachball", and "Summer Turns to High". Additionally, Stipe utilizes a more relaxed singing style throughout, while Stringfellow has noted a lyrical theme of "personal transformation", as well as "rising, not just from adversity, but your own boundaries and limitations, the little pitfalls and weaknesses that hold you back."
Many publications noted multiple tracks on the album being influenced by the Beach Boys, particularly "Beat a Drum," "Summer Turns to High" and "Beachball." Leas considers Reveal to be a "deeply Californian" work including elements of psychedelia, while its "big Stipe melodies" are intertwined with a "gorgeous, lush, aqueous sound unlike anything they [the band] did before or since." Stipe worked to make a cohesive record, avoiding songs which "stood out or made you want to change the record." Mills said that some of [Reveals] songs are actually very sparse, but have some beautiful sounds within the sparseness."Fletcher 2013, chap. 23
Chorus side