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Reveal
REM
Warner Bros., 2001
First published in Third Way.
Michael Stipe's most famous statement about religion is
that he lost his - in a corner apparently. It sounds a
little careless and makes one wonder if he's been back to
look for it. Well, the evidence of Reveal is that
that is precisely what he is doing.
Amid the justified celebration of REM's return to musical form, the spirituality of the album has been quite overlooked. Similarly, lush strings, jaunty technobeeps and gliding melodies have sent reviewers to the thesaurus to find synonyms for 'summery' - encouraged by the yellows and oranges of the aestival CD cover - largely missing the dark vein of self-questioning and anxiety that runs through the lyrics.
Take the superb opener, 'The Lifting'. With such a title, it is no surprise that from the swirling electronic bustle of the intro, a chirpy melody rises and is soon soaring. And yet the first line of the lyric is 'Grounded', and this is precisely where it stays. An insomniac reviews his live at 5 am - never a good idea - and wonders if the spiritual impulses he has denied could have led to something after all. 'The air was singing,/It's calling you, you don't believe/These things you've never seen'. The poignant closing verse leaves the unanswered question of how the reluctant mystic will respond to these 'memories of things you've never known'.
The following title 'I've Been High' is equally misleading. The self-doubt is even more stark and painful, though now reflected in rather than contradicted by the music. A slow chugging drum programme supports a desolate organ and a sparse plaintive vocal in which Stipe asks whether he has missed the Truth, and whether it is too late to do anything about it. This is the track that the album takes its title from, and it sounds considerably more negative taken in context: 'Have I missed the big reveal?' is Stipe's question. If he has, he declares a determination to pursue it: 'Have you seen?/Have not, will travel.' It even sounds as if he has been resorting to prayer: 'I fell down on my knees./Was I wrong?/I don't know, don't answer,/I just needed to believe.'
Such words sound extraordinary coming from the mouth that insisted 'I don't need religion, I am in the place where I should be.' And it is no coincidence that the word 'believe' (or its cognates) crop up in all but one of the songs on what would have been Side 1 in the good old days.
The line 'What I really want/Is just to live my life on high' (that's all, is it?) draws together several threads. Stipe says that whenever he got writer's block on the album he jumped on a plane, and much of it has the feel of a body at 30,000 feet and a soul in left luggage. 'High' also evokes other pursuits of the rock'n'roll lifestyle of course, but the fear repeatedly expressed here seems to be that he has been diverted from the way that really leads upwards.
There are some genuinely carefree lyrics, notably the last track 'Beachball', but the most wistful tune on the CD turns it into a thoroughly melancholy close. Meanwhile, 'Saturn Return', with its grinding discordant guitar and disturbing lyric is as grim as it gets.
Reveal is a fine album that will reward repeated hearings. There are plenty of new adventures in hi-fi, but where they belong - in the background adding subtle complexity to strong songs. Nevertheless, do not be misled. This is Michael Stipe in purgatory. It does not make for comfortable listening, but I believe purgatory is good for you.
