Accelerate

Artist: REM

4.50 out of 5(35 customer reviews) | Write a review

31 new from £3.49

Also available used from £1.20

Results 1-5 of 31

Play.com

Sold by: Play.com

Condition: New

In stock | Usually dispatched within 24 hours.

Express Delivery available: get it even faster
(find out more)

£8.89

Free Delivery

Sold by: FIREFLYMUSIC | 96% Positive Feedback (from 52 ratings)

Condition: New

In stock | Usually dispatched within 24 hours.

Comment: BRAND NEW - IMMEDIATE DESPATCH FROM UK, IN STOCK READY TO GO ref BXG D2

£3.49

Free Delivery

Sold by: DVDukltd | 96% Positive Feedback (from 3589 ratings)

Condition: New

In stock | Usually dispatched within 24 hours.

Comment: Brand New, Genuine and Fully Guaranteed. All Items shipped same or next day unless otherwise indicated

£4.74

Free Delivery

AphroheadBooks

Sold by: AphroheadBooks | 90% Positive Feedback (from 671 ratings)

Condition: New

In stock | Usually dispatched within 24 hours.

Comment: NEW. Delivery usually 2 - 3 working days - From Aphrohead of SOUTHPORT, Lancs, uk . Priority Airmail used Worldwide on International orders. Thanks from all at Aphrohead.

£6.46

Free Delivery

Sold by: MERLINMOOSIK | 95% Positive Feedback (from 161 ratings)

Condition: New

In stock | Usually dispatched within 24 hours.

Comment: BRAND NEW! Please Note: Orders may not be dispatched until the New Year ie W/C 3rd Jan 2012. Dispatched as soon as possible by Independent UK seller. Please contact me if item is not dispatched within 5 working days and I will reply with reason or refund as necessary. Thank you for your custom!

£6.85

Free Delivery

Results 1-5 of 31

  1. Living Well's The Best Revenge
  2. Man Sized Wreath
  3. Supernatural Superserious
  4. Hollow Man
  5. Houston
  6. Accelerate
  7. Until The Day Is Done
  8. Mr Richards
  9. Sing For The Submarine
  10. Horse To Water
  11. I'm Gonna DJ'
  • This fourteenth studio album from the veteran indie rockers is the follow-up to 2004's 'Around The Sun' and comes just six months after their 'Live' CD/DVD stopgap. The brusquest, most amped-up and aggressive album they have made in decades, the eleven songs on 'Accelerate' flash by in a scant 34 minutes and mark a return to the harder post-punk sounds of their pre-major label days, whilst not disregarding the infectious melodies that have made their name. Includes the single 'Supernatural Superserious'.

customer Reviews

 Average rating (35 reviews)

 Finally... a post-millenial R.E.M. record to truly love.

| | See all MatthewFoster's reviews (1)

Hold the press; R.E.M. are relevant again.

First impressions? Blown away. I literally danced around my bedroom at 2AM listening to it.

The opening trio of Living Well Is The Best Revenge, Man-Sized Wreath and sugarsweet single Supernatural Superserious makes for perhaps the best start to an R.E.M. record ever. I'm serious.

And the pace hardly lets up. Hollow Man starts off like a Coldplay cut, all mournful piano, before lifting into the sort of college rock, post-punk dance off the band used to make.
Houston, one of the shortest tracks the band have ever done, manages to sound experimental, sinister and hopeful all at the same time. Stipe's vocals are gruff and more buried in the mix than they have been in a decade, and his lyric writing returns to the abstract throughout.

Title track Accelerate is heavy and dark. It reminds me of Joy Division or Editors, but is unmistakeably R.E.M. The return of Mike Mills to backing vocals provides the album with some of its most impressive moments, particularly here. Until the Day Is Done is a callback to some of the material on Around the Sun, indignant and angry about the state of the world. The record seems to deal with hope and fear about the future. You get the impression that the band looks back at the past 25 years and thinks "What the hell's changed?". It's angry and bitter, but filled with little rays of sunshine and moments of beauty.

Mr. Richards provides a perfect example of this. Rallying against an evil-doer and listing his faults, the song suddenly picks up with a refrain of "We're the children of the choir, hey / And we know what's going on". This is matched with a beautiful bit of guitar work that turns it from a grungy dirge into something transcendental. Sing For The Submarine is almost, though thankfully not quite, a prog-rock track. It bounces all over the place and is the most forceful track this band have produced. Stipe self-references a couple of previous songs, which I thought would bug me, but actually serves to enhance that feeling of having a conversation with the past. This song really soars; I was expecting a meandering take, but Bill Rieflin, who, for all intents and purposes is now R.E.M.'s drummer has done wonders for this group.

Horse to Water sees Stipe tripping over his words again, which he hasn't done since It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine). This track is the only one that hasn't really grabbed me yet; it seems likes it's going nowhere in a hurry, although the chaotic ending promises to be a brilliant live moment. Rounding off the briskest set in the catalogue is I'm Gonna DJ. This is probably the goofiest, most laid-back track since The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite and has a bunged-up sounding Stipe promising to 'DJ at the end of the worrrrrld!'. A lot of people hate this track, but I think it's a fantastic and different way for them to end an album; it's fast, it's fun and it's basically saying "We're all doomed... anyone for a party?".

It's hard to talk about this album without referring to the past few R.E.M. records. I will defend Up and Reveal to the death, as necessary, if flawed records, which provided me with some of my all-time favourite songs by the band. They were quirky and different, if overlong and questionably sequenced. Around the Sun, the band's last record is harder to defend. Quite a few of the tracks had strong potential, but I once heard it described as an 'ivory tower' record; the band sat up in an expensive studio tweaking knobs and forgetting what they were really about.

Accelerate, then, is them jumping out of the window head-first and landing on t

 Back on form

| | See all ChihiroCheeks's reviews (4)

Finally REM are back with a great album. Don't get me wrong I liked Around The Sun but it was bland compared to their older stuff and it feels to drag on. Accelerate however is a great album that is classic REM.

 Crikey!

| | See all ViddyWell's reviews (3)

As Michael Stipe exclaims at various points on this album - "Wow!"

This is without doubt an excellent record and is easily up there with their other seminal recordings - Murmur, Document, Green, Out of Time, Automatic, Monster, New Adventures, Up.

The sheer thrill of the breakneck tracks (Living Well, Man-Sized Wreath, Supernatural Superserious, Horse To Water & I'm Gonna DJ) is worth the purchase price itself. I can't remember a record that has such a blistering opening AND devastating finale.

But there are other gems, most notably the beautiful semi-acoustic "Until The Day Is Done" and the sublime electric-drone of "Mr. Richards", surely one of Stipe's strongest melodies and vocal performances of all time.

The remaining tracks take a little more time to develop their appeal but it's now very hard to spot any weak points at all in this collection.

What is sad is that this record probably won't be universally celebrated in the same way that some of its illustrious predecessors were (and still are). A shame for the band themselves but also for those people who have drifted away either through choice or the senseless decline in popular appeal that always seems to happen once a band has, according to self-styled experts, 'passed their best'.

This music will provide the light you cannot resist.

 Accelerate Ace

| | See all stugers's reviews (3)

Wow - this is a truly amazing album and will not disappoint. This is a great return to REM's roots - good old rock/slow tracks. I have seen REM twice and can't wait to see them play these new tracks. The last two songs are great - Horse to Water and for me I'm Gonna DJ is the stand out track of the album. Don't listen to those fans who think REM are all about slow ballads. This album proves they are not.

 Accele-RATE? How about a 5!

| | See all JonSBruce's reviews (1)

Start to finish, this is simply an absolutely brilliant album. REM were once a very important band and, by the sounds of it, they could be that band again.

I have to say that I love almost every album the band have made, the last being the hardest to take. However, it seems to be the last three albums that are taking the flack, but I honestly believe if you actually take the stand out tracks of off each album (say four from each) then you have a very high calibre of songs. Anyway, not since New Adventures (my favourite album by the band) have they really blown away with such energy and exuberance! REM sound like they want to make music, and they want you to love them again.

This makes me proud to be an REM fan and, finally, this is an album i can play to my friends without having to justify why they are good...Accelerate speaks for itself and is a classic in the making!

Play.com Delivery & Returns
  1. Free Delivery to the UK: within 3-5 working days from dispatch date
  2. Free Delivery to Europe: within 7-10 working days from dispatch date
  3. UK First Class Delivery: within 2-3 working days
  4. UK Express Delivery: next working day if ordered before 3pm

We want you to be happy every time you shop with us, but if you ever need to return anything, we're here to make things as easy and convenient as possible.

If you're not completely satisfied with your purchase, you can return the item to us in its original condition within 30 days of receipt and we'll issue a full refund, or replace the item, if preferred. To return an item, please go to your order history page, select the order you would like to return, and follow the simple steps at our online returns centre.

PlayTrade Delivery & Returns

Items purchased through PlayTrade are usually dispatched within 24 hours. Please see individual product listings for more information.

PlayTrade purchases need to be returned directly to the seller. If you wish to return a PlayTrade purchase, please contact the seller through your order history page.

More Information

Delivery: To find out more, please read our returns policy.

Returns: To find out more, please read our returns policy.