By Jonathan B. Pont
10.12.94
Wall Of Sound
Rating: 71/100
Peter Buck packed away the mandolin and brought out a Les Paul, making good on his longstanding threat to release a noisy rock record. It may not rank among R.E.M.’s best albums, but it was solid throughout and featured enough sonic differences to distance itself from the inevitable comparisons [...]
By Andrew Collins
10.12.94
Q Magazine
3 stars
There are some albums whose worth leapfrogs subjective critical quirkery head-first into unchallenged legend. There seems to be no debate: the new R.E.M. is only OK. Altogether now…keen-ish single (useless backward guitar solo), Bang And Blame and I Don’t Sleep I Dream stand-out tracks, last three a fuzzular fizzle-out; not half [...]
By Parry Gettelman
10.07.94
Orlando Sentinel
I tried really, really hard to like Monster. I thought maybe it would grow on me. But the more I played it, the more irritable I got, thinking how much more fun it would be to get out Lifes Rich Pageant or Document and listen to one of those for the 497th [...]
By Robert Palmer
10.06.94
Rolling Stone
4 1/2 out of 5 stars
Not so long ago, Rolling Stone’s David Fricke asked the last Kurt Cobain who he admired among “established” rock bands. Cobain unhesitatingly answered R.E.M., using the occasion to send the band members a virtual mash note for remaining true to thier muse and to themselves and for [...]