The 1998 release of Up! Was a watershed moment for R.E.M. It was their first album since signing an $80M, five album deal with Warner Records. New producer. New sound. And, more importantly, their first as a trio, after drummer & songwriter Bill Berry left to pursue other ambitions (farming!). So, join us for episode 1 as we revisit & reappraise Up! We’ll share what was going on in the world at the time of release; how it performed commercially; what the critics thought; share how we became fans of the band; what concerts of theirs we enjoyed attending the most; and tell a couple of really bad R.E.M. jokes! Then come back for episode 2 where we critique each song & start to trim the album down to be under 50 minutes.

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