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. After mixing for Up had completed, manager Bertis Downs organized a week-long meeting in Idaho in an effort to keep the band intact.
Upon release, Up divided critics, attracting both praise and criticism for its change in sound and experimental material. 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. 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. 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.
During the recording sessions, the band recorded a track entitled "Fascinating", which was removed from the record at the last moment. 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", Leas considers Reveal to be a "deeply Californian" work including elements of psychedelia,
Chorus side
thumb|180px|left|Michael Stipe initially worried that "Disappear" plagiarized [[Radiohead's "How to Disappear Completely", leading him to contact frontman Thom Yorke (pictured in 2001).]]
The album's opener "The Lifting" was written as a prequel to "Daysleeper," and features the same character. David Buckley, author of R.E.M Fiction: An Alternative Biography, states that the song references psychic and spiritual healing programs while relating to themes of self-improvement and self-help.
Ring side
"Beat a Drum" is one of multiple songs from Reveal to earn comparisons to the Beach Boys. while Saalman has declared the track to be "the band's warmest song to date." Buckley considers the lines "Beat a drum for me, like a butterfly wing / Tropical storm across the ocean" to be a reference to chaos theory and the butterfly effect. John Everhart of Under the Radar notes the contrast between the dark lyrics and the song's "Celtic folk stomp." Baker states the song "pairs self-empowering but melancholic lyrics with optimistic instrumentation and vocals." The song reached number six in the UK, becoming their second consecutive top 10 hit there. "All the Way to Reno" was chosen as the album's second single and released on July 23. Worldwide sales have since exceeded four million copies.
| rev4 = Los Angeles Times
| rev4score =
| rev5 = NME
| rev5score = 7/10
| rev6 = Pitchfork
| rev6score = 5.0/10
| rev8 = Rolling Stone
| rev8score =
| rev9 = Spin
| rev9score = 7/10
| rev10 = The Village Voice
| rev10score = B−
Upon release, Reveal was received positively by critics. Multiple reviewers have compared the album to All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) by U2, noting it as a "return to form" and a "conscious return to their classic sound."
Will Hermes of Entertainment Weekly is among those who consider the album a "return to form". He names "Imitation of Life" and "I'll Take the Rain" as highlights. However, he also notes Mills' lowered presence on backing vocals, as well as opining that the album is "haunted by an ennui that's curious for a band that made their name by talking about the passion." Dave Heaton of PopMatters summed up Reveal as "a lush, dreamy pop mood-piece that hovers in the realm of rumination and introspection." Heaton argues that the album has more in common with the band's earlier Fables of the Reconstruction (1985) rather than Up, due to a focus on "melancholy, midtempo pop" and a return to more enigmatic and "artsy" themes. NMEs April Long summed up the album as "R.E.M. remembering who they are, and reaffirming why they do what they do." Long praises its simplicity, saying it prioritizes "minutiae and subtlety" in lieu of "grand gestures." She also states that while she found it to initially be an "underwhelming" listen, it eventually becomes "gracefully rewarding."
Track listing
All songs written by Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.
;Chorus side:
- "The Lifting" – 4:39
- "I've Been High" – 3:25
- "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" – 4:43
- "She Just Wants to Be" – 5:22
- "Disappear" – 4:11
- "Saturn Return" – 4:55
;Ring side
- <li value="7">"Beat a Drum" – 4:21
- "Imitation of Life" – 3:57
- "Summer Turns to High" – 3:31
- "Chorus and the Ring" – 4:31
- "I'll Take the Rain" – 5:51
- "Beachball" – 4:14
Personnel
Personnel taken from liner notes.
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Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Year-end chart performance for Reveal by R.E.M.
!Chart (2001)
!Position
|-
|align="left"|Australian Albums Chart
|67
|-
|align="left"|Austrian Albums Chart
|27
|-
|align="left"|Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)
|58
|-
|align="left"|Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)
|83
|-
|align="left"| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| 144
|-
|align="left"|Dutch Albums Chart
|99
|-
|align="left"|French Albums Chart
|130
|-
|align="left"|Swedish Albums Chart
|81
|-
|align="left"|Swiss Albums Chart
|22
|-
|align="left"|UK Albums Chart
|47
|-
|align="left"|Worldwide Albums (IFPI)
|41
|}