Who cast the final stone?
Who threw the crushing blow?
Someone has to take the fall
Why not me? Why not me?
Tornando a sfogliare diverse riviste musicali dell’epoca della sua uscita, ho potuto riscontrare che tutte valutavano “Up” dei Rem come un grande disco. Un disco diverso, per certi versi “anti-Rem”, ma pur sempre un lavoro interessante. Eppure, negli anni, è capitato di imbattersi in numerosi detrattori dell’undicesimo capitolo discografico dei georgiani. Forse per alcuni hanno pesato ragioni affettive: si tratta, infatti, del primo lavoro senza Bill Berry. Altri probabilmente si attendevano la solita formula ripetuta all’infinito (ma proprio con i Rem, la band che è passata da “Automatic For The People” a “Monster”?). Altri ancora lamentavano che “non si sentono le chitarre, non è rock”. Quest’ultima annotazione, in particolare, è interessante: “Up”, infatti, più che il disco senza la batteria di Berry è quello in cui manca Peter Buck alla chitarra.
Fortunatamente, però, Mike Mills, destreggiandosi tra piano e tastiere, e Michael Stipe, che si esalta con testi pessimistico-apologistici e prove vocali oltre il sublime (più una inedita performance alla chitarra in “I’m Not Over You”, che proporrà anche dal vivo), tengono in piedi i Rem. E lo fanno con un disco pop di grande classe, che risente del secondo evento decisivo del 1997 dopo la dipartita di Berry: l’uscita di “Ok Computer” dei Radiohead. Basta guardare i crediti per leggere la presenza di Nigel Godrich. Il terzo evento decisivo della band nel 1997 è la fine del rapporto lavorativo con Scott Litt. Tabula rasa, ripartire da zero. Su Internet sono reperibili i video delle session di allora: lo smarrimento appariva lampante.
Ma torniamo ai Rem e all’ultimo colpo di scena alle porte. I quattro che in “New Adventures In HI-FI” registravano in un camerino prima di un concerto, adesso, stimolati da Thom Yorke & C., si concentrano sulla fase in studio. L’energia si perde ma la composizione – supervisionata da Pat McCarthy – è limpida, e l’elettronica colma lo spazio attorno a pezzi quali “Hope” e la delicata “Why Not Smile”.
Alcuni “passaggi oscuri” sono buoni: “Lotus”, “The Apologist”, “Walk Unafraid”, ma i più belli sono quelli di impianto classico, acustico: la superba “Sad Professor”, “You’re In The Air” e il singolone “Daysleeper”. E se quella canzone “alta” chiamata “Falls To Climb” (anticipata da due pezzi di caldo “pop da camera”, “Parakeet” e “Diminished”) poteva suonare come il finale nobile per una carriera che poteva spezzarsi da un momento all’altro, tra depressioni e abbandoni, il brano chiude “solo” come meglio non si poteva “Up”. Un lavoro in cui i Rem scoprono che oltre a essere i Rem sono anche dei grandi musicisti, i quali, privi delle basi con cui sono diventati “la più grande anti-rock band del mondo”, tirano fuori il meglio per portare avanti la prima opera come terzetto.
Analizzato oggi, “Up” era il disco perfetto per chiudere gli the '90s. L’ultima decade con il rock – e Mtv, le case discografiche e tutto il seguito appresso – come protagonista. L’ultima decade ad avere i Rem – e non solo loro – come protagonisti. “Up” negli anni – oltre quel clamoroso tour che li avrebbe portati anche in Italy nel 1999, con gli Afterhours come apertura a Bologna – verrà rappresentato poco, sia nei live che nelle raccolte: magari per la band non è stato un ricordo con cui fare facilmente i conti. Ma i fan, dopo venticinque anni, sono ancora qui ad amarlo, pronti ad apprezzare anche questa versione rimasterizzata, con un ampio booklet e un disco aggiuntivo con il live tenuto in occasione della partecipazione allo show “Party Of Five”.
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12/11/2023
This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Alessio Belli, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.
Tracklist
- Disc 1 - Up
- 1. Airportman
- 2. Lotus
- 3. Suspicion
- 4. Hope
- 5. At My Most Beautiful
- 6. The Apologist
- 7. Sad Professor
- 8. You're In The Air
- 9. Walk Unafraid
- 10. Why Not Smile
- 11. Daysleeper
- 12. Diminished
- 13. Parakeet
- 14. Falls To Climb
- Disc 2 - Party of Five Recording
- 1. Introduction
- 2. What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
- 3. Lotus
- 4. Daysleeper
- 5. Country Feedback
- 6. Walk Unafraid
- 7. Losing My Religion
- 8. Parakeet
- 9. The Apologist
- 10. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
- 11. I'm Not Over You
- 12. Man On The Moon
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The definitive greatest hits from the Athens band, with three unreleased tracks and liner notes from Stipe and company
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We reopen the "Perfect Circle" book. In the second chapter: "Reckoning", the record with which the former Athens freshmen came of age
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The "Perfect Circle" book reconstructs R.E.M.'s fairy tale through their songs. Starting today we'll bring it to you online: in the first chapter, the EP debut and the breakthrough of "Murmur"
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