R.E.M.: Accelerate (Warner Brothers)

As The Who, Van Halen, and so many other rock bands have shown over and over, a group cannot lose a member without irrevocably changing things. Consider the case of R.E.M., whose original drummer, Bill Berry, retired eleven years ago; they smartly never tried to replace him. Though mostly good, their three Berry-less albums - 1998's Up, 2001's Reveal, and 2004's Around the Sun - have been increasingly…less enthusiastic. Not bad, but decidedly mellower, almost to the point of becoming lethargic. But with the lean and mean Accelerate, the guys sound as if they've recaptured the spark of their earlier days for their best album since, well, the last time they rocked out.

As albums go, Accelerate is one of R.E.M.'s rockier outings. Not in the sense that it's uneven or problematic, but rather that it finds the band tapping into its Aerosmith and punk roots much they way they did on 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant and 1994's Monster. Like Pageant's “Begin the Begin” and Monster's “What's the Frequency, Kenneth?” the rollicking “Living Well Is the Best Revenge” kicks off the album with so much energy that it shows why R.E.M. has always been a better rock band than a pop outfit, while “Horse to Water” and the title track have a similar guitar-driven, punky abandon.

In fact, the entire collection sports such crackling energy that it feels like a live album. Which could explain why such songs as “Man-Sized Wreath” have the scruffy guitar tones and off-the-cuff vibe similar to tunes from 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi, an album the guys wrote and recorded during the tour for Monster. Which isn't to say there are times when the guys can't help but let their pop-rock roots show, most notably in “Supernatural Superserious,” which is catchy in a way that recalls their Pageant-era cover of The Clique's “Superman.”

Even the relatively mellow moments aren't as soft as some of the songs from Sun and Reveal. Instead, such tunes as “Sing for the Submarine” and “Houston” are more like their Monster counterparts “I Don't Sleep, I Dream” and “I Took Your Name” in that they're more mid-tempo and burning than sad-sacky ballads. Even the slowest songs here, “Until the Day Is Done” and “Hollow Man,” have more of a dramatic tone about them than a mushy one, though you could still raise a lighter to them if the fire marshal isn't looking.

Not that everything works. “I'm Gonna DJ,” which ends the album, is a goofy tune that works fine as a concert encore, which is where the band debuted it on their last tour, and it's fine as the album's ender, it's just a little too silly to work on its own.

Some might also complain about the album's length, or rather, lack of length, since the album barely cracks the 35-minute mark. Especially since the band is clearly not lacking material; the deluxe version of the album and the singles for “Supernatural Serious” boast two unreleased songs. Granted, R.E.M. have never written really long songs, but these are especially short. Nearly half of the album's eleven songs are less than three minutes long, while 1991's Out of Time has just as many tunes but is ten minutes longer.

Even with such brevity, Accelerate still packs quite a wallop, and not just in comparison to its relatively anemic predecessors. It's easily the best thing they've done since Hi-Fi and easily ranks alongside Monster, Pageant, and 1984's Reckoning as one of their best albums. Let's just hope they won't have to lose another member before doing another one this good again. - Paul Semel

Mr. Semel has been a rock critic for more than eighteen years, and a member of the R.E.M. fan club even longer.