Album
Around the Sun
Around the Sun is the thirteenth studio album by R.E.M., released on 5 October 2004 on Warner Bros. Records. It follows Reveal from 2001 and sits just before Accelerate in 2008, making it the last record the band made before that sharper, faster return. The band's sound here is alternative rock leaning towards pop rock.
It was backed by several singles and a world tour, and it did well commercially everywhere except the band's home country. Reviews were mixed to negative, and it is often ranked as the weakest entry in their catalogue. That makes it a useful record for completists: a chance to hear the band in a quieter, more reflective frame of mind, and to judge for yourself where it fits between the heights of the 1980s and 1990s and their later rebound.
Around the Sun: tracklist, credits and charts
13 tracks · 55:21Tracklist
- 1Leaving New YorkBuck, Mills, Stipe4:49
- 2Electron BlueBuck, Mills, Stipe4:12
- 3The OutsidersBuck, Mills, Stipe4:15
- 4Make It All OkayBuck, Mills, Stipe3:44
- 5Final StrawBuck, Mills, Stipe4:08
- 6I Wanted to Be WrongBuck, Mills, Stipe4:35
- 7WanderlustBuck, Mills, Stipe3:04
- 8Boy in the WellBuck, Mills, Stipe5:22
- 9AftermathBuck, Mills, Stipe3:54
- 10High Speed TrainBuck, Mills, Stipe5:03
- 11The Worst Joke EverBuck, Mills, Stipe3:38
- 12The Ascent of ManBuck, Mills, Stipe4:07
- 13Around the SunBuck, Mills, Stipe4:29
- Produced by
- Pat McCarthy, R.E.M., Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills
- Recorded at
- The Warehouse (Vancouver), Compass Point (Nassau), The Hit Factory / Criteria (Miami)
- Recorded
- Early 2003 – early 2004
- Mixed by
- Pat McCarthy
- Engineered by
- Jamie Candiloro
- Labels
- Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 55:21
Line-up
- Q‐Tip · guest
Singles
- “Leaving New York” · 27 September 2004
- “Aftermath” · 29 November 2004
- “Electron Blue” · 28 February 2005
- “Wanderlust” · 11 July 2005
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2004–05 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2004–05 | 13 |
| Austrian Albums · 2004–05 | 1 |
| German Albums · 2004–05 | 1 |
| Ireland 2 · 2004–05 | 1 |
| Italian Albums · 2004–05 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2004–05 | 1 |
| Swedish Albums · 2004–05 | 1 |
| Swiss Albums · 2004–05 | 1 |
| Danish Albums · 2004–05 | 2 |
All 21 charts
| Finnish Albums · 2004–05 | 3 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2004–05 | 5 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2004–05 | 5 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2004–05 | 6 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2004–05 | 7 |
| Dutch Albums · 2004–05 | 7 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) · 2004–05 | 7 |
| French Albums · 2004–05 | 9 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2004–05 | 11 |
| New Zealand Albums · 2004–05 | 12 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2004–05 | 31 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2004 | Gold |
| Austria · 2004 | Gold |
| Denmark · 2005 | Gold |
| Germany | Gold |
| Italy | 2× Platinum |
| Sweden · 2005 | Gold |
| Switzerland | Platinum |
| United Kingdom | Gold |
| Europe · 2004 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
64.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.5k
ListenBrainz listeners
42k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
4.7k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 5 October
Every year →
More from R.E.M.
Full discography →
Chronic Town
1982
Murmur
1983
Reckoning
1984
Fables of the Reconstruction
1985
Lifes Rich Pageant
1986
Dead Letter Office
1987
Document
1987
Eponymous
1988
Green
1988
Out of Time
1991
The Best of R.E.M.
1991
Automatic for the People
1992
The Automatic Box
1993
Singles Collected
1994
Monster
1994
New Adventures in Hi‐Fi
1996
Essential R.E.M.: R.E.M. in the Attic (Alternative Recordings 1985–89)
1997
Up
1998
Reveal
2001
R.E.M. Vancouver Rehearsal Tapes - May 10, 2003 2003
Vancouver Rehearsal Tapes - May 10, 2003
2003
In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003
2003
iTunes Originals: R.E.M.
2004
And I Feel Fine… The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987
2006
Live
2007
Accelerate
2008
Reckoning Spotify Sampler
2009
Live at the Olympia
2009
Collapse Into Now Sampler
2011
Collapse Into Now
2011
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982–2011
2011
Live in Greensboro
2013
Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions
2014
Complete Warner Bros. Rarities 1988–2011
2014
Complete Rarities – I.R.S. 1982–1987
2014
R.E.M. at the BBC
2018
Live at the Borderline 1991
2019
Radio Free Europe 2025
2025
The best of 2004
All of 2004 →
American Idiot
Green Day · 2004
Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
Slipknot · 2004
Collision Course
Linkin Park · 2004
Reise, Reise
Rammstein · 2004
With the Lights Out
Nirvana · 2004
Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned
The Prodigy · 2004
Chuck
Sum 41 · 2004
eMOTIVe
A Perfect Circle · 2004
Com Lag: 2plus2isfive
Radiohead · 2004
Greatest Hits
Guns N’ Roses · 2004
The System Has Failed
Megadeth · 2004
Sliver: The Best of the Box
Nirvana · 2004
More on Warner Bros. Records
The label →
Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park · 2000
Meteora
Linkin Park · 2003
Minutes to Midnight
Linkin Park · 2007
One More Light
Linkin Park · 2017
Rumours
Fleetwood Mac · 1977
A Thousand Suns
Linkin Park · 2010
The Hunting Party
Linkin Park · 2014
Out of Time
R.E.M. · 1991
Automatic for the People
R.E.M. · 1992
Reanimation
Linkin Park · 2002
Collision Course
Linkin Park · 2004
Tusk
Fleetwood Mac · 1979
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 2004-10-04 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 4 October 2004 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 5 October 2004 | |
| Wikidata | 5 October 2004 | |
| US release | 5 October 2004 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 4 October 2004 | earliest UK or European date |
12 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 093624889427 | other |
| 2004 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227842215 | other |
| 2004 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624890621 | other |
| 2004 | AU | Warner Bros. Records | 9325583026058 | other |
| 2004 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624889427 | other |
| 2004 | ZA | Warner Bros. Records | 6001212086732 | other |
| 4 October 2004 | — | — | original | |
| 4 October 2004 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624891123 | original |
| 5 October 2004 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624889427 | other |
| 1 March 2005 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624931522 | other |
| 27 May 2016 | XW | Concord Records | 00888072004160 | other |
| 1 July 2016 | XE | Concord Bicycle Music | 888072004023 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| coverartarchive | 1400×1400 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |