Album
Up
Up is R.E.M.'s eleventh studio album, released on 26 October 1998 through Warner Bros. Records. It was the first made after drummer and founding member Bill Berry retired in October 1997. The band turned to session players including Joey Waronker and Barrett Martin, alongside drum machines, and Pat McCarthy took over production, ending Scott Litt's run behind the desk that began with Lifes Rich Pageant.
The result leans far more on keyboards and programmed drums than anything the band had done before. Michael Stipe set out to explore the pull between the religious-spiritual and the scientific-technological, and also tried an "automatic, unconscious" way of writing. The sessions were tense, and the band have since admitted they came close to splitting. Up reached the top three in both the US and UK, and "Daysleeper" and "At My Most Beautiful" were UK top 10 hits. It is best heard as a transitional record, and one that rewards the risk.
Up: tracklist, credits and charts
14 tracks · 1:04:32Tracklist
- 1AirportmanBuck, Mills, Stipe4:14
- 2LotusBuck, Mills, Stipe4:32
- 3SuspicionBuck, Mills, Stipe5:37
- 4HopeBuck, Cohen, Mills, Stipe5:02
- 5At My Most BeautifulBuck, Mills, Stipe3:35
- 6The ApologistBuck, Mills, Stipe4:30
- 7Sad ProfessorBuck, Mills, Stipe4:04
- 8You’re in the AirBuck, Mills, Stipe5:24
- 9Walk UnafraidBuck, Mills, Stipe4:34
- 10Why Not SmileBuck, Mills, Stipe4:03
- 11DaysleeperBuck, Mills, Stipe3:40
- 12Diminished / I’m Not Over YouBuck, Mills, Stipe6:01
- 13ParakeetBuck, Mills, Stipe4:12
- 14Falls to ClimbBuck, Mills, Stipe5:06
- Produced by
- Pat McCarthy, R.E.M., Peter Buck
- Recorded at
- La Casa del Elefante (Seattle), Toast (San Francisco), John Keane (Athens)
- Mixed by
- Pat McCarthy, R.E.M., Nigel Godrich, John Hanlon
- Labels
- Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 1:04:32
Singles
- “Daysleeper” · 12 October 1998
- “Lotus” · 7 December 1998
- “At My Most Beautiful” · 8 March 1999
- “Suspicion” · 28 June 1999
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| align="left"|Austrian Albums Chart · 1998 | 1 |
| align="left"|Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart · Wallonia | 1 |
| align="left"|Canadian RPM Albums Chart · Wallonia | 2 |
| align="left"|Scottish Albums · Wallonia | 2 |
| align="left"|Swedish Albums Chart · Wallonia | 2 |
| align="left"|UK Albums Chart · Wallonia | 2 |
| align="left"|U.S. Billboard 200 · Wallonia | 3 |
| align="left"|Australian ARIA Albums Chart · 1998 | 5 |
| align="left"|Swiss Albums Chart · Wallonia | 7 |
| align="left"|New Zealand Albums Chart · Wallonia | 8 |
All 15 charts
| align="left"|French SNEP Albums Chart · Wallonia | 9 |
| align="left"|Dutch Albums Chart · Wallonia | 16 |
| Spanish Albums Chart · Wallonia | 17 |
| align="left"|Hungarian Albums Chart · Wallonia | 35 |
| align="left"|Japanese Oricon Albums Chart · Wallonia | 47 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2008 | Gold |
| Austria · 1998 | Gold |
| Belgium · 1998 | Gold |
| France · 2001 | Gold |
| New Zealand · 1999 | Gold |
| Norway | Platinum |
| Spain · 1998 | Gold |
| Sweden · 1998 | Gold |
| Switzerland | Gold |
| United Kingdom | Platinum |
| United States | Gold |
| Europe · 1998 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
70.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
64k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
6.4k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 26 October
Every year →
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Full discography →
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1982
Murmur
1983
Reckoning
1984
Fables of the Reconstruction
1985
Lifes Rich Pageant
1986
Dead Letter Office
1987
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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
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
Around the Sun
2004
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
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1998-10-27 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 26 October 1998 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 26 October 1998 | |
| Wikidata | 27 October 1998 | |
| US release | 27 October 1998 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1998 | earliest UK or European date |
17 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 6001208783935 | other |
| 1998 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 093624711223 | other |
| 1998 | ZA | Warner Bros. Records | 6001208783935 | other |
| 1998 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624711223 | other |
| 1998 | AU | Warner Bros. Records | 093624711223 | other |
| 1998 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624711247 | other |
| 26 October 1998 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674240029 | original |
| 27 October 1998 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624711223 | other |
| 27 October 1998 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624711223 | other |
| 1 March 2005 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227395223 | other |
| 19 May 2014 | XW | Concord Records | 0888072396234 | other |
| 1 April 2016 | XW | Concord Records | 00888072396227 | other |
| 27 May 2016 | — | Concord Records | 00888072397231 | other |
| 10 November 2023 | US | Craft Recordings | 888072532779 | remaster |
| 10 November 2023 | GB | Craft Recordings | 888072566255 | deluxe |
| 10 November 2023 | US | Craft Recordings | 888072532731 | deluxe |
| 10 November 2023 | US | Craft Recordings | 888072532731 | deluxe |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| itunes | 3000×3000 | native |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |