I've never warmed to this album to allow it to be ranked with their earlier albums. Maybe the timing wasn't right for me as I was an R.E.M fan from the outset...Murmer is still my favorite album. Maybe I resented it in some weird way because it was their commercial breakthrough and I'm thinking "Ha where have you all been for the last 10 years" Or maybe it's just a more difficult listen than their earlier works one that requires more time and effort to reveal its charms Well for whatever reason listening this time around after leaving it for a while allowed me to appreciate it more than I ever have previously. There's a melancholy intesity that I never quite appreciated previously. Sweetness Follows has just that feel and it's quite beautiful. Same for Monty got a Raw Deal - I never took the time to appreciate the deeper album cuts on this album, maybe because there are none that really rock out and the strong structures are not typical verse chorus verse. Anyway I'm thinking this album finally will get my attention, something it probably deserved long ago. 4 stars with a bullet