I love some R.E.M. songs, but I’ve never loved an R.E.M. album. For example, Pop Song 89 and Orange Crush were excellent, but The Wrong Child and Hairshirt were not enjoyable. They’re great songwriters, but I think part of the issue is that I’ve never liked Michael Stipe’s singing. Now that I think about it, he doesn’t sing but rather talks through my favourite R.E.M. song (Man on the Moon), and yells through the other (Shiny Happy People). Anyway, 3.5 stars.