we didn't mind having the vocals mixed as loud as they were." - Mike Mills Reception The 25th anniversary re-release of PopMatters included it in their list of the "12 Essential 1980s Alternative Rock Albums". Anthony DeCurtis, writing a contemporary review for Rolling Stone called it "brilliant and groundbreaking, if modestly flawed", praising it as "the most outward looking record R.E.M. has made." It "carries on...the dark Southern folk artistry of last year’s Fables of the Reconstruction" and "paints a swirling, impressionistic portrait of a country at the moral crossroads". Robert Christgau gave the album B+ in a dismissive review that complained of a lack of progress from earlier albums. Retrospective reviews of the album in the context of the band's later work have been positive. Gavin Edwards, writing in 2003, gave it four stars, praising Fall on Me in particular as "the finest song in the R.E.M. canon. A lullaby of modern anxiety, it's flexible enough to serve as a potent metaphor for acid rain, nuclear warfare, satellite surveillance or any other modern phobia you choose". Stephen Deusner, writing for Pitchfork calls it "invigorating", citing it as R.E.M.'s first transition album, simultaneously their "most pop-oriented and accessible album up to that point" and "most overtly political collection, with songs addressing environmental crises and political malaise". Alexis Petridis of The Guardian says it "may represent the band at their absolute zenith... imbued with a swaggering confidence absent from its murky predecessor". Petridis also singles out Fall on Me for its "beautiful opacity" and the "sumptuousness of its melody". Andrew Mueller in Uncut argues that it represents R.E.M. embracing the mainstream: "For the first time, it had occurred to REM that they had a constituency – and, indeed, that it might be possible and desirable to build on that" with an album where "Every note... fizzes and crackles with the urgency of people who’ve made their minds up" Both DeCurtis and Deusner praise the production work of Don Gehman, comparing it favorably with their previous album Fables of the Reconstruction. DeCurtis said Gehman "has done an outstanding job of hardening R.E.M.’s sonic jolt" while Deusner stated that Gehman succeeded by "giving the melodic leads their own space, he emphasizes the muscle in Berry's beats and the intricate interaction between the rhythm section". Track listing All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, except where noted. Side