Like most classical-pop reworkings of rock hits,
String Quartet Tribute to R.E.M. is fairly pleasant as background music and fairly pointless. Like most
R.E.M. classical pop albums, this concentrates on late '80s/early '90s material, with just a couple of choices from the IRS years ("The One I Love," "End of the World," and "Superman," the Clique song
R.E.M. popularized). Like most
R.E.M. classical pop albums, it's hard to tell who is actually going to put this on, since longtime
R.E.M. fans don't really fall for this stuff. Like almost any other classical-pop album, it's not bad for what it is, but it isn't much, either. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine