In Time (The Best Of REM 1988-2003) - R.E.M. > Reviews > REM CD

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	very good sound tracks
Disadvantages:	na

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

REM’s career can be clearly split into 2 sections… before and after ‘Losing My Religion’. Before the worldwide success of this track from the ‘Out Of Time’ album, REM were a successful touring band, usually playing college gigs and on the road for up to 10 months every year! They achieved some minor record sales success, but nothing to really trouble the chart compilers. Following the loss of their religion they achieved platinum album sales, $80 million record deals and the title ‘America’s greatest rock band’ from no less than Rolling Stone magazine. Talk about selling your soul!

This album features 18 of what REM consider to be their greatest hits since 1988… not necessarily the hits with the greatest chart success as is usually the case.

The band formed back in the late 70s and is fronted by the very deep and nervous lyricist Michael Stipe. The rest of the band (Pete Buck, Mike Mills and until 1997 Bill Berry) write the tunes we all know so well. Despite being classed as a rock band, REM are very adept at turning their hand to different styles, such as the poppier-than-usual ‘Shiny Happy People’ (surprisingly not included on this selection, despite being their first UK top 10 hit) and ‘Imitation Of Life’ from the Reveal album. They are well known for their slower numbers… slow as in thought-provoking rather than end-of-disco slow! Anybody who slow dances to ‘Everybody Hurts’ needs to see Stipe’s overworked therapist.

***The album***

The oldest track on the album is 1979s ‘All The Right Friends’, a song featured in the more recent film ‘Vanilla Sky’. The song was never actually recorded in the early days, despite being played at every REM gig until 1982. When the band were asked for a song for the ‘Vanilla Sky’ soundtrack at very short notice, they dug it out, dusted it off and recorded it, hence it’s inclusion on this compilation.

As for the tide-turning ‘Losing My Religion’, it seems ironic that after years of relentless touring, the song that changed the lives of four men forever was so easy to produce… 5 minutes for the tune and lyrics finalised within the hour!

“Life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me…
…If I was I’d not be earning pennies on Ciao.”
(The last line, if you’d not spotted, was my touch of creative genius.)

Whatever the genre, the tracks are usually adorned with lyrics which delve deep into Stipe’s psyche… so deep in fact, that sometimes they don’t mean much to the listener. Pete Buck says he has played ‘Orange Crush’ on stage over 300 times, and still has no idea what it is about! But with such great musical talent in the band, it never seems to matter!

If you want to hear good examples of REMs rockier songs, listen to tracks such as ‘What’s The Frequency, Kenneth’ and ‘Animal’. ‘What’s The Frequency…’ reminds me of the time I saw REM play live at the home of quality football – Hudderfield’s McAlpine stadium… the gig was part of the ‘Monster’ album tour and this was the opening song, as it is on the ‘Monster’ album. For fans of the band who have not seen them live… if you get the chance, do so – they are even better live than on CD.

If, like me, you’ve ever wondered what the opening lyrics are to ‘What’s The Frequency…’ then let me enlighten you…

"What's the frequency, Kenneth?"
is your Benzedrine, uh-huh
I was brain-dead, locked out, numb,
not up to speed
I thought I'd pegged you an idiot's dream
Tunnel vision from the outsider's screen
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh.”

None the wiser… neither am I! Apparently the song is about a network newsman called Dan Rather. He was assaulted one day, and between beatings his assailant kept shouting "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" Nobody knows why, or who Kenneth is!

The recent UK release was ‘Bad Day’, a song seemingly about political disillusionment which actually took 17 years to complete. It bears more than a passing resemblance to an old track of theirs called ‘The End Of The World As We Know It’, but I couldn’t care less… it gets belted out full volume in my dulcet tones whenever it is played. The song was a new addition to the Greatest Hits package (somewhat of a growing trend these days) along with ‘Animal’.

I have always found it amazing that more tunes don’t sound alike, as with ‘Bad Day’ and ‘End Of The World’… after all, there are only so many notes to play with! REM also seem to struggle with this too… only after ‘Imitation Of Life’ was recorded and released did they notice that the striking similarity between it’s verse and the verse of an old album track called ‘Driver 8’. Still, no-one was hurt…

…except that ‘Everybody Hurts’… sometimes. This song is possibly my favourite REM track and was released at a time when the lyrics seemed to have penned for me, as I’m sure they seemed to a lot of people at some time. The lyrics are unusually simple for Stipe – an intentional move as he wanted the song to be understood by teenagers, who he feels are passing through a particularly stressful time…

“If you're on your own
in this life,
the days and nights are long,
when you think you've had too much
of this life to hang on.”

‘Man On The Moon’ is regarded by many as REM’s signature tune and it really will stand the test of time as a classic. However, it nearly didn’t make it onto the ‘Automatic For The People’ album… the music was written, but Stipe was stuck for lyrics. He went awol for four days, returned to the studio, recorded a set of lyrics in one take and left! Just in time for a last minute inclusion on the album.

I have highlighted a few lyrics as I have seen appropriate… there are many more classic Stipe lines, too many to just throw down haphazardly. I will, however, take the liberty of noting just one more verse, which I particularly like:

From ‘Man On The Moon’, a great few lines that link science and religion:
“Moses went walking with the staff of wood.
Newton got beaned by the apple good.
Egypt was troubled by the horrible asp.
Mister Charles Darwin had the gall to ask.”

Anyone who has read some of my previous work will know that Darwin is a hero of mine, much vilified by the religious world of his time.

***Should you buy this album?***

Who would I recommend to buy this album? If you have liked any REM singles in the past, or have one or two of their albums, then this is a great record to buy. Having said that, I personally believe that many of REM’s best tracks are album tracks that were never released as singles; so if you like the Greatest Hits package, go back and buy some of their older work. I would start with ‘Out Of Time’ or ‘Monster’ to really appreciate typical REM, then move onto the often overlooked ‘New Adventures in Hi-Fi’ and the more morose ‘Automatic For The People’.

The album is also great for long-time fans of the band like myself, who already have most of the band’s albums – the track list has been put together beautifully, blending their different styles of music, rather than being a bland, chronological record of a chart career.

What if you have lived in a cave for the last 20-odd years and have never heard of REM. Well, Osama, buy it anyway. It’ll be a great addition to your collection.

The only downside to the album is the omission of a few great tracks, such as ‘Shiny Happy People’ and ‘Strange Currencies’. Stipe is the kind of artist who has his reasons for such acts though, and I am not about to start arguing with a man who has more musical talent in one of the shaven hairs on his head than I have in my entire body. The album receives 10 platinum discs out of 10.

The album cost £8.99 from CD-Wow, usual price (£11 – 13) in shops. There is a special edition available with a second CD featuring an enhanced ‘Rarities’ second CD for just a few pounds more.

For full track-listing and more information about this and other works by REM, go to their website at www.remhq.com