R.E.M.'s best of all-time (Out Of Time - R.E.M.)

Member Name: Wezzo

Product:	Out Of Time - R.E.M.
Date:	24/04/08 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Consistently great music

Disadvantages: Absolutely none

R.E.M. are one of the most important bands of the last quarter-century. This album proves why.

1991's "Out of Time", their second for Warner Bros., was by far the band's most commercially successful to date. Home to megahit "Losing My Religion", it spent - literally - years in the UK Album Chart top 75 and sold over ten million copies worldwide. But as we all know, chart success is not everything - after all, it's debateable whether Britney Spears or Jennifer Lopez will go down with the greats, but they've sold millions of albums. Thankfully, however, in this case the popularity was completely justified. "Out of Time" is one of the all-time greatest albums, by any musical artist.

A lofty claim, but the songs back it up. Things get off to a blinding start with the minor hit "Radio Song" - a song that slides from soaring ballad to rock-tinged hip-hop so effortlessly you can't quite believe your ears. "The world is collapsing around our ears / I turned up the radio but I can't hear it", Stipe begins, as a rant against the "same sing-songs" that dominate the airwaves gets underway. (Ironic, seeing as R.E.M. would be dominating those same airwaves for years to come, but hey, Stipe didn't know that!) And while guest vocalist KRS-One proves a turn-off for many, his hip-hop stylings fit in well with the generally light-hearted tone of the catchy tune. It's not the album's best track but it's memorable.

"Losing My Religion" is the album's second track. And it really needs no introduction, does it? Surely the biggest-ever hit to utilise a mandolin, it's arguably R.E.M.'s definitive song - hook-laden folk-pop backed with stunning instrumentation; lyrically obtuse and open to a multitude of interpretations. Amazingly, it hasn't suffered from excessive re-playing on VH1 and Radio 2 - it sounds just as fresh after a hundred listens as it did after one. A genuine pop masterpiece, it's probably the album's higlight. Its four and a half minutes fly by.

Track three, "Low" is quite the contrast with the prior cut. Very low-key and slow, with Stipe's vocals buried deeply in an already-sparse mix, it's not one you'll hear on the radio a lot but it's a thoroughly engaging listen, especially if you listen carefully enough to pick up on the flashes of subtle imagery Stipe conveys in the lyrics: "dusk is dawn is day, where did it go? .. your bright light shines bright". Somehow, despite its slow pace and five-minute running time, it doesn't even remotely drag, and compares favourably with R.E.M.'s earlier attempts at low-key "epics" ("Camera", anyone?)

"Near Wild Heaven" is my personal favourite from the album. Sure "Losing My Religion" got the airplay and "Country Feedback" is the traditional fan favourite, but it's this irresistibly catchy jangle-pop masterpiece that catches my attention time after time. The first of the album's two tracks to feature Mike Mills on primary vocals, his lilting country-pop tones go wonderfully with jangling backing. The lyrics are uncharacteristically simple for R.E.M. (perhaps as they were penned by Mills himself) but that's no criticism; indeed, in an album of obtuse and impenetrable lyrics, it comes as quite a change. The chorus, simply comprised of repetitions of the refrain "Living inside / living inside / near wild heaven", is guaranteed to stick in your head for weeks on end. Quality through and through.

Near-instrumental "Endgame" follows, easily R.E.M.'s best instrumental piece to date. Supposed to convey the aftermath of winning a sports match through music (hence, "Endgame"), Stipe's enchanting vocalisations ("Ba da da da da da ha ha ha") are just another instrument in this sweet, moving, sentimental piece. Few other bands could pull off a lyric-free song so well.

The infamous "Shiny Happy People" is up next. Featuring guest vocalist Kate Pierson of fellow Athens, Georgia compadres The B52s, the band have famously disowned this song, excluding it from their "Best Of" despite it being among their biggest hits and never performing it live. It's a shame, as unavowedly ecstatic songs - as this is - do have a place in music, despite the Radiohead- and Coldplay-led drive towards melancholy of late. "Shiny, happy people holding hands / Shiny, happy people laughing", Stipe and Pierson cheerfully sing in the chorus. (There is a widespread claim that the song is about being on anti-depressants; I'm not sure if this is substantiated and frankly I don't really care either way. It's still a fun out-and-out pop song.)

The album's biggest curveball, "Belong", follows. Speak-sung by Stipe, throughout the song's verses he recalls the minutiae of everyday life of a housewife in a beat-poet narrative style over a steady, sparse drum-focused backing and between a lilting, vocalised and memorable chorus. It tends to split fans, but I'm firmly on the "fan" side - it's among R.E.M.'s most successful "experiments".

Ballad "Half A World Day" is next. The line "My hand is tired / my heart aches" has led some to conclude it's about masturbation but I'm inclined to lean on the more conservative side here and say it's simply about yearning for a lost lover. It's a solid song that is home to some of Stipe's most beautiful vocals: they are at the front of the mix and they really work there, supported by a slow-to-mid-tempo backing that recalls both fairground music and, er, Simon and Garfunkel.

"Texarkana" brings Mike Mills to lead vocal duties once again, and once again, it works magnificently. Living up to its name (a contraction of Texas/Arkansas/Louisiana) it's about as archetypally "Americana" as R.E.M. have got this side of "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" and delivers a wonderful vocal backed with Springsteen-style "Wall of Sound" backing and another wonderfully-catchy chorus.

Penultimate track "Country Feedback" has a long been a fan-favourite (and indeed Stipe claims it to be his favourite R.E.M. song too) - a slow, brooding country ballad with stream-of-consciousness lyrics. "We've been through fake-a breakdowns, self-hurt .. self-pain, EST, psychics, fuck all.." Stipe sings, the emotion in his voice subtle but nevertheless palpable, especially when combined with the well-judged calm, quiet backing. Not a personal favourite but it speaks to many.

The album concludes with the second Stipe-and-Pierson duet of the album, "Me In Honey", an ode to pregnancy, of all things. Generically poppy, it shines thanks to the juxtaposition in tones of the two lead vocalists. It's enjoyable and eminently listenable, a solid end to an amazing album.

What often first strikes R.E.M. fans about this album is the relative lack of Michael Stipe on vocals. One track's an instrumental, two are sung primarily by Mike Mills, on two he shares vocal duties with Kate Pierson, on two he speak-sings and on one a verse is performed by KRS-One. That leaves three traditional Stipe-sung songs - perhaps too few for some, but this diversity adds to the experience of the album immensely. Don't let detractors write this off as mere fluff pop; it's much more subtle, varied and diverse than that.

The CD of the album, which comes in a standard jewel case and includes a lyric sheet, can be found for a few quid on Amazon Marketplace nowadays (mine was £3.50 in 2005, and it's only getting cheaper). You might also shell out for the CD/DVD special edition, which includes on the DVD the album in full Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and some promo videos from the album.

Parental Guidance note: there's no sticker on the front, but there is one use of bad language ("fuck", in "Country Feedback")

Summary: A must for even the most casual music fan