(Near Wild) Heaven.... (Out Of Time - R.E.M.)

Member Name: Rumblefish

Product:	Out Of Time - R.E.M.
Date:	27/08/00 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Every track except....

Disadvantages: ...'Radio Song'

After releasing a succession of great but largely unappreciated records over the course of a decade, REM finally achieved world domination with OUT OF TIME. Yet curiously it toned down the political sentiment and abrasive rock that had marked much of their previous work. OUT OF TIME is all lush strings and ethereal harmonies, very much in the vein of the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and sun-soaked west coast American pop. Kate Pierson (of fellow Athens, Georgia band the B-52s) even provides folk-pop backing vocals on some key tracks.

The album contains numerous REM classics: the Mike Mills-vocalled 'Near Wild Heaven', the summer-of-love throwback 'Shiny Happy People', and perhaps the most lyrically oblique song ever to become a worldwide hit, 'Losing My Religion' ("Life is bigger...bigger than you...and you are not me...") The haunting 'Country Feedback' and jangly but downbeat 'Half A World Away' are just as good, and even fillers like 'Endgame' and 'Texarkana' make for amiable listening. Only the ill-conceived funk pastiche opener 'Radio Song' (featuring rapper KRS-1) could be classed as a misfire.

OUT OF TIME is a shallow album when compared to much of REM's other work, but the immaculate production and the effortless quality of the song-writing make it nothing but a pleasure to listen to.

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