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| Artist: Rem
Label: Wea
Category: Music
List Price: £10.99
Buy New: £4.98
You Save: £6.01 (55%)
New (58) Used (13) Collectible (2) from £2.85
Rating:  50 reviews
Sales Rank: 920
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.7
MPN: 48381
UPC: 766481274247
EAN: 0093624838128
ASIN: B0000CC6QF
Release Date: October 27, 2003
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
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| Customer Reviews:
 All(ternative) American Heroes August 25, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The American pop world is really too lucky to have a band like R.E.M. around, still touring and recording nearly thirty years later and showing no signs of restraint with their melodious music nor their political ethos. Michael Stipe may be the member synonymous with the latter facet of the band, as well as its most vociferous, being the lead singer and lyricist. However, without the amusedly melancholic and hopeful arrangements courtesy of Mike Mills, Peter Buck and the dearly-missed Bill Berry that lie beneath Stipe's soulful vocals, R.E.M. would not have retained their status as one of American music's finest establishments. For the passing listener, one only needs to have this CD play softly in the background to realise how under-the-radar successful and ubiquitous the band and their work have become.
In Time has since caused a lot of consternation and argument between fans of the group, resurfacing points of contention including controversial omissions from the final track list ("Shiny Happy People" these guys weren't!) and accusations of selling out that have plagued the band since the unprecedented success of Out Of Time, especially with single "Losing My Religion". And whilst even acts as worthy as R.E.M. cannot be entirely forgiven for succumbing to the record label-machine with the release of another retrospective collection, the content surely cannot be held under as intense a scrutiny. No one does timeless, self-effacing Americana much better than these guys and the fact that each of these songs sound like they were recorded days apart as opposed to decades is testament to their consistency.
This isn't to say that In Time is simply a collection of eighteen tracks that sound exactly the same as one another; it is an exploration of a vast emotional spectrum, at times joyous and profoundly silly, at others mournful and disturbed. Anchored by Stipe's nobly fey vocals, the music holds fast onto its subject matter and its influences, which range from the Beach Boys to grunge music to Patti Smith (who physically ingratiates herself into the mix with "E-Bow The Letter"), with playful touches abound, such as the mandolin that opens "Losing My Religion", the robotic chorus on the otherwise freewheeling "Animal" and Stipe's Brian Wilson-style backing vocals on "At My Most Beautiful". And the lyrics still resonate stronger than ever, from the universal cry of "Everybody Hurts" to the profound absurdity of "The Great Beyond" to the pointed commentary of "Bad Day". The title of stand outs amongst equals, however, ought to be bestowed onto "Imitation Of Life" and "Nightswimming".
Whilst In Time may not remain essential for the R.E.M. fan who has done well to make sure the band have sat pretty atop the American indie-pop pedestal for nearly three decades, it remains an accessible tribute for the passing listener and provides the utmost answer to anyone left questioning their endurability in the pop world ... simply put, it's because they are that good. Marrying mainstream production values with a leftfield heart and state-of-mind in their daring to ask emotional questions of life and purpose whilst sharing in its idyllic virtues with a keen-eared listener, theirs is an intelligent indie music that makes a point without being condescending or patronising. Religious indictments, ironic celebrity reverence, skinny-dipping, tributes to absurdity, insomnia, the human condition itself, all coalesced into one collection of often spellbinding work. Please keep going, Messrs Buck, Mills and Stipe!
Another Album you Must Have! January 9, 2006
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is more than jusyt a Best Of album, this is the Very Best Of!
This album contains some of R.E.M.'s most best work to date, my favourites being "Whats The Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Losing My Religion".
I really do recommend this album to anyone.
 Best of? Sorry, nope... February 23, 2005
11 out of 22 found this review helpful
The tracks here are good, there's no denying that. However, if you're going to do a "best of" then really make it a "best of". There are noticeable tracks missing as has been commented on already (for me, "Shiny, Happy People" missing is a travesty) and that's what's stopping me buying this.Close, but no cigar.
R.E.M.'s Greatest Songs On One CD! February 18, 2005
9 out of 15 found this review helpful
I had heard of a few R.E.M. songs before I got this album, but it was this album that introduced me into a world of R.E.M. and made them my favourite band."I've watched the stars fall silent from your eyes." - The Great Beyond "You've dusted the non-believers
and challenged the laws of chance." - All The Way To Reno "Moses went walking with the staff of wood.
Newton got mean by the apple good.
Egypt was troubled by the horrible asp.
Mister Charles Darwin had the gall to ask." - Man On The Moon "When your day is long
and the night,
the night is yours alone,
when you're sure you've had enough
of this life, well hang on." - Everybody Hurts If these lyrics alone aren't a good enough reason to buy the album, then the catchy tunes and the great range of instruments will be - after all, one thing that R.E.M. definitely are is adventurous with their music, another reason to buy this album. For example, the use of a mandolin in their hit song, "Losing My Religion", and the creepy electronic vocals in the chorus to "Animal". As I've said, this album is amazing, although now I have listened to most of their other albums, I can see that they missed a few brilliant songs out, although this would probably mean having a second disc. For example,
"Tongue" from Monster
"How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us" from New Adventures In Hi-Fi
"Shiny Happy People" from Out Of Time
"I'll Take The Rain" from Reveal
"Lotus" from Up Despite missing out these, and a few other songs, this is still a brilliant album that you need to buy!
Great band - patchy compilation December 10, 2004
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
It's somewhat difficult to fathom the logic that went into producing this CD. As a complement to an earlier "Best Of" compilation which charted the band's steady rise through college-rock obscurity to the edge of mega-stardom, one would expect this collection to give a consistent, if not chronological, account of the band's time as one of the world's pre-eminent serious rock acts. It doesn't really do that. The songs are jumbled in no particular order; "Man on the Moon" is a particularly feeble album opener, and apart from the subtle placing of the band's two finest "chillout" tracks, "At My Most Beautiful" and "Nightswimming", at the close of the album, there doesn't seem to be any thematic order in the subsequent arrangement. Other reviewers have mentioned the oddity of "Shiny Happy People" being omitted, but equally perplexing is the omission of some more artistically credible classics such as "Radio Song". When these are ditched in favour of a selection of frankly dull tracks from some of the later albums ("E-bow the Letter" does nothing for me, I'm afraid), you have to question what's going on. Still, when REM are good, they are very good indeed, and there are enough classic tracks here, from the vintage era to some of the better recent songs ("Bad Day" and "Imitation of Life" both showing a glimmer of a return to former glories), to satisfy anyone for whom a passing acquaintanceship with a great band simply isn't enough. Nonetheless, there's unlikely to be anything extra here to appeal to long-time fans.
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