The Wrong Child (track)
by R.E.M.
The Wrong Child appears on the following album(s) by R.E.M.:
- Green (track #6) (this album) (1988)
- Complete Studio Albums 1988-1996 (track #6) (compilation) (2014)
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The Wrong Child ratings

where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
50/100 ![]() | 07/27/2025 13:52 | wizardalien | ![]() | 72/100 |
60/100 ![]() | 07/09/2025 17:30 | spinout | ![]() | 83/100 |
95/100 ![]() | 07/06/2025 15:40 | ![]() | ![]() | 81/100 |
70/100 ![]() | 05/17/2025 17:19 | ShenBapiro | ![]() | 78/100 |
85/100 ![]() | 04/12/2025 16:30 | ![]() | ![]() | 88/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some tracks can have several thousand ratings)
This track is rated in the top 21% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 77.7/100, a mean average of 77.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.8/100. The standard deviation for this track is 11.9.
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The Wrong Child comments
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The only lyrics printed on the sleeve of Green are World Leader Pretend, which suggests it’s regarded by the band as their strongest work on the album lyrically speaking. I think they’re right.
The criticism I would have is that the music is secondary to the brilliant lyrics. Feels like a track Stipe insisted on rather than a team effort to me.
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