Album of the day (#2551): Out Of Time by R.E.M.

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albummaster
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  • #1
  • Posted: 12/08/2017 21:00
  • Post subject: Album of the day (#2551): Out Of Time by R.E.M.
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Today's album of the day

Out Of Time by R.E.M. (View album | Buy this album)

Year: 1991.
Country:
Overall rank: 453
Average rating: 77/100 (from 690 votes).



Tracks:
1. Radio Song
2. Losing My Religion
3. Low
4. Near Wild Heaven
5. Endgame
6. Shiny Happy People (Feat. Katy Pierson)
7. Belong
8. Half A World Away
9. Texarkana
10. Country Feedback
11. Me In Honey

About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.
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Yann



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  • #2
  • Posted: 12/10/2017 11:11
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classic material, but listening to it again the other day, I found the production a bit too polished, almost lifeless at times (did not realised that back then)
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CharlieBarley



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  • #3
  • Posted: 12/11/2017 00:59
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One of the albums which changed my life when I bought it aged 16, in 1991. I was familiar with the song Stand but did not know the name of the band. Then they released Losing My Religion and everything changed. Although the follow-up to this one, Automatic For The People, is a better overall album I will always play this with much nostalgia for my wasted youth lol. For me, a seminal album, and around this time my tastes in music started changing radically.
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CA Dreamin



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  • #4
  • Posted: 12/11/2017 03:19
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Weak album. Losing My Religion and not much else. Shiny Happy People is a complete piece of shit.
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RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad



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  • #5
  • Posted: 12/11/2017 03:27
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Belong, Half A World Away, and Country Feedback are some of R.E.M.'s finest songs.

A bit of a mixed bag album, but perhaps is what makes it so unique.

The mock-pop of Shiny Happy People is fantastic as is loosing my religion (which I guess is a southern saying for being at the end of one's rope).

I think my least favorite track is Texarkana.

I think this is the first record R.E.M. collaborated with a rapper with. KRS-One. Later with Qtip.
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Lachapelle



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  • #6
  • Posted: 12/11/2017 03:36
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sethmadsen wrote:
I think this is the first record R.E.M. collaborated with a rapper with. KRS-One. Later with Qtip.


This is exactly what got me into R.E.M.

Saw the cassette at a thrift shop and it had KRS on the tracklist which I thought was pretty weird so I picked it up.

Been a fan ever since.
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RoundTheBend
I miss the comfort in being sad



Location: Ground Control
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  • #7
  • Posted: 12/11/2017 04:39
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Somehow I wanna say cool story bro, but that sounds like I'm making fun of it... so I can't?

hehe- anyway, that's cool if you ask me.

And for an alternative rock band as early as 1991 to be jammin with a rapper is pretty damn cool if you ask me. Good on R.E.M.
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pa
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  • #8
  • Posted: 12/11/2017 10:31
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I was probably 10 years old, a car stopped in front of my house in the city, the guy, dunno why, blasted Losing my Religion on his stereo...
I still remember my thoughts: fuck yeah this song is so cool! I want it!
so I ran to my sister's room (10 years older than me) and she initiated me to REM.
I wouldn't say it's my favorite record, but it's a cool one indeed
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Puncture Repair





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  • Posted: 12/11/2017 21:21
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hey track break down time

1. Radio Song - Pretty awful. As mentioned earlier, kudos on them for bringing in an MC. I've always admired R.E.M. for stepping out of their comfort zone. This song clumsimly tries to balance a sort of whistful ballad section with a kind of funk rock beat. Doesn't work. KRS One presents a verse that's nothing short of cringe-inducing, family friendly rap for white people. At least he sounds like he's having fun doing it. Now listen to The Outsiders for an R.E.M. song that encorporates rap almost seemlessly, awesome song. Like many here, this was the first R.E.M. album I heard. I remember hearing Michael sing 'the world is collapsing' for the first time and absolutely melting, I had the biggest smile on my face, and remember thinking it was such a shame they didn't hold that note. It's a gorgeous opening section.

2. Losing My Religion - Obviously R.E.M.'s money maker. What more can be said that hasn't before. It's a great song, if overplayed. But heck, at least R.E.M.'s most popular song is a good one. I adore how Michael's lyrics make very little sense, but he delivers them with a real whistful sense of conviction. There's no real chorus here, and that works in the song's favour. It's really feels like Stipe singing exactly what he's feeling in that moment. Flows perfectly, lovely production and sound. Never does anything exciting. Doesn't need to.

3. Low - Ironically, one of the few highs on the album. Very stripped back, never tries to do anything too complicated. Eh, the lyrics 'I skipped the part about love' isn't Stipe's best lyricism. Nice tonal shift from the previous two songs though, quiet and contemplative. Michael sounds best when he's wailing, but it's good to hear him do otherwise.

4. Near Wild Heaven - Aha, one of the rare songs with Mill's on lead vocals, of which this record strangely has two of. Cheesy and directionless. Nice melody, but nothing to keep back to. Peter Buck's guitar work at least carries the song, I like how he shifts between playing quickly and playing slow, gives the song a meloncholy undertone that wouldn't be there otherwise.

5. Endgame - It's an instrumental. Always feels like it comes a little too early in the track listing. A divide that doesn't need to be there. Nice tune. Wish Michael didn't stoop to singing 'la la la' on this one, it doesn't need it. Used to prefer this one to Automatic's instrumental, but recently felt this one is more throwaway.

6. Shiny Happy People (Feat. Katy Pierson) - I'm always told R.E.M. wrote this as some kind of joke, but I'm not convinced. Replace the lyrics to something else and all the Pink Floyd fans would love it. Nice string section, nice guitar riff, and there's even some minor chords in there to keep it from being overbearing. I think Michael and Katy sound great together, both with their quivering vocal work. It's not that bad.

7. Belong - A guilty pleasure of mine. It's really nothing special, but I've always loved the contrast between Stipe's spoken word and wailing with Mill's in the chorus. Some nice harmonies, and some nice written word, delivered like an old bed time story. The reality is that it's a fairly one dimensional song, I'm surprised they heard Buck's guitar riff and ran with it, but I'm kind of glad they did.

8. Half A World Away - I used to play this song over and over again, but I don't think I ever actually enjoyed it that much. It's so close to being one of the band's greats, but just makes some odd decisions. Clunky instrumentation, all playing widely seperate and needlessly complicated sections. Mandolin, organ and harpischord (I think?) is too much for one song. It never really falls into place. Stipe provides a really stellar vocal performance, but his lyrics just sound like something he was told to write. I've still got a soft spot for it, as I'm sure many fans of the album probably do, but I think this song goes to show how such small decisions make a world of difference when compared to something like, for instance, Losing My Religion.

9. Texarkana - It's that other Mills song, and it also doesn't work. Why does Mills sound like he's in a room two doors down? Awesome bass line, awesome bridge, everything else just plods along and washes over. It's nothing terrible, but it goes to show. The best moment is actually when Michael sings like one line in the middle eight.

10. Country Feedback - That first twinkle of what would be to come in R.E.M.'s next endeavours. A dark, meandering, mostly nonsensical song that feels appropriately barren. The band would do it better in 'E Bow The Letter', but this works just as well for now. It really feels like Michael is stood in a room and just goes for it. I don't think anyone else could perform this song and have it sound nearly as authentic. It stumbles into this clumsy, repetitive mantra and just doesn't let up. Stipe seems to disregard lyrical structure and Buck's guitar solo is brilliantly directionless. The whole thing sounds unripe, though. It's not sat around and matured much. It's lacking the stench of musty whisky that it's trying to achieve, and it's difficult to say why.

11. Me In Honey - And the closer is a strange song that has always been a favourite of mine. Again, Michael and Katy bounce off each other so well, and they glue the entire song together. They're both in their element here. Buck's guitar riff is so repetitive that it'd make you want to tear your hear out if there wasn't any singing. But I could listen to Stipe sing the lines 'what about me' until the end of time. It's sort of a dance track, it's certainly very poppy. It fits the rest of the album just fine to close on. Unremarkable, but a fun ride.

There are times I could argue 'Out of Time' is R.E.M.'s weakest album. For the most part its a pandering mess, playing it safe for Warner. Writing this down has made me realize that there really aren't any major crimes on this album, infact there are very few songs here I'd be unhappy to listen to, but at the same time there's very little to come back to. The band will either do it better later or did it better before. It's crazy to think this album came from the same guys that wrote 'Feeling Gravity's Pull', but also pretty impressive.
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CA Dreamin



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  • #10
  • Posted: 12/11/2017 23:53
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^^^ Great track-by-track analysis, Puncture Repair
Puncture Repair wrote:
There are times I could argue 'Out of Time' is R.E.M.'s weakest album. For the most part its a pandering mess, playing it safe for Warner. Writing this down has made me realize that there really aren't any major crimes on this album, in fact there are very few songs here I'd be unhappy to listen to, but at the same time there's very little to come back to. The band will either do it better later or did it better before. It's crazy to think this album came from the same guys that wrote 'Feeling Gravity's Pull', but also pretty impressive.


Shiny Happy People is a giant pile of shit, a major crime for an artist as good as R.E.M. Other than that, I agree with just about all of your analyses and conclusions. I've listened to every R.E.M. album from Murmur through Monster and Out of Time is by far the worst. I don't care that it has Losing My Religion. 4 and a half minutes of greatness does not salvage an album's worth of mediocrity and crap. Losing My Religion is the only song I regularly come back to. There are a few other ok songs I can dig once in awhile (e.g. Low and Near Wild Heaven). But overall, Out of Time is a disgrace.
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