Product Description

Second best-of collection from indie rock megastars covers their tenure at Warner Bros. and collects tracks from all their albums on that label, from 1988's 'Green' up to 2001's 'Reveal'. As well as classic tunes like 'Losing My Religion','Everybody Hurts', 'Man On The Moon' and 'Nightswimming', it features two new tracks including new single 'Bad Day', and 'The Great Beyond' which featured on the soundtrack of theJim Carrey film 'Man On The Moon'.

Track Listing

1. Man On The Moon
2. Great Beyond
3. Bad Day
4. What's The Frequency Kenneth
5. All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star)
6. Losing My Religion
7. E Bow The Letter
8. Orange Crush
9. Imitation Of Life
10. Daysleeper
11. Animal
12. Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
13. Stand
14. Electrolite
15. All The Right Friends
16. Everybody Hurts
17. At My Most Beautiful
18. Nightswimming

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #569 in Music
• Released on: 2003-10-27
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
In 1988, REM were a cult on the cusp of major success. In 1992 they were somewhere close to being the biggest band in the world. In 2003, they're marginalised again, a middle-aged institution purportedly on the wane. Still, uninformed listeners to In Time might find it tricky to work out which songs come from which era. The 18 singles collected here in non-chronological order show a band that's operated at a terrifyingly high standard throughout the period, so that less lauded songs like "The Great Beyond" stand proud alongside the familiar anthems from the early 1990s. Of course, these compilations are sent to irritate loyalists, whose relief at the inclusion of "E-Bow the Letter" (a mesmerising duet with Patti Smith from 1996) will be undermined by the bewildering absence of 1992's tearjerking epiphany "Find the River". For a more comprehensive survey of REM's excellence, you'll also need The Best of REM, the highlights of their elliptical early years. One suspects a box set which tells the full story of this enduring band can't be that far away. For now, though, In Time will do well enough. --John Mulvey

Customer Reviews

GOOD ALBUM
This is the first time I have bought a REM Cd and so far, the tracks I have heard are great. Every song on this album is great.

Timely collection
There may never be agreement on the best tracks of such an important, much-loved band. Universally successful groups like REM reach a great variety of people with diverse tastes, connecting with different sides of their musical personality. This, their second best-of, covers REM's albums with Warner, incorporating their most commerically successful period and taking us up to their more recent slip from the limelight. Still a great band, there is no disputing the fading of their relevance lately, but their time will come again. This collection concentrates mostly on their singles output, but somehow largley avoids the sunnier side. I think - and I think the diehards would agree - that this Best Of is at least a close representation of the Spirit of the band, something that can't always be said about such compilations. That said, there is also the irritating commercial imperative to include some new tracks which don't make the grade, but this is standard practise now.

I think there are some jarring exclusions - conspicuous in their absence - such as 'Drive', 'Country Feedback', 'World Leader Pretend', 'Crush With Eyeliner'. The albums Monster and Out of Time are only represented by one track each, criminal really, the most obvious omission being the latter's Shiny Happy People (but this is understandable). If the intention of this collection is to bolster the songs post-Automatic, then it succeeds to place them on a non-chronological platform with greats such as 'Losing My Religion', 'Man on the Moon', 'Nightswimming' etc. The overall effect is one of amazing consistency, but feels strangely downbeat, despite the inclusion of poppier moments such as 'Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite' and 'What's the Frequency Kenneth?'. Anyone for whom REM fell off the radar during the 90s will be blown away by E-Bow the Letter with Patti Smith, among their best ever songs. Quibbles aside, you can't beat the value of this CD for content. I don't normally mention the price of a CD when discussing its merits, but this really is a bargain!!

Classic Songs from a Great Band
I picked this up in a sale recently and was surprised at just how great these songs are. I didn't know them all, but all of them had a kind of familiarity about them as if you had heard them before. This is great music to just relax and chill out to. My personal favourites are All the Right Friends, Bad Day, The Great Beyond, Man on the Moon and my all-time favourite REM song Nightswimming. Definitely worth a purchase at this price.