R.E.M. - In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003

My husband has learned Everybody Hurts on the piano and will be singing it to me soon, Love the song and artist REM!

A nice adventure through the years with REM. There is more to Stipe's lyrics than meets the ear. Take a listen.

I am not a die-hard R.E.M. fan so half of the music on this disc was new to me.

I have to say this is a good CD; very enjoyable. All the big hits are here.

Tracks that were new to me were "The Great Beyond", "Bad Day", "All the way to Reno", "E-Bow the Letter", "Imitations of Life", "Animal", "Electrolite", "All the Right Friends" and "At my Most Beautiful". They are all good tracks.
I like this band more after listen to this CD and I recommend it.

Their new CD "Accelerate" is really good too.

I ordered this item and received it in less than 48hours. The item arrived exactly as described and, as the CD was a gift for someone else, this was the most important aspect of the sale for me. I would definitely buy from this seller again in the future.

{luv it, luv it, luv it }The most favorite of all the REM I could ask for in one set. Finally ive "got my spine" now Wheres my Orange Crush?? Oh well I still have my best of REM 1988-2003. and just in time thanks to Pepsi points and the great service and speed of Amazon Ill be rockin' till the sun comes up

I bought this CD last week and have really enjoyed regaining some of my youth. I have 2 little ones and this album is mellow enough to share with them. I thought this collection could have easily included another CD. (Where's "Crush with Eyeliner" and "Shiny Happy People"?) I want more to give this 5 stars! I completely enjoyed reading the liner notes - there is a little blurb about each song. The "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" background info was a little before my time, so I found it interesting to learn about it's story. I have most of these albums on tape (dating myself), but it was nice to have the best all in one place. A good collection for any R.E.M. fan, if only for the liner notes.

I bought the 2-CD set and posted a comment there. Since it applies to the first CD, which is this offering, I'm reposting my comments here. Happy shopping...

I've been a fan of R.E.M. for some years, and bought this CD in part because my collection of their best works is incomplete (the bonus CD also appealed to me). But when I fired up the first CD in my music player, I was aurally accosted by overloud/bass heavy/distorted sound blasting from the speakers. After enduring a few minutes of each song in the hope of hearing a glimpse of the sound treasures the original releases provide, I gave up and mentally tossed this CD in the trash. In my opinion, these great songs by R.E.M. were butchered by whatever sound engineer that had his or her finger/hand heavily on the loudness/compressor button/slider in/on the mixer program/machine. Or perhaps it was a foot.

In fact, to call the first CD a re-release of R.E.M.'s best hits of that period could not be further from the musical truth. This CD's sound for such classics as "Man on the Moon" and "Losing My Religion" resembles what one might hear from the original releases if someone listened to them with the stereo or music player volume turned up so loud as to overload the speakers far beyond their normal operating volume. Perhaps this CD should be added to the collection of "music" that the police/U.S. Army/FBI use to aurally stun holed-up hostage takers/dictators/wanted criminals into submission, but it surely should not be considered a half-reasonable re-release of otherwise great songs by a ground-breaking and much-loved band. And the result is that I feel pretty much ripped off by the record company that produced this CD.

And since I can't return this CD (I had to open the case to listen to it), I would love I know the name and email address of the record execute of the music company that produced this CD so that I can ask the musical horse's behind who approved of this disaster for half of my money back! Only half, mind you. After the bludgeoning my ears received from listening to the first CD of this two CD set, I haven't yet built up the courage or desire to listen to the bonus CD. I'll let you know when I do. If I do...

The music is so so only after shops in Singapore sell this album (double disc album) which could also be found on Amazon.com. These shops in Singapore are HMV Singapore and Gramophone. What I could say about the nice pieces of music they have out of the so so album are track 8 - orange crush, track 9 - imitation of life and track 12 - the sidewinder sleeps tonite. Recommeneded to those whom are interested in this genre of music.

In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003

Review by:

Dr, MR Franc MBBS (PhD) GPS Ang Poon Kah
director lou ye - Ang Poon Kah for film summer palace.

I enjoyed this album for the most part. The outstanding song on this album was "Losing My Religion". The lyrics were provocative and rich. Delivery of the song was extremely talented. Guitar accompaniment most striking. I recommend this album for this one song alone.

You would think that since R.E.M. have been able to elicit both critical praise and achieve widespread popularity- at least at one time or another throughout its career- a compilation that highlights its work would be an easy task. It's apparent that's not the case because there has yet to be collection which provides Berry, Buck, Mills, and Stipe full justice to the ensemble's reputation. Just as "Eponymous" before it- there are additions and omissions which perplex even the most ardent of this band's audience. "E Bow The Letter" is a mediocre exercise which gave R.E.M. an excuse to work in conjunction with Patti Smith. "All The Way From Reno," "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight" and "Stand" work well within the context of the albums they originate from but not in this package. In addition- new entries such as "Animal" and "Bad Day" (the latter of which was a prototype to the superior "It's The End Of The World As We Know It And I Feel Fine") would have been more suitable for "Around The Sun" to give that release the punch it was without. Where on Earth is "Bang On Blame," "Bittersweet Me," or the alternate edition of "Radio Song" (all of which were exceptional singles if not necessarily "hits")? Why weren't superb covers of Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan," Roky Erickson's "I Walked With A Zombie," or "Wall Of Death" by Richard Thompson fit for inclusion? Still nonetheless- a rarity such as the rollicking "All The Right Friends" is a nice surprise. The plea of "Losing My Religion," "Man On The Moon," and the sociopolitical churn of the rock driven "Orange Crush," are obvious selections but at least they belong here. In short "In Time" might be appropriate for many with only a casual taste for the band but those with extensive insight on R.E.M. will walk away with the thought that this could have been better.

The item was in excellent condition, and I have truly enjoyed listening to the CD. Thank you for your quick and timely mailing, and its excellent condition.

Amazon sent my CD in reasonable time, although I expected it a bit sooner as I have ordered from other companies thru Amazon and received merchandise faster. But I love the CD!

this is a great compilation but the only reason i bought this album was for losing my religion and man in the moon...im not a very big fan of their other stuff.

REM have a unique sound and this CD is one of their best.

I love this CD. Great song selection and a true joy to own.

This is good collection of songs from R.E.M. from their Warner Brothers years but there are some hits missing. The obvious hits are there, like Man On the Moon, What's The Frequency, Kenneth?, Everyboby Hurts, etc. This collection is of their mainstream hits while there is another collection of hits "The IRS Years", which are songs from before 1988, which were hits in nerdy college radio stations.

Enjoyed this very much. Will be checking out other cd''s of R.E.M.

It's missing key elements. Like Drive and Low, not to mention Radio Song and Shiny Happy People. While the inclusion of soundtrack titles is nice, I listen and wish for more.

Without question R.E.M. has been one of the best American rock and roll bands in the past two decades, in no small measure thanks to Michael Stipe's intelligent, often intriguing, lyrics. "In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003" is a fine compilation, but it will not please everyone, especially when a great song like "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" is missing (However, this song was released long before the band signed with Warner, which explains its absence in this compilation.). I'm delighted that this album begins with the irrepressible "Man On The Moon", which is one of my two favorite R.E.M. songs, along with "Losing My Religion"; both of which have become the two most recognizable songs from R.E.M.'s extensive oeuvre. Another favorite of mine is the haunting ballad "Everbody Hurts". This album is a fine survey of the band's oeuvre for Warner, including the notable Beach Boys homage "Imitation of Life". Fans of R.E.M. will most definitely want to add this album to their collection; for others it is an excellent introduction to their music, demonstrating why R.E.M. is still one of our best rock and roll bands.

I went to college in the late 80's and enjoyed the staple of R.E.M. releases. They reinvented rock\alternative music combining great original music with witty scathing lyrics. Since they did this for 15 years it would be impossible to put every great song on a single CD, still how can any best of be missing...

Its the End of the World as We Know it (and I Feel Fine)
Radio Song
Turn You Inside Out
Shiny Happy People

Perhaps when a group has such a large ouvre of music it is impossoble to make an album with everyone's favorites, still even as I realize this, I am still disappointed. I'll just have to make my own 'best hits' on my ipod.

The sleeve is filled with interesting REM anecdotes about each song and the quality of the recordings is fine so over all its a good package and I recommend it, just don't expect an end all greatest hits collection.

All one has to say is R.E.M. and one will receive many smiles from numerous music lovers. I have their early stuff on vinyl and needless to say I treasure those recordings. Now with the addition of this CD of greatest hits my music listening life is complete. All the cuts are unique and listeningable if that's a word. What a tremendous way to kick of the "best of" with the classic "Man in the Moon". I dig it the most!
F.G.Wetteroth

"In Time: The Best of REM" is an 18 track compilation of songs from 1988-2003, two of them recorded especially for this album. It has most of the tracks I wanted and a couple of nice surprises.

REM are a pretty decent rock group. They've got a down-to-earth sound, I think, and often there's such a warmth to Michael Stipe's lyrics you can almost physically feel it (like in "At My Most Beautiful"). It's very accessible stuff too, and is great from the first listen. That's not to say they don't experiment with sounds and studio tricks too ("Daysleeper", for instance, features an old Mellotron keyboard, which are always cool). There's a bit of everything, and it's done well and uniquely. I like the sillyness of "Stand", I like the long harmonies in "Orange Crush" and the Syd Barrett-esque stutters in "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight" ("sub-stub-sub-substantial"). It was interesting hearing Patti Smith make a guest appearance of "E-Bow The Letter" too.

The two bonus tracks are "Bad Day" and "Animal", both recorded just for the compilation. "Bad Day" has a clear but bassy production and quickly ambles while singer Michael Stipe rambles about the things that can get you down on a bad day, some more abstract than others. "Animal" is a bit more electronic, though its just as poppy, with lyrics that allude to this and that to add to the atmosphere of the track.

The booklet doesn't have any lyrics, but every page is filled with liner notes from Peter Buck, commenting and reflecting on each of the songs on the compilation and how they were made. It's pretty interesting reading. He reveals that during the recording for "Stand" he had just got a wah-wah pedal, and the solo he takes on it is him trying it out for the first time. (I haven't heard the song the same way since.) In the background are various pictures of the band from music videos and the like. I thought the heavy paper for the booklet was a nice touch, seems to suit the band well.

As a casual fan, I would have preferred to have "Shiny Happy People" and "Bang and Blame" on here rather than say "Electrolite" (as there are already a couple of piano driven songs here) and the Vanilla Sky track "All the Right Friends" (though it is a decent song). Still, it is a fairly good selection. I was glad to get "The Great Beyond" from the "Man on the Moon" soundtrack, after all. Worth a listen.

With the remarkable IRS compilation just released, the question has to be presented...could this cd have been as good as that one is?
I am not going to compare this cd to that one, as the IRS cd is heads above this one, but is that because the music of that era simply is better or because the songs on this cd don't cover the period as expertly as the more recent best of does?
And I Feel fine covers a six year period...this one adds a decade to that figure. And yes, REM, but out albums more frequently for IRS than the band did in its current run at Warner Brothers.
But you have five albums plus for the IRS best of, Warners has 7 cds worth of material, which is one of the main problems, the music of R.E.M. changed a great deal throughout that period that the critics who maintain that the music does not all play cohesively together are correct. A much better compliation would be IN TIME the best of R.E.M. 1988-1996, or all the R.E.M. albums that feature the original line up. Seperating the non Berry songs into a future possible best of part III disc would have created more of a central focus on the band in their most univerally popular era of music and a much stronger album overall

The album presented here should have looked something like this:
1. "Man on the Moon" I have no problem with this song being the first on the cd as it is a prime of example of Stipes writing and the bands playing at this time, plus it is from AFTP which is the central album that middle era REM put out.
2. "Great Beyond" released out of the era presented, the song does feature R.E.M. at the top of the later stage game. This song does work well following the prequel song before it and is one of the few times that eras mix well. If I had to break the rules, I would leave this song in. But I also think that it would work well on a "third" best of cd, one where R.E.M is taking a look back at their catalog. In era where they are having movies inspired by songs that they have made. Taking this song out I would replace it with "Country Feedback" a song which does flow nicely following "Man On the Moon" and like "Radio Free Europe" is a signature song after the opening mood setting track.
3. Bad Day, this is a little bit of cheating on their part. It is clearly from the IRS years, which is perhaps why I like it so much. It deserves to be on some kind of best of. Or, they could have saved it and put it on as the opening track of Around the Sun, perhaps setting a better tone for the entire album.
And I Feel fine doesn't need to have any new material on its best of portion and it benifits greatly from it. Take Bad Day out, base an album around it and it wouldn't feel out of place. Perhaps a here would be a good place for a more up tempo Green number such as "Pop Song 89".
4. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth". Fits right here.
5. "All the Way to Reno", not a bad song, but clearly out of place, with its rather lounge vibe. move it to the third best of and put the no exuse for leaving it off "Drive" here.
6. "Losing My Religon" all the better after "Drive" nice one two punch.
7. "E-Bow the Letter" leave it here. Great song.
8. "Orange Crush" Ditto.
9. "Imitation of Life" this song works, one of the few that blends, I think its a great song but for integrity, put
"Bittersweet Me" here instead, one of the many NAIHF songs skipped.
10. "Daysleeper" again good but more later day, why not "World Leader Pretend" for overall mood?
11. "Animal" I am tempted to say this is the worst song here and glaringly proves the point that the two eras don't mix. Take it out and go back to Out of Time for "Near Wild Heaven" yeah, let Mills mix things up a little here, this discs "Rockville"
12. "Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" some are critical of this song (even the band), a little too close to "Shiny" but it is a must moment on this disc. It would be weird without it.
13. "Stand" can't leave this out even if many fans hate it. Call this the required part of the disc.
14. "Electrolite" always a little iffy for me but a popular highlight of New Adventures so it can stay, many love it.
15. "All the Right Friends" belongs on the second disc of And I feel Fine. Here, it feels forced and another carrot thrown out of place by Warner Brothers.
16. "Everybody Hurts" A worthy must.
17. "At My Most Beautiful" love the song, clearly off Up though and representative of the Beach Boys faze that they would fully explore with Reveal. A more fitting song would be "You Are the Everything" an overlooked song from Green.
15 b. "Strange Currencies" sets up the closer very nicely.
18. Nightswiming, a great ending to the album.
So the album that should be without much altering would consist of:
1.Man on the Moon
2.Country Feedback
3.Pop Song 89
4.What's the Frequency, Kenneth
5.Drive
6.Losing My Religon
7.E-Bow the Letter
8.Orange Crush
9.Bittersweet Me
0.World Leader Pretend
1.Near Wild Heaven
2.Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
3.Stand
4.Electrolite
5.Everybody Hurts
6.You Are the Everything
7.Strange Currencies
8.Nightswimming
So there you have in my opinion the much better mix, Like I Feel Fine, a good mixture of all the cds (you can add more Bang and Blame, Leave and maybe Me In Honey if we can match 21 songs) and still no Shiny Happy People.
You are left with a very worthy, if still slightly inferior sequel to the IRS disc.

No "Radio Song", "Turn You Inside Out", "Crush with Eyeliner", or, most shockingly, "Shiny Happy People"? Guess I'll wait a few more years for Warners to put out a better best of, like IRS just did of REM's early years.

There are endless ways to assemble an R.E.M. anthology, let alone one from any other group, but this selection is marvelous. It is not only put together for their best work; it is arranged like an album. Many fans have lamented the absence of some big songs, like "Shiny, Happy, People," but this collection works well together.

Few will doubt that their music is still progressive, shimmering, and hypnotic (living up to their name). Their big hits are innovative and surreal. "Man on the Moon," "Orange Crush," and "Daysleeper" are evocative and elicit almost a subconscious response. The selection also gives us a chance to experience their worthy albums firsthand. It hardly seems redundant when one can capture "The Great Beyond," "Animal," and "All the Right Friends," after losing a chance to get them firsthand on an R.E.M. album. They also draw much of their best music. Unsurprisingly, they pull four off of 'Automatic for the People,' yet we still can enjoy the fruits of that classic, including "Find the River" and the original "Drive" on the original CD. Furthermore, "Electrolite," "E-Bow, the Letter," and "Imitation of Life" provide solid material from albums that occasionally faltered in small pockets. From the mesmerizing mid-tempo songs to their expert fast-forward work, 'In Time' in one of the most thoughtful collections presented.

Paying a little more money is worth it for the '...Special Edition' instead of this one. On the second disc there are collected songs from sources other than R.E.M. albums, like "Revolution," from the 'Batman and Robin' soundtrack. There are also excellent unplugged versions of "The One I Love" and "Pop Song '89". Subjectively, their spare version of "Beat a Drum" is better than on 'Reveal'. Some selections aren't as wise as the first disc. Edward Rice Burroughs' reading of "Star Me Kitten" is entertaining the first time, then it wears thin. I am also surprised having seen the group live why they would include a lackluster live version of "Drive," but they make it up with fine live versions of "Turn You Inside-Out" and "Country Feedback". R.E.M. is worth the extra CD.

This best of takes me back. I'll admit I haven't been a fan since the beginning, but I really started to get into them around 'Automatic for People' album. I love 'Everybody Hurts' and 'Losing My Religion'. This best of helped introduce me to some of their early songs as well as some of their later ones.
After 'Monster' I sorta lost interest, but this album reminds me of why I liked them so much to begin with. It may not have all the songs that diehard fans would want, but if your a casual fan of R.E.M. this is a great album.

REM is a great band along with the likes of the Beatles, Pearl Jam, Queen and the Grateful Dead. I mention these because of a previous posting giving this a single star. I can't believe this guy Dick W. giving this a one star and pouring out that baffle-gaffasaurous dribble. I really thought it was an odd review. So, I checked out his other reviews and he slams all the above artists and others. There was only one band that didn't get a 1 star review but instead got a 5 star review. Guess who: The Bee Gees??? hee hee... And went on to praise them for not subscribing to being a pretty boy...

The song list looks pretty good and agreed with some that it leaves out some other great songs. But, it will make a good addition to my CD library.

REM has had a helluva lot of hits, and has remained a radio staple and has been a big influence on later bands. This 18-track album does a good job for its length, but I really do feel a 2-CD hit package is warranted. The biggest omissions are "Shiny Happy People," "It's the End of the World as We Know It," and "This One Goes Out to the One I Love." It wouldn't surprise me if the band didn't really like these songs and would rather not include them in their greatest hits collection. However, there are a few other more minor hits I know from them that are missing, like "Radio Free Europe." I just can't think of other titles right now, but there are more than a few other omissions too.

Many of the minor hits that are included here, thankfully, are very good and will grow well on you: "The Great Beyond," "Bad Day," "All the Way to Reno," "E-bow the Letter," and "Imitation of Life" are songs I haven't heard enough of and I'm glad they are on this collection. Still, I hear REM is coming out with another compilation and I imagine it will be more complete; I suggest waiting for that album when it comes out.

Here, in all their glory, is REM: the undisputed Pied Pipers of the bedwetters. While Michael Stipe's nasal delivery evoked all the comfort of a German Stuka dive-bomber, the whimpering and ludicrous lyrical content became a beacon-call to legions of self-absorbed suburban cry-babies everywhere. In REM, we had a calculating and maudlin brood of cynical mountebanks who lounged in opulence while tormenting their naive minions with a decades-long barrage of unrestrained nonsense and pessimistic doomsaying. The embarrassing spectacle probably hit its painful peak in 1992, but it obviously has left a cultural skid mark that will take years to eradicate. This album is a one star stinker that might serve well as a gag gift.

I was born a little late to have experienced the R.E.M. hay day but according to my estimates I must have listened to Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck and Bill Berry almost as much as the most die hard fans.

This album is a good choice ofcourse their is an import with additional songs if I remember correctly. Also there are a couple other comprehensive best of albums worth checking out. An additional cavaet is that more than other bands R.E.M. puts out really good songs consistently and so their b-sides can be the better songs of a record this means that to get the full experience one really needs the full length albums.

Despite that with the purchase of In Time you get more than 14 dollars worth of R.E.M. The album has a number of songs that I think effectively capsulate the band's best: Orange Crush, The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, Losing My Religion, Night Swimming, Electrolite. This album is a nice mix but not an end all be all.

I bought the album because my R.E.M. recordings had either cracked or scratched, had been covered in crystalized coffee residue, dog hair, lint and various other decomposing materials unidentifiable. So I needed some handy for the times when my soul needs to scream but before too long I'll probably have to buy some more.

I am a huge REM fan, and this is a fantastic collection for anyone interested in them. However, for the fan looking for all the best songs in one place, this could be a little better. Without further ado, here's my list of songs that should be on this album:
From the Green album- Stand, Orange Crush, World Leader Pretend, Pop Song 89
Out of Time- Losing my Religion, County Feedback
Automatic for the People- Drive, Everybody Hurts, Nightswimming, Man on the Moon.
Monster-What's the Frequency Kenneth, Bang and Blame
New Adventures in Hi-Fi-Wake Up Bomb, Electolite.
Reveal-All the Way to Reno, Imitation of Life
Up-Daysleeper, At My Most Beautiful.
Soundtrack- First we take manhattan (off Leonard Cohen CD), The Great Beyond, All Right Friends.
New Song-Bad Day (Animal is mediocre)

There you have it-21 songs, the true best of REM.

After glancing at the song list on this while listening to Eponymous I realized how REM was really at their best much earlier on. Skip this and instead pick up Eponymous, Green, and Automatic for the People. From there, dabble in the pre-Eponymous releases and enjoy the true "best of" REM.

If you want to "dabble" in REM, get Green and/or Document.
These albums contain many of the songs on this gr. hits comp. and will serve as a great intro...

If you like what you hear, I would then suggest buying Lifes Rich Pageant (their best album) and Automatic for the people (perhaps their second best) next...

Get Murmur and Reckoning. By now you will really be able to enjoy them.

If you still haven't had enough, try the experimental Up and/or Reconstruction of the Fables. Trust me, buying in this order will ensure that you make it into the back door of one of the greatest American rock bands of all time.
THEY ARE SO WORTH IT!

A vast collection of the tallent that R.E.M. produced over the years! As I listen to some of these sellections of music being played, the genious of the lyrycs & music composed is that quite similar to Lennon/McCartney!!!
Very unique staging of the chords & choruses being laid down for each song as the beatles did so many times to get the perfect arangement of music that they meant for people to listen to and understand!

I started liking this band when I was a kid, and I still love it now. I saw them perform one time, and Michael Stipe just blew me away. If you like REM, get this CD and just sink into it.