All Things Come "In Time"

R.E.M. was a favorite of mine back when I was but a 'tween. I came upon R.E.M. innocently as my sister was a huge fan from the I.R.S. Records days of The One I Love and It's The End Of The World As We Know It. The funny thing about me is even though I liked all the songs I heard by the band, I never bought any of their albums (sure my sister DID dub her Out Of Time tape for me) but the reality of it all is that In Time: The Best of R.E.M. was made for fans like me, the casual fan who actually didn't buy any of their stuff (I did buy the awesome The Great Beyond Maxi-single in '99). Being the music connoisseur that I am, I passed over the regular 18 track "In Time" CD for the "special edition" double CD set that also featured extended liner notes from the band (Much like their Document notes) and a poster which shows the 1988 R.E.M. and the 2003 version all of these special features, with the CD in a 2 disc digipak, is neatly cased by a see-thru plastic wrap.

While the overall presentation of the material is a bit scattered, the regular package does include most of the hits, (sans the song the band hates the most: Shiny Happy People), while mixing in more of the "bizarre" and "art rock" styling of Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite and E-Bow The Letter, songs that showcase a complete band, not a radioactive chart hungry band. True, they didn't mind the hits and fame and fortune but the band has never, ever forgotten their roots or core fan base.

It is those "hardcore" fans, like my sister, who will enjoy the second disc the most. It is chock full of the odds and ends that proliferate many CD singles the band gives out.
Omitted from the first CD, Pop Song 89 is presented here as an acoustic version and what a wonderfully melodic turn it is. To me an acoustic performance will make or break a band, as often times the electric guitar is the "crutch" a rock musician uses to block their artistical progress, thankfully, R.E.M. has long ago proved they aren't afraid of acoustic based songs.

Fretless and It's A Free World Baby are both remnants from the Out Of Time sessions and after hearing both of them here, they sound just as beautiful, lyrical and elegant as anything off of that classic album from 1991.

The live version of Drive is one of the better retakes of a song that I've heard in my life. It shows the breadth of R.E.M.'s ability to rework hits so that they sound new and exciting. This version is said to be a "funky" version of the #1 hit (as told by Peter Buck) from 1992's Automatic For The People.

Revolution is another of those "left overs" the band feels should've been on the CD from that era. Recorded for New Adventures In Hi-Fi", Buck says "it never fit" in the overall sound of the CD. I feel it sounds as complete as any radio hits from that album.

The One I Love wasn't a song the band recorded in the era "In Time" is chronicling (1988-2003) but the live version was and what a stunning version it is. Much like, "Drive," it is given a different arrangement full of acoustic piano and guitars along with a subdued vocal from vocalist Michael Stipe.

Country Feedback ends the B-Sides and Rarities disc wetting the palate of fans who cannot wait to see these songs performed by Buck, Mills and Stipe on one of their upcoming tours. Recorded this year in Germany, the album track from Out Of Time is one of the band's most requested live songs. It's a haunting and beautiful song that sounds as good today as it did 12 years ago.

Fans of R.E.M. should certainly pluck down the extra five bucks for this limited edition set. R.E.M. has always been a band that's more than any radio singles they release and as such, In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 is a worthwhile addition to a rock music fan's collection.

In Time: the Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003
Disc 1
1. Man on the Moon
2. The 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. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
13. Stand
14. Electrolite
15. All the Right Friends
16. Everybody Hurts
17. At My Most Beautiful
18. Nightswimming


DISC 2
1. Pop Song '89
Acoustic B-Side of Pop Song '89
2. Turn You Inside-Out (From Tourfilm)
3. Fretless (From Until the End of the World soundtrack)
4. Chance
Dub / B-Side from Everybody Hurts
5. It's a Free World Baby (From Coneheads soundtrack)
6. Drive
from Live Greenpeace
7. Star Me Kitten (Feat. William Burroughs; from X-Files)
8. Revolution (From Batman and Robin soundtrack)
9. Leave (From A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack)
10. Why Not Smile
Oxford American Version
11. The Lifting
Demo Version B-Side from Imitation of Life
12. Beat a Drum
Demo Version B-Side from Imitation of Life
13. 2JN
B-Side from Imitation of Life
14. The One I Love
Live from the Museum of Television and Radio
15. Country Feedback
Live from Wiesbaden, Germany, 2003