There is nothing, and I do mean nothing, that causes as much uproar and debate among hardcore fans of any specific band as when said band decides to release a "greatest hits" or a "best of." Ultimately, songs are left off, others are put on, and quite frankly, the band can't please everyone. About as close an artist has come to releasing a perfect greatest hits set is Tom Petty (just out of curiosity, is there anyone who DOESN'T own that album?).

So that brings us to R.E.M., the Atlanta Georgia band that almost singlehandedly made "alternative" cool. In their first few years, they were signed to the now defunct I.R.S. records (home also to bands like The English Beat and Fine Young Cannibals). If you are looking for some of the very well known R.E.M. songs that are not on the compilation I am reviewing (i.e.: End of the World and The One I Love), you may want to check out Eponymous, or even better, the entire R.E.M. IRS back catalog.

In 1988, the band signed with Warner Brothers, and this compilation, titled In Time: The Best Of R.E.M. 1988-2003, is designed to bring the best of the band's WB years into a single disc: a formidable, not to mention damn near impossible, task. So here is an album by album breakdown of what made the cut, and what might have been included on someone else's version of this disc (please note that the album is not in chronological order, but that this was the easiest way to review the album).

GREEN (1988)

Two songs from the band's Warner debut made the cut for this disc. Stand is a jangly, fun pop song that seems to either make you smile, or make you really f*cking angry at the world. I still remember being eight years old and dancing to this video, thinking it was the greatest thing. Orange Crush, meanwhile, was rather different from Stand. It still had a good hook and some nice harmony work, but it stood apart from Stand.

What's Missing?: Pop Song'89 was a big hit for the band, but I guess only so much can be fit on here.

OUT OF TIME (1991)

Only the band's monster breakthrough hit, Losing My Religion makes the cut here. Probably one of the greatest pop songs ever, it was in many ways, just the right song at the right time. Who knew?

What's Missing?: Shiny Happy People causes more violent reactions than even Stand, but it was a big hit. That being said, I can't say I especially miss it from this collection, but a few people might.

AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE (1992)

The band's biggest masterpiece, it's probably no surprise that this album gets four representatives. An album of lush melodies and gorgeous arrangements, Automatic was one of the best albums of the 90s. Everyone knows Everybody Hurts (deservedly so), but fewer seem to know the delicious piano ballad Nightswimming, and even fewer are probably familiar with the classic jangly sound of The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight. Not forgotten is the ultimate R.E.M. song, Man on the Moon, a bouncy pop song all about one Andy Kaufman.

What's Missing?: The lead track of Automatic, Drive, with it's wonderfully dry opening line ("Hey kids, rock and roll").

MONSTER (1994)

Just because I consider 'Automatic' to be R.E.M.'s finest moment doesn't mean it's my favorite disc by the band. That honor goes to Monster (even though Bang and Blame does suck the big one). However, R.E.M. seems to agree with the used bin critics, as only the fuzzy rocker What's The Frequency, Kenneth makes the cut. Then again, if they ever left this off, they probably would have had a riot on their hands.

What's Missing?: Well, Bang and Blame and Crush With Eyeliner both were modest hits at worst. And the ballad Strange Currencies was as well, although given it's similar sound to Everybody Hurts, I can see why it was left off. As for a best of, I've always loved the pure adrenalized rush that Star 69 gave off.

NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI (1996)

This "tales from the road" record is probably the last really good R.E.M. record to this date. Two songs from this make the cut, which is odd given it's soft sales in comparison to Monster. Electrolite is a nice mid-tempo number driven by lush strings and piano, with a good vocal performance from Michael Stipe. First single E-Bow The Letter meanwhile is a haunting ballad that features the backing vocals of one Patti Smith. Said song might be one of the few times you could say R.E.M. reached the peak songwriting status of 'Automatic' in the post 'Automatic' years.

What's Missing?: The rave up known as The Wake Up Bomb has long been one of my favorite R.E.M. songs, and it would have at least diversified the mostly slow offerings of this album.

UP (1998)

The beginning of the true sales decline, and yet, it still scores a pair of representatives on this disc. Of course, no one could really complain about Daysleeper, a song that was probably the most commercial song on the album. That being said, it's another ballad number, and you just kind of wish that anything with a bit of pace to it would come up. Also here is At My Most Beautiful, another piano song that leads flawlessly into the previously mentioned Nightswimming.

What's Missing?: It's hard to say anything is really "missing" when most people would say 2 songs from this album is more than enough. But again, Lotus would have been a nice change of pace.

REVEAL (2001)

Quite possibly the worst album of the band's career (sorry Cheese!), Reveal still gets two spots on this record. Imitation of Life is at least upbeat and peppy and poppy, which at the very least brings about a nice change of pace. And All The Way To Reno is a lush, lilting masterpiece. But that's really all this album had to offer anyways.

What's Missing?: Nothing.

SOUNDTRACK SONGS

The Great Beyond was written specifically for the Andy Kaufman movie Man on the Moon. I've always thought of this as one of R.E.M.'s better later era works, showing that Stipe could write an abstract song lyrically while the band was able to make that song sound like R.E.M. could still put out a decent pop song.

As for All the Right Friends (from the Vanilla Sky soundtrack), I had never actually heard it before. It was apparently written by the band in 1979 (!), played live until 1982, and then forgotten about until they needed a song for said soundtrack. Perhaps the recording of this song had an influence on the two brand new tracks that appear on this record.

TWO NEW SONGS

Ahhhhh, the obligatory "new songs" on a best of. The single, Bad Day originally started out as an early version of It's The End of the World As We Know It, and that's easily obvious upon the first listen. That being said, it has some biting political commentary and hopefully is a pre-cursor of what's to come on the next REM disc (more upbeat rock please!).

Animal is a bit more rocking, almost recalling the band's Monster period. It's not a bad song, but it's not all that memorable either, even if it is good to hear the band rocking out a bit more again.

For the casual R.E.M. fan, I'd call In Time essential. For the diehard, you can probably skip it and download the new songs (or buy the Bad Day single). For someone who has never heard the band, I'd say this is a great starting point.

Please note that there is also a 2 disc version available, with the second disc being made up of live, acoustic and rare songs. Said disc includes live versions of some the band's pre WB hits.



Recommended: Yes