Customer Reviews

Best Of R.E.M.

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is clearly far better than the US Eponymous greatest hits. It is also more expansive. yet, while there are a number of great REM tunes, it just misses from being a five star affair.

First, it gives each album the same weight of consideration. Murmur and Document deserve more than three tracks each. Where are "Catapult", and "Disturbance at the Heron House"?

Second, the choices made are good, but odd. "Carnival of Sorts" is picked from the debut ep but no "Gardening At Night". "I Believe" is picked from Life's Rich Pageant but no "Superman" or "Begin the Begin". Where is "7 Chinese Bros." from Reckoning. There was room on this disc for four more numbers.

What this group needs is a remastered expanded best-of covering their IRS years. While this is the best choice, it could have been a little bit better!

Waht I really want is to give 5 stars for the music, and 2.5 stars for the sound quality of the CD.

It was great to listen to some of the REM songs from for their IRS label times, like "Fall on me" and "perfect circle"...I've been wanting to listen to some early REM for a long time, and this CD has a great collection put together just for that...
HOWEVER, whoever mixed this CD must've been on crack. it's FLAT! one of the worst sounding CD's I've ever heard. There are no up/dwon tonal passages, everything is at the SAME volume level, and almost NO BASS! When I 1st listened to it, I thought my stereo or speakers had a problem. Listening to the music via Winamp per PC with EQ adjusted, it's more tolerable, but the lack of low freq passages is still ridiculous. I'm sure the original album versions of these songs don't sound like this, but will be too much of a hassle to buy/find each and every one of them for a particular song...
All in all, the enjoyment of listening to the music still overweighs the dissapointing tonal quality of the CD.

Great music rarely comes in one's lifetime,as in great music that alters one's life forever.A certain kind of music that one could always go back to;as compensation,comfort,release.And I have always gone back to this classic,one of the greatest compilations in rock.

Here lies some of the most brilliant music ever created by four talented individuals who went against the fray & succeded.Each song is a testament in itself,an invaluable legacy to true craftsmanship.One of the best & most representative American groups of all time,& currently the best in rock,this is one that you'll latch on to forever.

While the more recent R.E.M. comp, "And I Feel Fine," suffers from booming, compressed, in-your-face sound, this relic from the early '90s is bad in a different way: the sound is trebly and bass-shy. Unfortunately, the best-sounding comp of IRS-era R.E.M. remains "Eponymous." I say unfortunately because it has only 12 songs and is missing a few tracks I love, most notably "Pretty Persuasion." Oh well.

Best of REM is a great collection of material when REM was with IRS records covering the really stuff like radio free europe to the time when they were becoming popular with songs like it's the end of the world. Best of REM is good for those seeking to better understand REM before signing with warner brothers.

living in Athens during the early 80'z was an ordinary time with the exception of the nights spent downtown. the familiar territory of the first two or three discs (chronic town, murmur, reckoning...)are those which feel the most like a "best of" and most mimic the feel of those days...the swirling voice of... catapult, pretty persuasion, gardening at night. listening to radio free europe on purloined headphones while enduring a state-sponsored vacation courtesy of Bibb County, GA. explanations to my girl that the words are not important and are you getting this....seeing stipe&co. with jason and the scorchers (fox, atlanta)...ten thousand maniacs (with Natalie in the fox again)...pylon (macon ga)...and many other times, with significantly less trappings (40 watt club did not have to explain its moniker...). what are 'best of'z' but one viewpoint allowed free rein...i beg to differ on the order of presentation-all of it is killer stuff and deserves a listen.

Since this CD is very difficult to get, I will have to wait nearly 9 months to receive it. I really wanted a collection of R.E.M.'s and thought this was it. If you don't mind the wait, it'll probably be worth it.

This is a 16 track CD release of the best of early on REM. It includes hits like 'Perfect Circle', 'Talk About The Passion', 'Fall On Me', and 'The one I Love'. This is specifically for the lovers of the early REM. There are some great songs and material here however the songs from the late 90's were the best for REM.

For the die hard REM fans.