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Editorial Reviews
The album is a 40-song career-spanning retrospective that collects, for the first time ever, songs from R.E.M.'s entire back catalog, including the pioneering American band's years on both the IRS label (1982 to 1987) and Warner Bros. Records (1988 to 2011). In addition to liner notes written by band members Berry, Buck, Mills, and Stipe, the album also features three new songs that R.E.M. finished after they completed their last album, Collapse Into Now: "A Month of Saturdays," "We All Go Back To Where We Belong," and "Hallelujah," which were recorded over the summer in Athens with Accelerate and Collapse Into Now producer, the estimable Jacknife Lee.
R.E.M. formed in 1980 when singer Michael Stipe met guitarist Peter Buck in an Athens, GA, record store where Buck worked. After recruiting bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry, R.E.M. released its first single, "Radio Free Europe," in 1981, followed by 1982's Chronic Town EP, capturing the imagination of a new generation of music lovers and bringing "guitar pop back into the underground lexicon," as All-Music put it. Widely credited with inventing the college-rock genre, R.E.M. became the most influential American alternative rock band in history -- inspiring such artists as Sonic Youth, Pavement, Nirvana, and Radiohead -- for achieving multi-platinum mainstream success while maintaining their distinct identity.
R.E.M. formed in 1980 when singer Michael Stipe met guitarist Peter Buck in an Athens, GA, record store where Buck worked. After recruiting bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry, R.E.M. released its first single, "Radio Free Europe," in 1981, followed by 1982's Chronic Town EP, capturing the imagination of a new generation of music lovers and bringing "guitar pop back into the underground lexicon," as All-Music put it. Widely credited with inventing the college-rock genre, R.E.M. became the most influential American alternative rock band in history -- inspiring such artists as Sonic Youth, Pavement, Nirvana, and Radiohead -- for achieving multi-platinum mainstream success while maintaining their distinct identity.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
143 of 158 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
After reviewing R.E.M's final original album of new music "Collapse Into Now" back in March of 2011 (4 stars, by the way), I put the album away and didn't think much about it. After all, the indie rockers who put the tiny town of Athens, Georgia on the map have been rocking for over thirty years, so I figured they were just going through a lull with this odd misstep.
It was their sudden and quiet announcement of their disbanding on their band's website only five months later simply blew me away, and I was suddenly reminded that here was one of the last bands from that era to be still playing continuously (and almost virtually intact) all that time despite the drag of time, surviving many of their pioneers and many of their peers, from Television to the Talking Heads to the Velvet Underground - even the record label they first signed up with, I.R.S Records, folded some fifteen years ago!
My impressions of the band during that time have varied from the great (1988's "Green" will forever be my indie "Gone with The Wind," as I played it to death when I first got it and made me re-think a great many things in my life) to the just plain blah (and let's face it, 2004's "Around The Sun" almost choked them out, they admitted that much), but they have always been one thing to even the most nominal of listeners: they were a band of musicians who provoked you to think thoughts bigger than the average band and made the travelogue of life worth taking just one more step, even though it has been - at least for me sometimes - through some pretty dangerous waters.
This album is their last letter of remembrances, a plea for you to remember memories lost, and to leave some things that are best left there behind you.
R.E.M. may never have been the screaming angst of Nirvana or the entirely swallowed bottle of sleeping pills at end of the party of the Violent Femmes, but they were an original, and they sang their songs out of the inspiration to invite you into their odd slice of the world, from observances ranging from wanting to pee during a long drive to the fantasy world of Andy Kaufman's mind, and from wanting you to look at the world as not just yours but as we are all together, part of a much bigger collective that we can all share together if we are responsible enough to vote, to think green before it was ever ever ever popular, and to care for the animals and most of all, to sing and dance really fast and really crazy as the end of the world approached.
The band personally selected the songs from 15 albums over 30 years of music, and instead of just putting up the hits (that you can quickly reference on their wonderful "In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003" compilation album), they really went all out to give you some really enjoyable moments from their history that they liked, not just because they were popular. Three new songs are included: "Hallelujah," "A Month of Saturdays" and "We All Go Back to Where We Belong," as they were recorded after their final album release.
Where did they get the title from, you may ask? It came from a quote by Peter Buck in 1988, "R.E.M is part lies, part heart, part truth and part garbage."
There are 40 really great selections of songs on the general release (and if you buy it at the iTunes Store, you get a third disc of 11 bonus music videos). Here's the track list and which album they came from:
Disc 1
01 "Gardening at Night" - 3:29 (from Chronic Town, 1982)
02 "Radio Free Europe" - 4:06 (from Murmur, 1983)
03 "Talk About the Passion" - 3:23 (from Murmur)
04 "Sitting Still" - 3:17 (from Murmur)
05 "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" - 3:15 (from Reckoning, 1984)
06 "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" (Edit) - 3:55 (from Reckoning)
07 "Driver 8" - 3:23 (from Fables of the Reconstruction, 1985)
08 "Life and How to Live It" - 4:06 (from Fables of the Reconstruction)
09 "Begin the Begin" - 3:28 (from Life's Rich Pageant, 1986)
10 "Fall on Me" - 2:50 (from Life's Rich Pageant)
11 "Finest Worksong" - 3:48 (from Document, 1987)
12 "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" - 4:05 (from Document)
13 "The One I Love" - 3:17 (from Document)
14 "Stand" - 3:10 (from Green, 1988)
15 "Pop Song 89" - 3:04 (from Green)
16 "Get Up" - 2:39 (from Green)
17 "Orange Crush" - 3:51 (from Green)
18 "Losing My Religion" - 4:26 (from Out of Time, 1991)
19 "Country Feedback" - 4:07 (from Out of Time)
20 "Shiny Happy People" - 3:44 (from Out of Time)
Disc 2
01 "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" - 4:06 (from Automatic for the People, 1992)
02 "Everybody Hurts" - 5:17 (from Automatic for the People)
03 "Man on the Moon" - 5:13 (from Automatic for the People)
04 "Nightswimming" - 4:16 (from Automatic for the People)
05 "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" - 4:00 (from Monster, 1994)
06 "New Test Leper" - 5:26 (from New Adventures in Hi-Fi, 1996)
07 "Electrolite" - 4:05 (from New Adventures in Hi-Fi)
08 "At My Most Beautiful" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:35 (from Up, 1998)
09 "The Great Beyond" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 5:06 (from Man on the Moon, 1999)
10 "Imitation of Life" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:57 (from Reveal, 2001)
11 "Bad Day" - 4:05 (from In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003, 2003)
12 "Leaving New York" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 4:49 (from Around the Sun, 2004)
13 "Living Well Is the Best Revenge" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:11 (from Accelerate, 2008)
14 "Supernatural Superserious" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:23 (from Accelerate)
15 "Überlin" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 4:15 (from Collapse into Now, 2011)
16 "Oh My Heart" (Buck, Mills, Stipe, Scott McCaughey) - 3:21 (from Collapse into Now)
17 "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 2:45 (from Collapse into Now)
18 "A Month of Saturdays" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 1:40
19 "We All Go Back to Where We Belong" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:35
20 "Hallelujah" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:42
So with that in mind, considering that this might just be the last time we hear from the band who influenced a great many things in pop culture for over three decades, I have to give this final release by them five amazing stars.
After their long-time contractual obligations to Warner Bros. ended, they closed the door and never looked back, as they secretly knew this was it, and what we have here is the last remnant of what they consider some of their finest moments in their entire history. Oddly enough, "A Month Of Saturdays" talks about the work week being done, as Michael Stipe's forever droning vocals ask, "I want a month of Saturdays, gimme a weekend, weekend, weekend..."
After thirty years and a catalog of music 10 indie bands would be jealous of, they deserve to find their quiet moments and peace. This is a wonderful compilation that shines like diamonds. I'm not sure how they all feel about whether they succeeded in getting their message out to the world, but here's one fan who appreciated what they did, and I'll admit they influenced me in a small, subtle way that made me - possibly - the better person for listening to their message so many years ago.
I'm sorry if this sounds like a bit of a love letter instead of a review, but you know what? It might just be as we know it, and I feel just fine about that.
(Thanks for reading, and please leave a comment - or a vote - whether you liked it or not!)
It was their sudden and quiet announcement of their disbanding on their band's website only five months later simply blew me away, and I was suddenly reminded that here was one of the last bands from that era to be still playing continuously (and almost virtually intact) all that time despite the drag of time, surviving many of their pioneers and many of their peers, from Television to the Talking Heads to the Velvet Underground - even the record label they first signed up with, I.R.S Records, folded some fifteen years ago!
My impressions of the band during that time have varied from the great (1988's "Green" will forever be my indie "Gone with The Wind," as I played it to death when I first got it and made me re-think a great many things in my life) to the just plain blah (and let's face it, 2004's "Around The Sun" almost choked them out, they admitted that much), but they have always been one thing to even the most nominal of listeners: they were a band of musicians who provoked you to think thoughts bigger than the average band and made the travelogue of life worth taking just one more step, even though it has been - at least for me sometimes - through some pretty dangerous waters.
This album is their last letter of remembrances, a plea for you to remember memories lost, and to leave some things that are best left there behind you.
R.E.M. may never have been the screaming angst of Nirvana or the entirely swallowed bottle of sleeping pills at end of the party of the Violent Femmes, but they were an original, and they sang their songs out of the inspiration to invite you into their odd slice of the world, from observances ranging from wanting to pee during a long drive to the fantasy world of Andy Kaufman's mind, and from wanting you to look at the world as not just yours but as we are all together, part of a much bigger collective that we can all share together if we are responsible enough to vote, to think green before it was ever ever ever popular, and to care for the animals and most of all, to sing and dance really fast and really crazy as the end of the world approached.
The band personally selected the songs from 15 albums over 30 years of music, and instead of just putting up the hits (that you can quickly reference on their wonderful "In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003" compilation album), they really went all out to give you some really enjoyable moments from their history that they liked, not just because they were popular. Three new songs are included: "Hallelujah," "A Month of Saturdays" and "We All Go Back to Where We Belong," as they were recorded after their final album release.
Where did they get the title from, you may ask? It came from a quote by Peter Buck in 1988, "R.E.M is part lies, part heart, part truth and part garbage."
There are 40 really great selections of songs on the general release (and if you buy it at the iTunes Store, you get a third disc of 11 bonus music videos). Here's the track list and which album they came from:
Disc 1
01 "Gardening at Night" - 3:29 (from Chronic Town, 1982)
02 "Radio Free Europe" - 4:06 (from Murmur, 1983)
03 "Talk About the Passion" - 3:23 (from Murmur)
04 "Sitting Still" - 3:17 (from Murmur)
05 "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" - 3:15 (from Reckoning, 1984)
06 "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" (Edit) - 3:55 (from Reckoning)
07 "Driver 8" - 3:23 (from Fables of the Reconstruction, 1985)
08 "Life and How to Live It" - 4:06 (from Fables of the Reconstruction)
09 "Begin the Begin" - 3:28 (from Life's Rich Pageant, 1986)
10 "Fall on Me" - 2:50 (from Life's Rich Pageant)
11 "Finest Worksong" - 3:48 (from Document, 1987)
12 "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" - 4:05 (from Document)
13 "The One I Love" - 3:17 (from Document)
14 "Stand" - 3:10 (from Green, 1988)
15 "Pop Song 89" - 3:04 (from Green)
16 "Get Up" - 2:39 (from Green)
17 "Orange Crush" - 3:51 (from Green)
18 "Losing My Religion" - 4:26 (from Out of Time, 1991)
19 "Country Feedback" - 4:07 (from Out of Time)
20 "Shiny Happy People" - 3:44 (from Out of Time)
Disc 2
01 "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" - 4:06 (from Automatic for the People, 1992)
02 "Everybody Hurts" - 5:17 (from Automatic for the People)
03 "Man on the Moon" - 5:13 (from Automatic for the People)
04 "Nightswimming" - 4:16 (from Automatic for the People)
05 "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" - 4:00 (from Monster, 1994)
06 "New Test Leper" - 5:26 (from New Adventures in Hi-Fi, 1996)
07 "Electrolite" - 4:05 (from New Adventures in Hi-Fi)
08 "At My Most Beautiful" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:35 (from Up, 1998)
09 "The Great Beyond" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 5:06 (from Man on the Moon, 1999)
10 "Imitation of Life" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:57 (from Reveal, 2001)
11 "Bad Day" - 4:05 (from In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003, 2003)
12 "Leaving New York" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 4:49 (from Around the Sun, 2004)
13 "Living Well Is the Best Revenge" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:11 (from Accelerate, 2008)
14 "Supernatural Superserious" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:23 (from Accelerate)
15 "Überlin" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 4:15 (from Collapse into Now, 2011)
16 "Oh My Heart" (Buck, Mills, Stipe, Scott McCaughey) - 3:21 (from Collapse into Now)
17 "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 2:45 (from Collapse into Now)
18 "A Month of Saturdays" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 1:40
19 "We All Go Back to Where We Belong" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:35
20 "Hallelujah" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) - 3:42
So with that in mind, considering that this might just be the last time we hear from the band who influenced a great many things in pop culture for over three decades, I have to give this final release by them five amazing stars.
After their long-time contractual obligations to Warner Bros. ended, they closed the door and never looked back, as they secretly knew this was it, and what we have here is the last remnant of what they consider some of their finest moments in their entire history. Oddly enough, "A Month Of Saturdays" talks about the work week being done, as Michael Stipe's forever droning vocals ask, "I want a month of Saturdays, gimme a weekend, weekend, weekend..."
After thirty years and a catalog of music 10 indie bands would be jealous of, they deserve to find their quiet moments and peace. This is a wonderful compilation that shines like diamonds. I'm not sure how they all feel about whether they succeeded in getting their message out to the world, but here's one fan who appreciated what they did, and I'll admit they influenced me in a small, subtle way that made me - possibly - the better person for listening to their message so many years ago.
I'm sorry if this sounds like a bit of a love letter instead of a review, but you know what? It might just be as we know it, and I feel just fine about that.
(Thanks for reading, and please leave a comment - or a vote - whether you liked it or not!)
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Releasing a 40 track hits collection as holiday shopping kicks off, and weeks after their split was a good idea. It would have been an even better idea had they not dropped two other 2-disc collections in the past 8 years. Still, this would be the "career-spanning" package.
Now with a band like REM, there's a quantity of quality songs. They were around a long time. So even at 40 songs this is bound to be missing a few favorites. However I suppose all the "greatest hits" are included. The first third of the collection is basically what the old Eponymous collection was, a track or two swapped. The bulk of the songs up to "Bad Day" could be found on their 2003 In Time best of. It's the final nine songs here that are being collected for the first time.
There's a number of songs I wish were included here, and in my opinion a few that aren't worthy. I'd drop "Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "New Test Leper" and "Life And How To Live It". I'd add "Drive", "Bang And Blame", "E-Bow The Letter" and "Daysleeper" if I could. Toss on "Wolves, Lower" or "Carnival Of Sorts (box cars)" too.
Overall it's a good sampling of their work. However if you've got "Best Of The IRS Years" and "In Time", you may not need this.
Now with a band like REM, there's a quantity of quality songs. They were around a long time. So even at 40 songs this is bound to be missing a few favorites. However I suppose all the "greatest hits" are included. The first third of the collection is basically what the old Eponymous collection was, a track or two swapped. The bulk of the songs up to "Bad Day" could be found on their 2003 In Time best of. It's the final nine songs here that are being collected for the first time.
There's a number of songs I wish were included here, and in my opinion a few that aren't worthy. I'd drop "Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "New Test Leper" and "Life And How To Live It". I'd add "Drive", "Bang And Blame", "E-Bow The Letter" and "Daysleeper" if I could. Toss on "Wolves, Lower" or "Carnival Of Sorts (box cars)" too.
Overall it's a good sampling of their work. However if you've got "Best Of The IRS Years" and "In Time", you may not need this.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I already see the complaints coming. Why a career spanning greatest hits on the heals of 2 greatest hits sets that already do that much? Well, this set really isn't meant so much for those that are already R.E.M. fans... Heck, you probably own all the albums already anyway and could assemble your perfect playlist onto your MP3 player or a CD if you wanted to.
This is the type of set that should appeal to the novice listener. Maybe you discovered R.E.M. thanks to Collapse Into Now, and you don't know where to go from there. Well, this is a good place to go. Granted you could buy both of the previous greatest hits collections, and those are especially worthwhile if you are going to look for the early stuff or latter stuff. But as many will point out, R.E.M. were not so much a hits band as a great band altogether. I'd say the novice fan would be better to concentrate his efforts on this collection and then move onto an album that encapsulates what you like most from this collection. This may be the type of set that directs you to start at Murmur or maybe you go to Automatic for the People next. This collection is one reasonably priced package that will be really good for the new fans.
For current fans. The new tracks may be better obtained by buying the mp3's. If you are more of a lossless or CD listener, I still don't think the price of the collection is horrible, even if you are only getting 3 songs (at least from Amazon). Last, given the upcoming holiday season, this may be the chance to turn someone onto this band and let them discover the joy R.E.M. has given you over the years.
This is the type of set that should appeal to the novice listener. Maybe you discovered R.E.M. thanks to Collapse Into Now, and you don't know where to go from there. Well, this is a good place to go. Granted you could buy both of the previous greatest hits collections, and those are especially worthwhile if you are going to look for the early stuff or latter stuff. But as many will point out, R.E.M. were not so much a hits band as a great band altogether. I'd say the novice fan would be better to concentrate his efforts on this collection and then move onto an album that encapsulates what you like most from this collection. This may be the type of set that directs you to start at Murmur or maybe you go to Automatic for the People next. This collection is one reasonably priced package that will be really good for the new fans.
For current fans. The new tracks may be better obtained by buying the mp3's. If you are more of a lossless or CD listener, I still don't think the price of the collection is horrible, even if you are only getting 3 songs (at least from Amazon). Last, given the upcoming holiday season, this may be the chance to turn someone onto this band and let them discover the joy R.E.M. has given you over the years.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
REM - THE BEST
I LOVE R.E.M. AND THIS COMPILATION ARE TEH BEST.Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982 - 2011
Published 3 months ago by Jose Marcos Paulino
BLAH!
Really i was happy they finally broke up!AND THIS JUST REMINDED ME WHY I NEVER REALLY LIKED THEIR CONTRIVED POST PUNK POP MUSIC IN THE FIRST PLACE!
Published 4 months ago by donnie
Great Album
I like R.E.M. and this is a good album but I would have added more tracks to it. They have some good songs and their most popular songs are on this album but it's short a few of... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Robert Calhoun
A great R.E.M compilation
The latest compilation from R.E.M features songs from 1982 till 1911.These are some of the best songs and this compilation is highly recorded.
Published 4 months ago by Rohit R
New Fan
I don't own any other CD's by REM but I bought this on a whim after hearing that the group was parting ways. Read more
Published 4 months ago by C. Scogna
GREAT CD!!!
This R.E.M.CD IS AWESOME!!! There are 40 songs on this 2 set CD. You couldn't get a better collection of great songs plus there is a couple newly released songs. Read more
Published 4 months ago by shootingstar05
Serious Glitches on Disc 1
The copy of this disc that 1 received had 2 serious glitches on cd #1. Track 2 and track 10 both have similar problems. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ogg Oggelby
REM part lies part truth part garbage
driving along and heard they were not going to be a group anymore. I had not bought anything of theres up to this point. great set of music and new stuff to boot!
Published 4 months ago by sanddollar
Excellent
I've been waiting for years for R.E.M. to have a CD with all their hits. It finally came and I listen to it all the time. I also bought one for my sister.
Published 5 months ago by Remmy
Too much missing
Crush with Eyeliner, Star 69, Strange Currencies, Daysleeper, Drive, Lotus, Bang and Blame, and E-Bow the Letter all mising. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Rich M
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