Customer Reviews

Singles Collected

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thought R.E.M. was all about Losing My Religion and Everybody Hurts? Think again. Years before they became the biggest rock band in the world, R.E.M. were busy making some of the finest indie rock tunes around. This compilation gives you a pretty good idea of what pre-Green R.E.M. were all about, although I miss masterpieces such as Perfect Circle off Murmur and lots of stuff from one of their in my opinion best albums, Life's Rich Pageant. There isn't a bad song in this bunch of masterfully crafted tunes and die-hard R.E.M. fans will probably want to get this for the sake of the wonderful B sides. Mike Mills tongue-in-cheek take on The Clique's Superman is a true gem in the B side department, as well as the jangly version of Velvet Underground's classic There She Goes. As for the collection of singles, I have yet to comprehend why songs like So. Central Rain (in my opinion way better than Losing My Religion), Radio Free Europe, Fall On Me or The One I Love didn't take them to super stardom years before Losing My Religion and Shiny Happy People. This will, I guess, remain one of life's greatest unsolved mysteries. Anyway, if you want to get into R.E.M. this is a terrific place to start. You will, however, have no other choice than to go out and get their entire back catalogue after you've listened through this highly accomplished collection of songs. This CD will have you longing for more.

REM's Singles Collection provides a pretty good collection of REM material from their IRS days starting from early stuff such as radio free europe and south central rain to later material such as one i love and it's the end of the world as we know it.

It's great to hear their early material but too many of the songs are edits like rockville and can't get there from here. I wish they had put the full length songs on the album.

"Singles collected" is valuable collection of all irs company years hits along with precious rare b-sides.
The one i love","It's the end of the world","finest worksong" are all here along with less known songs like dark "Crazy",rocking "White tornado" or cheerfull "Bandwagoon".
great collection for everyone who wants to know the history of R.e.m.booklet notes are interesting too.

This R.E.M. "Singles Collected" CD is interesting, due to the fact that it contains the band's well-known pop radio hits, plus its more obscure tunes that many might not have heard before, such as the harmonic second song, "There She Goes," and the amazingly tuneful "So. Central Rain." Despite its long track listing, "Singles Collected" is a breezy album of three to four minute jangly pop classics from early-era R.E.M. There are tons of fun songs here, all of them great, all of them ultra-catchy. Also, the album has a very spontaneous feel, which is unique for a greatest hits-type record.

Surprises on this CD include the bluesy "King of the Road," which is prefaced by an instrumental. Another instrumental song that adds a jazzy element to the middle of the record is the short "Rotary Ten," followed two songs later by the upbeat instrumental "White Tornado," a song with inspired drumming and a frantic pace.

R.E.M. throw in some sporadically placed live tunes as well, and their talent and depth on stage clearly shines through, wheather they're rocking out or playing acoustically. Speaking of live songs, this perfect early-era R.E.M. collection is further enhanced by the last hidden track, the amazingly poignant "So. Central Rain," a tune made unbelievingly better when played quietly with a single acoustic guitar. The crowd seemed mesmerized by this performance -- you can tell.

R.E.M.'s chameleonlike ability to go from pure pop to blues to punk to country is uncanny, and this album features the band in all its diversified musical elements. Several of these tunes have a quaint country-western sound that is irresistable. In fact, R.E.M. seems just as influenced by country music as any other type of music, a somewhat surprising conclusion, given the band's status as alterna-rock heroes.

Several instrumentals, several live songs, classic radio tunes and obscure pop tunes all make this album a must-have for those who want to discover what early R.E.M. was all about.

If you liked the first 5 or 6 REM albums then this collection is for you. It has 10 singles released in Europe with all the b-sides to those singles. This is the unofficial official release of a greatest hits for the early years. Personally I would like to have the entire End of the World on this cd but if you own all the regular releases then it won't matter. This cd tends to be on the slightly overpriced side when you can find it in stores, as it is a import, but worth the few extra dollars to have all these great songs on one cd. 90/100

This CD is really kind of an Eponymous meets Dead Letter Office collection from IRS. Most of the greatest hits from the pre-Warner Bros. years are here.

This CD is worth the money just for the last track, labeled 'Time After Time, etc', but really an acoustic combination of 'Time After Time', 'So. Central Rain', and Peter Gabriels 'Red Rain' from So. The balance on the this live recording leaves something to be desired (ie, for maximum listening pleasure start with the volume way up then gradually turn it down), but it really is a heart-wrenching masterpiece. Wish I could have witnessed it!

One thing I didnt like was the substitution of radio edits for a couple of songs--half a verse is cut out of ItEotWaWKI, for example.

This is a collection that ranks up there with Eponymus. Forgive me for my spelling. This is vintage R.E.M.

So you want an R.E.M. Greatest Hits CD? The closest options available are this release, and their album "Eponymous" album. Both feature the band biggest hits while they were on the IRS record label. The main difference, in my opinion, is that "Eponymous" does not include the song, "Superman," and "Singles Collected" does not include "Driver 8." Both are great songs. I decided to purchase this "Singles Collected." Admittedly, I am just a casual R.E.M. fan, so the obscure B-sides in this collection don't really appeal to me (and their are plenty here). A few of the songs, including "Maps and Legents" and "Wendell Gee" were pleasant surprises. I'm glad that I have this CD, and whenever I get in the mood for older R.E.M., this satisfies me. Still, I'd recommend that people weigh this against "Eponymous" before purchasing.

I loved this album. My favorite thing about this album is alternative lyrics used in "Its the end of the World as We Now It".

For you REM fanatics out there this is a must own.

...although not necessarily a definitive one. "Singles" includes all of REM's singles from their days at I.R.S., most of which you will also find in the more carefully engineered "Eponymous." One can never get too many copies of "So. Central Rain," "Rockville," and "Radio Free Europe," or so the struggling label might have assumed.

However, the real selling feature for this collection is the fact that each single is paired with a non-album B-side track. Nowhere else will you find the superb cover of Pylon's "Crazy" or Velvet Underground's "There She Goes Again." The drunken hysterics on the "King of the Road" takeoff might embarass the band, but the result is a delightful mess. Sparing a few instrumentals of varying degrees of success (the surf-guitar "White Tornado" is quite interesting), the solid album gradually leads up to a sublime 9-minute live improvisation which begins with "Time After Time," slips into a few lines of "Red Rain," and suddenly launches into a slow, mesmerizing performance of "South Central Rain." A true REM fan will adore the accessibility of this collection. Others may be put off by its lack of studio polish and its experimental tendencies, but that is what REM is all about!