The Athens, Georgia based alternative rock band R.E.M. may well be my all-time favorite American rock band, based not only on their better efforts but also on the breadth of their quality work over three decades. In the early nineties they temporarily emulated the Beatles' late sixties withdrawal from giving concerts when they produced their two greatest albums: OUT OF TIME, from 1991 is one of these and is #21 on my all-time favorite album list. The release of the single Losing My Religion preceded that of the album...the song on their video seems to signify someone's loss of religious faith, but according to lyricist/lead singer Michael Stipe, the expression in the title simply refers to a state of extreme frustration and the rest of the song's lyrics support his claim. It wasn't my favorite song from the album by far, but the opening line has resonated with me over the years: "Oh, life is bigger, it's bigger than you and you are not me". My sister Anita sent me the album in the mid-nineties, when I first heard it in its entirety. Her favorite track was Belong, and it's one of mine as well. But my supreme favorites are the wistful, sad Half a World Away and the mainly instrumental Endgame...lots of great orchestration here with beautiful strings accompaniment. There are a couple of really "down" songs on the album that I've taken to as well: Low and Country Feedback. Kate Pierson, singer of another Athens alternative band, the B-52s, sang on Shiny Happy People and Me in Honey. The former is another singles release whose title was translated literally to a buoyant, bouncy video, but Stipe's real meaning was to satirize Chinese government propaganda that portrayed its people always having a rip-roaring good time under their perfect system. Out of Time opens with a lament for the state of radio (I concur) with a sizeable contribution from rapper KRS-One...not normally a fan of rap/hip hop, I often like it when combined with rock in a song. The remaining tracks from Out of Time, Near Wild Heaven and Texarkana, while likeable and listenable, just didn't click with me...as didn't the closing song Me in Honey. But Out of Time is a brilliant work, and Stipe, lead guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry have a lot to be proud of with it. By the way, the theme of the world collapsing was addressed in a couple of tracks...it eventually led to the band's final album Collapse into Now from 2010...
Next week I'll reveal and discuss my #20 all-time favorite album...
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