R.E.M. – Out of Time [Vinyl LP]

R.E.M. – Out of Time [180g Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, 25th Anniversary Edition, Stereo
• Catalogue Number: CRELP086 / 0888072004405
• Barcode: 888072004405
• Genre: Alternative Rock / Pop Rock / Jangle Pop
• Label: Concord Music Group / Craft Recordings / Bicycle Records
• Originally Released: 12 March 1991
• Reissue Released: 2016
• Pressing: 180 Gram Vinyl
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Out of Time is the seventh studio album by R.E.M. — released on 12 March 1991 on Warner Bros. Records — and the record that completed the band's ascent from beloved American college rock act to one of the biggest groups in the world. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and number one on the UK Albums Chart simultaneously, remaining at the top of the US chart for five weeks, and went on to sell over four and a half million copies in the United States and over 18 million copies worldwide. At the 1992 Grammy Awards the album won Best Alternative Music Album, while lead single "Losing My Religion" swept two further Grammys — Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Short Form Music Video for its celebrated Michel Gondry-directed clip. It is one of the most decorated and commercially successful alternative rock albums ever made.

The album represented a significant departure from the guitar-driven sound of its predecessor Green (1988) and from the touring lifestyle the band had maintained for most of their career — R.E.M. declined to tour in support of Out of Time, a decision that was commercially risky and artistically deliberate. Produced by Scott Litt and Michael Stipe at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, John Keane Studios in Athens, Georgia and additional locations, it incorporated orchestral arrangements, guest vocalists and a broadened sonic palette that reflected the band's growing confidence and ambition. Kate Pierson of the B-52s guests on the euphoric "Shiny Happy People" and the more restrained "Me in Honey" (bringing her vocal chemistry with Stipe into a new context); KRS-One of Boogie Down Productions contributes a rap verse to the album's opener "Radio Song" — an unusual choice that signalled the band's interest in genre boundaries. "Near Wild Heaven" and "Texarkana" are led by Mike Mills on vocal, demonstrating an internal democracy that few rock bands of comparable commercial standing maintained.

The album's emotional heart lies in its quieter moments. "Half a World Away" — tender, melodically simple and quietly devastating — became one of the band's most enduring non-single tracks, familiar to British audiences as the long-running theme to the Channel 4 series The Office (UK). "Country Feedback" is widely regarded as one of Stipe's finest vocal performances and one of the band's most nakedly emotional recordings, reportedly improvised in the studio in a single take. "Low" is a slow, disorienting piece of dark pop that has attracted sustained critical attention across the decades. The closing "Me in Honey" — co-written by Mills and Stipe, featuring Pierson's voice woven through the arrangement — brings the album to an unexpectedly warm and intimate conclusion.

This 25th Anniversary Edition presents the album remastered from the original analog masters on 180 gram black vinyl, and includes a booklet with extensive liner notes featuring insight from all band members, as well as a digital download card. The catalogue number and barcode are identical on this pressing.

Tracklist

Time Side (Side A)

1. Radio Song
2. Losing My Religion
3. Low
4. Near Wild Heaven
5. Endgame

Memory Side (Side B)

1. Shiny Happy People
2. Belong
3. Half a World Away
4. Texarkana
5. Country Feedback
6. Me in Honey

Credits

• Michael Stipe – Vocals, Producer
• Peter Buck – Guitar
• Mike Mills – Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
• Bill Berry – Drums, Vocals
• Scott Litt – Producer
• Kate Pierson – Vocals (Shiny Happy People, Me in Honey)
• KRS-One – Rap Vocals (Radio Song)
• John Paul Jones – Mandolin (Near Wild Heaven)
• Label – Concord Music Group / Craft Recordings / Bicycle Records