Best of REM 1988-2003 is absolutely atrocious

[LemonMelon]

People make fun of U2's 1990-2000 best of, but this album is just bad. I never hear this collection talked about, so I would just like to list a few of my nerdy complaints and corrections.

First off, what is this collection supposed to be, exactly? I can't tell whether it's supposed to be a greatest hits or a collection of really good REM songs that not too many have been exposed to, or some poor combination of the two. Ideally, a compilation is a collection of recognizable tunes by an artist to attract casual fans.

Strike one: there are two new songs here. This generally bothers me, but it's even worse when many great hits are omitted because of them.

Strike two: using All The Way To Reno, which never even made a dent commercially. Again, not a problem in and of itself, but when actual hits are omitted, it's WTF-worthy.

Strike three (and this will stir things up): using both Nightswimming and Electrolite, even though they're essentially the same song. Plus, it only charted at #96. Not exactly a smash single.

Now, on to the omissions. One song from Monster? One song from Out Of Time? Both songs from Up are ballads, which means it's incorrectly represented. I would propose the track listing look like this:

1. Drive
2. Losing My Religion
3. What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
4. Stand
5. Shiny Happy People
6. Man On The Moon
7. Bittersweet Me
8. Orange Crush
9. Strange Currencies
10. Everybody Hurts
11. Daysleeper
12. Imitation Of Life
13. The Great Beyond
14. Country Feedback
15. E-Bow The Letter
16. Bang And Blame
17. Lotus
18. Nightswimming

The flow isn't that great, but the song choices are all good, IMO.

 

[cobl04]

I have it. Haven't given it many burls though. What's the Frequency Kenneth annoys the absolute shit out of me.

 

[Salome]

i have it and i enjoy listening to it at times when i just want to listen to some random REM songs

I have to admit though that i indeed have no idea what the aim was with this collection of songs

U218 on the other hand is pretty straightforward like that
like to listen to that one at times too

 

[Axver]

I have it. Haven't given it many burls though. What's the Frequency Kenneth annoys the absolute shit out of me.

What's The Frequency is one of REM's very best songs.

 

[djerdap]

What's the Frequency is one of REM's most annoying songs.

And yes, that Best of is awful.

 

[Zoots]

New songs don't belong in any Greatest Hits or Best Of compilation! How can the song be a great hit if it's brand spankin new??? Is this so hard to comprehend? It's nothing but a sales tactic to tempt casual fans as well as hardcore fans to spend their money yet again!

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

What's The Frequency is one of REM's very best songs.

I think Monster as a whole is a pretty underappreciated REM album. I think it's far better than anything they've done on their last few albums. I feel like New Adventures in Hi-Fi was the last very good REM album.

Trying to lump that much of REM's history together onto one compilation isn't a good idea. It would be like trying to put songs from Rattle and Hum on the same compilation as...oh wait, there's U218. But since most of us think that was a bad idea, too, I guess maybe it supports my point.

Of the songs on it, really only The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite sticks out to me as glaringly wrong. And if you're only going to include one pre-1990 song, why not just make it 1990-2003?

 

[SeattleVertigo]

I can't get worked up about greatest hit albums. If I want to make a greatest hits collection just the way I like it, it's so easy to whip up a good playlist.

For that reason, R.E.M. 1988-2003 is basically irrelevant to me except for the fact that it does have those 2 new songs.

 

[Tiger Edge]

What's The Frequency is one of REM's very best songs.

I agree with Axver!

What's The Frequency, Kenneth gives me the urge to beat Dan Rather.

 

[LemonMelon]

I loooove Frequency. It's great, as is much of Monster. Talk about underrated.

 

[Popmartijn]

And if you're only going to include one pre-1990 song, why not just make it 1990-2003?

Luckily, they included 2 pre-1990 songs (Orange Crush and Stand).

I like the compilation as it is. An introduction to the first 15 years of the Warner Brothers phase.

 

[powerhour24]

It's an OK compilation, but there's really no way you can condense R.E.M.'s catalogs into two best ofs, many of their best tracks obviously haven't been heard of by 99% of the population, but even their hits would be hard to put together.

My recommendation is to own their entire catalog

 

[powerhour24]

Oh and What's The Frequency, Kenneth is an amazing song...how the hell do you find it annoying?

 

[babyman]

There's no discussion about this compilation. I find it great that they have reminded songs like E bow the letter, bang and blame, currencies or kenneth. Good songs, they made a fine list. And it's also good because it's a not predictable one

 

[LemonMelon]

There's no discussion about this compilation. I find it great that they have reminded songs like E bow the letter, bang and blame, currencies or kenneth. Good songs, they made a fine list. And it's also good because it's a not predictable one

Hey, that's my version of the compilation you're talking about!

 

[Cute Irish Bono]

I really like it, I just wish they had a REM collection of all their hits from all the years. Great collection but they didn't include "It's the End of the World as We Know it," because it was prior to 1988.

 

[The Sad Punk]

I don't understand why it doesn't include their entire history. Their best stuff was before 1988, IMO.

 

[namkcuR]

You guys realize that they released a best of compilation for their earlier years last year, right?

It's called 'And I Feel Fine....The Best Of The I.R.S. Years 1982-1987'.

 

[last unicorn]

You guys realize that they released a best of compilation for their earlier years last year, right?

It's called 'And I Feel Fine....The Best Of The I.R.S. Years 1982-1987'.

I have both compilations. I like them, although I must admit as well that there are clearly some songs missing from the second one.

 

[babyman]

Hey, that's my version of the compilation you're talking about!

 

[intedomine]

The compilation did the job commercially, but yeah it is lacking (not as much as U2:90-00 though).

Animal and Bad Day are good tunes.

Reno should be on there.....ripper of a tune.

But not Nightswimming, Country Feedback.

Kenneth is arguably REM's best song post-Out Of Time.

 

[Popmartijn]

I don't understand why it doesn't include their entire history. Their best stuff was before 1988, IMO.

R.E.M. signed to another label (Warner Brothers) in 1988. Hence this compilation starting in 1988 and the other one (the I.R.S. years one) covering the period 1982-1987.

 

[cobl04]

Oh and What's The Frequency, Kenneth is an amazing song...how the hell do you find it annoying?

The vocal... combined with that bloody ringing guitar... Horrible.

 

[Axver]

Oh, come now, What's The Frequency has some of the best sounding guitar in any REM song. I find it very addictive.

 

[Mauwer]

I also think that Kenneth is one of the best tunes.
That reversed guitar solo is just

Cheers ,

Mauwer

p.s. I just to listen alot to Monster , one of their best albums.
Circus Envy and You are really underated.

 

[The Sad Punk]

R.E.M. signed to another label (Warner Brothers) in 1988. Hence this compilation starting in 1988 and the other one (the I.R.S. years one) covering the period 1982-1987.

Oh, whoops, I forgot about that. I think I even have the IRS Years hanging about somewhere.

 

[Zoots]

The vocal... combined with that bloody ringing guitar... Horrible.

The vocal?????? Stipe is only one of the greatest vocalists ever! And that guitar is, like Axver said, dizzyingly addictive! I love Monster! It may even be in my Top 3 REM albums. To each their own I guess.

 

[lazarus]

Though I loved both Automatic and Out of Time, when I first heard the opening of Kenneth on the radio when they debuted the single, I was overcome with joy (and relief). That song, that album, and that tour kicked some serious ass.

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

'Reno' was a hit single outside of the US. Top 20 (?) in the UK, and top 30 in Australia... It's a top song and deserves to be there. I'm more annoyed by the lack of 'Lotus'... but oh well.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Lotus makes me want to cut off my ears. Its video makes me want to pull my eyes out with toothpicks.

I think the newer (older) compilation covered the IRS years pretty well. No complaints as it was the best possible way to represent R.E.M.'s wide range of groundbreaking recordings, even if it wasn't the exact Top 21. Although it's kind of annoying not having "Harborcoat" (my absolute favorite).

Because it says "Best Of", I'm not going to go digging through chart history for hits. Let's just try to figure out what a damn R.E.M. compilation of the era SHOULD look like. Honestly, the real problem is that any single cd-set of this era will fall short because there's far too much to cherry pick from.

Let's start with Green. That album's cool for about a second. If you hadn't hear the IRS stuff, it'd seem like a forty minute life changing epiphany, but instead it feels like watered down versions of what they'd already done. "Stand" is practically "Shiny Happy People" territory...I even think the latter is less corny, but neither certainly deserves to be here. "Orange Crush" is a concert staple, a historical piece from right around the time Alternative stations started popping up everywhere in the US, etc.....I don't even know if it's a Top 50 R.E.M. track, but it certainly warrants inclusion. I'd almost desire for "World Leader Pretend" to be included (mostly because it would make Green useless), but there's just not enough space.

Out Of Time was pretty overrated at the time and underrated now. "Losing My Religion" is a no-brainer even if overkill has lessened it's impact by about, I dunno, 100%? "Me In Honey" is pretty class, so are a few others, but "Country Feedback" is a damn standout that should have been relegated to the following album where it would've fit in much better (And made the purchase of this one less enticing)...

The next record is one of six undisputed masterpieces from this band and the only one on Warner Bros. You could chuck any four tracks from it onto a disc and they'd be stronger than the other selections, but I think Mike got it right.

Except, he needed to add "Drive"...what? Five choices from a single album in a compilation that's supposed to span seven? Remember that this is a BEST OF.

Monster is everyone's favorite R.E.M. album when they're like ten. Then it's the worst when your emotions develop beyond warm feelings for Mac and Cheese. "Kenneth" can't be ignored along with "I Don't Sleep, I Dream"...the latter could have been slightly rearranged, chucked on New Adventures and it would receive much more love.

New Adventures was the last gasp of breath the band had before they died in the desert that it took place in. I'd go with "How The West Was Won", "Bittersweet Me", "Undertow" and "Electrolite"....loves me some Patti Smith, but "E-Bow" isn't as great as it's said to be. Don't get me wrong, flawless track, but not of the upper echelon of classics from this era. And there's many, even if most of the albums suffer from filler.

Except there's not too many on Up....you'd think a band capable of "Daysleeper" or the shameless Brian Wilson rip that is "At My Most Beautiful" would be also capable of creating an album that doesn't put me in a coma fifteen minutes in.

And the one after was nearly as boring, but also featured two fine singles. You know what they are.



1. Orange Crush
2. Losing My Religion
3. Everybody Hurts
4. Drive
5. What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
6. Imitation Of Life
7. At My Most Beautiful
8. How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us
9. Bittersweet Me
10. Undertow
11. Electrolite
12. I Don't Sleep, I Dream
13. The Great Beyond
14. Man On The Moon
15. Daysleeper
16. All The Way To Reno
17. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
18. Country Feedback
19. Nightswimming