That said, a review should turn on what's there more so than what's not, and what's here is really quite good. Kicking off with their twin Andy Kaufman tributes ("Man on the Moon" and "Great Beyond"), "In Time" maintains a high-level of quality all the way through, making a strong case for R.E.M.'s already secured place in the rock pantheon.

Is it a perfect collection? This reviewer would say, no. This is not just because of missing personal favorites ("Half a World Away" and "World Leader Pretend") but also for the aforementioned lack of balance between how albums are represented here. It's hard to argue that "Up" or even "Automatic for the People" are really that much better than "Monster" or "Out of Time."

Then again, any compilation reflects the bias of its makers, just as a listener's reaction to it reflects theirs. By any objective standard, though, "In Time" is a good attempt to give a feel of what post-IRS Records R.E.M. is about. Plus, it sounds really good with the volume up.


Great retro disc, don't complain about lack of early hits!   October 29, 2003
 19 out of 23 found this review helpful

Despite a couple of expensive imports, this is the only domestic disc to cover any post-Document material and is a great overview of R.E.M.'s 90s years. The remastering is crisp and superb, and the liner notes are entertaining and informative, written by Peter Buck of the group. This set puts together the big radio hits that everybody knows, with the lesser-known singles, and a few rarities and new songs (the obligatory new songs put on there to get hardcore fans to buy music they already own). So far, the consensus is that 'Drive' should have been included, and I more than agree, since it's my favorite song from 'Automatic For The People', but that's what owning the albums is for as well. Also, despite its uneven quality, their smash album 'Out Of Time' is represented only with 'Losing My Religion', and seems under-represented.

Aside from small complaints about the tracklisting (which is outstanding, but not perfect, if there is such thing as a perfect greatest hits album), this is a wonderful pickup for fans and novices alike (I'm somewhere in-between, owning a few R.E.M. albums, but not any 90s after 'Automatic For The People',). As for the reviews regarding the lack of early hits, there is already a compilation covering that time period called 'Eponymous' and it has the songs you're looking for from their 1982-1987 period.


Cherry Mash and Tinfoil Tiaras   November 5, 2003
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

Quite a number of interesting selections on this BEST OF (read: NOT Greatest Hits) album. As the band has said, these songs represent their favorites since the release of their previous best of cd, Eponymous. Although I do suspect that their label had something to do with adding 2 previously unreleased tracks. I was most surprised at the addition of Nightswimming, just because it happens to be my favorite REM tune. All the Way to Reno, Sidewinder and Electrolite are also surprises. I like the fact that these are the songs that the composers enjoy. Any fan of this band will be sure to enjoy this album. There's not a bad song in the bunch.


Not Quite The Best Of REM   July 26, 2005
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

Whenever any band (especially a band with the breadth of music and talent that REM possess) releases a "Best Of", it is bound to disappoint fans and casual listeners alike. Generally speaking, it is more likely to disappoint fans when their favourite non-single tracks are passed up for the more mediocre but commercially successful singles. And casual listeners tend to bemoan the inclusion of songs that they have never even heard of.

Moreover, this collection faces the added handicap of not covering some of REM's best work, pre-1988 (that having already been covered by their 1988 Best Of, "eponymous"). So you won't find "End Of The World", "The One I Love", "Driver 8", "Superman" (which didn't make "eponymous" either) or "Radio Free Europe", etc. on this album. (Which is ashame given that people have the option of making their own Best Of albums via downloading).

But even considering these handicaps, this CD still fails in its mission of covering REM's Best of 1988-2003. Why?

1. The missing:
"Bang and Blame", "Shiny Happy People", "Crush with Eyeliner", "Drive", "Bittersweet Me" and anything from their MTV Unplugged (the acoustic "One I Love" is certainly worth a download).

2. The shouldn't be there:
a) New songs ("Animal" and "Bad Day") are simply not REM's best. Unless the only qualification for that honour is being released on a CD called "the Best of REM".
b) The soundtrack songs (especially "All The Right Friends" but also "The Great Beyond") are not up to par with the rest of the CD.

3. Overall:
The album should have focused a bit more on "Out Of Time", "Automatic" and "Monster" and less on the more obscure "Reveal" and "Up". Especially if it was also going to gamble on new songs and soundtrack recordings at the expense of classics.

In the end, I love REM and this is a reasonable attempt at their "Best Of". However, they turned a compilation that could have been on par with U2's "Best of the 80s" into a compilation on par with U2's "Best of the 90s".


REM's Consistency and Variety   February 1, 2004
 13 out of 15 found this review helpful

As usual when it comes to compilations, fans of the band (whose true love for the music could probably be called into question) are gonna gripe about the song selection. For an album-based band like REM who doesn't release that many singles, a truly "representative" collection is impossible. Sure I would like to see more selections from my favorite albums *Monster* and the criminally neglected *New Adventures* but if I feel like complaining about that, I might as well just listen to those albums. Therefore this collection is useful if you're looking for a mix of classic REM tracks in one place, and if you're in the mood for listening to songs from several different albums in one sitting - in fact the seven different albums from the Warner Brothers years plus a few soundtrack items. A fun bonus is the so-called new song "Bad Day" which is actually a new recording of an old song from the mid-80's, which was probably rejected in favor of the very similar "It's the End of the World...". Also, these tracks are not presented in chronological order, which may be confusing for the historically-minded, but I feel that the sequencing allows you to appreciate both the consistency and variety of REM's work over the years. A winning compilation, regardless of the quibbles every single person will have about the song selection. [~doomsdayer520~]