The supporting tour for Green exhausted R.E.M., and they spent nearly a year recuperating before reconvening for Out of Time.
Where previous R.E.M. records captured a stripped-down, live sound, Out of Time was lush with sonic detail, featuring string sections, keyboards, mandolins, and cameos from everyone from rapper KRS-One to the B-52's' Kate Pierson.
The scope of R.E.M.'s ambitions is impressive, and the record sounds impeccable, its sunny array of pop and folk songs as refreshing as Michael Stipe's decision to abandon explicitly political lyrics for the personal.
Several R.E.M. classics -- including Mike Mills' Byrds-y "Near Wild Heaven," the haunting "Country Feedback," and the masterpiece "Losing My Religion" -- are present, but the album is more notable for its production than its songwriting.
Most of the songs are slight but pleasant, or are awkward experiments like "Radio Song"'s stab at funk, and while this sounds fine as the record is playing, there's not much substantive material to make the record worth returning to.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radio SongBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 2 | LowBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | Near Wild HeavenBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | EndgameBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 5 | Shiny Happy PeopleBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | BelongBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 7 | Half a World AwayBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 8 | Country FeedbackBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Me in HoneyBill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe | R.E.M. | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 10 | Loosing My Religion | R.E.M | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 11 | Texarkana | R.E.M | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 44 mins | 101 MB | |||||
| 44 mins | 284 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Berry | Composer |
| 2 | Peter Buck | Composer |
| 3 | Peter Holsapple | Guest Artist |
| 4 | KRS-One | Guest Artist |
| 5 | Mike Mills | Composer |
| 6 | Paul Murphy | Guest Artist |
| 7 | Kate Pierson | Guest Artist |
| 8 | R.E.M. | Primary Artist |
| 9 | Michael Stipe | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |