R.E.M. - Out of Time

This album brings out R.E.M.’s country leanings, which I admit I didn’t fully appreciate before now. And to be clear, this can’t be considered country music by any stretch - I’m a full-blooded redneck from the deep south of the USA, not far from the city where R.E.M. formed, so I’m fully qualified to comment on that - but the tinge of the folky southern sound fits R.E.M.’s music extremely well. Pop fans and Rolling Stone writers probably think songs like “Texarkana” are country music; while it’s most certainly not, it’s still fantastic. There’s no shame in calling it southern-tinged alt rock, especially since it’s really good southern-tinged alt rock.

This is my favorite R.E.M. album. It’s a bit less frivolous than the R.E.M. I know the best, exploring several topics and tones and focusing largely on introspection. It’s also a perfect example of a band exploring new sounds while remaining themselves - even the extremely awkward funk-exploration “Radio Song” that opens the album couldn’t taint their distinct sound. In my experience it’s hard to overcome the tone set by the first song on an album, yet Out Of Time does just that. Drop the first song and this is a near-perfect album.

Jams

• “Losing My Religion”

• “Near Wild Heaven”

• “Half A World Away”

From the roundup Jamwise #38 - Best Albums of 1991, Pt. 2.