OK, first let's get the complaints out of the way. Where is "Shiny Happy People"? Why isn't "Drive" on the main disc? No "Bang and Blame?"
Other than that, this compilation is everything you would expect and want from an REM compilation of the last fifteen years. Someone made some great decisions here. The two Andy Warhol songs, "Man on the Moon" and "Great Beyond" are back to back here. The best REM albums, Out of Time and Automatic for the People are represented well, while Up and Monster are relegated to lesser status, as they should be.
The new songs are from different eras. "Bad Day" sounds like a "Document" outtake, and could be part 2 to "It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)." "Animal" mixes the band's current sounds with the Monster era.
Disc two is comprised of demos, singles, live cuts, and rarities. It's nice to have such songs as "Fretless" and "It's a Free World Baby" on one disc, as well as the acoustic version of "Pop Song '89". William Burroughs' vocals on "Star Me Kitten" (from the X-Files soundtrack) are absolutely spooky.
Add these two discs to Eponymous, the first REM "greatest hits" compilation, and change a few songs, and you would have the perfect REM box set. If you don't own the back catalog of this band, this would be a great place to start.
4.5 tocks
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