Out of Time (album)
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| Out of Time | ||
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| Studio album by R.E.M. | ||
| Released | 11 March 1991 (UK) 12 March 1991 (U.S.) |
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| Recorded | September–October 1990 | |
| Genre | Alternative rock | |
| Length | 44:08 | |
| Label | Warner Bros. | |
| Producer(s) | Scott Litt & R.E.M. | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| R.E.M. chronology | ||
| Green (1988) |
Out of Time (1991) |
Automatic for the People (1992) |
- This article is about the album by R.E.M.. For other uses of the term, see Out of Time.
Out of Time is R.E.M.'s seventh album, and their second major label release for Warner Bros., released in 1991. It was their international breakthrough album.
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[edit] Details
Preceded by the idiosyncratic "Losing My Religion," which became R.E.M.'s biggest U.S. hit, Out of Time gave them their first U.S. and UK #1 albums, earning them many new fans and worldwide renown. The band decided not to tour to support the release, nor the following one.
Out of Time also birthed a further smash in "Shiny Happy People" (featuring an appearance from The B-52's Kate Pierson). The overtly bubble-gum styling of the song has divided fans over the years as to its virtues. R.E.M. have never played it live, though this may be due to a lack of female vocalist to accompany Michael; they did play it on Saturday Night Live with Kate Pierson on April 13, 1991.
A second cameo appearance arises in the form of rapper KRS-One who makes a memorable appearance on the minor hit "Radio Song." Bassist Mike Mills handles lead vocal duties, aided by frontman Michael Stipe, on "Near Wild Heaven" and "Texarkana."
While hits, neither "Shiny Happy People" nor "Radio Song" were included on In Time - The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003.
Known for its eclectic nature, Out of Time's critical standing has lessened in later years, and is generally seen as being unbalanced and inconsistent by some reviewers. Nonetheless, its musical virtues are considered to far outweigh its drawbacks, and R.E.M. were rewarded with their biggest-selling album to date, with Out of Time going quadruple-platinum in the U.S. and selling in excess of ten million copies worldwide. At the 1992 Grammy Awards ceremony, Out of Time won the newly-launched "Best Alternative Album" award.
In 1998 Q magazine readers voted Out of Time the 38th greatest album of all time; in their 2006 follow-up list it rose one place to 37.
In 2005, Warner Bros. Records issued an expanded two-disc edition of Out of Time which includes a CD, a DVD-Audio disc containing a 5.1-channel surround sound mix of the album done by Elliot Scheiner, and the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes. The song "Half a World AWay was recently played on an episode of Scrubs (The name of the episode was "MY Fishbowl). The CD (as with all in this series) is not remastered.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.
- "Radio Song" – 4:13
- "Losing My Religion" – 4:26
- "Low" – 4:55
- "Near Wild Heaven" – 3:17
- "Endgame" – 3:48
- "Shiny Happy People" – 3:45
- "Belong" – 4:05
- "Half a World Away" – 3:26
- "Texarkana" – 3:37
- "Country Feedback" – 4:07
- "Me in Honey" – 4:06
[edit] Personnel
- Bill Berry – drums, percussion, bass, piano, vocals
- Peter Buck – guitars, mandolin
- Mike Mills – bass, organ, piano, harpsichord, vocals
- Michael Stipe – vocals
[edit] Additional personnel
- Peter Holsapple – bass on 1 3, acoustic guitar on 2 6 9, electric guitar on 7
- KRS-One – vocals on 1
- Kate Pierson – vocals on 6 10 11
- Mark Bingham – string arrangements on 1 3 4 5 6 8 9
- Dave Kempers – violin
- David Braitberg – violin
- David Arenz – violin
- Ellie Arenz – violin
- Paul Murphy – viola (lead)
- Reid Harris – viola
- Andrew Cox – cello
- Elizabeth Murphy – cello
- Ralph Jones – double bass
- Kidd Jordan – baritone saxophone on 1 4, tenor saxophone on 1 5, alto saxophone on 1, bass clarinet on 3 5
- Cecil Welch – flugelhorn on 5
- Scott Litt – echo-loop feed on 1
- John Keane – pedal string guitar on 9 10
[edit] Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Billboard 200 | 1 (109 weeks on chart) |
| 1991 | UK album chart | 1 (183 weeks on chart) |
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Losing My Religion" | Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
| 1991 | "Losing My Religion" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 1991 | "Losing My Religion" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 1991 | "Losing My Religion" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 28 |
| 1991 | "Shiny Happy People" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 3 |
| 1991 | "Shiny Happy People" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 8 |
| 1991 | "Shiny Happy People" | Billboard Hot 100 | 10 |
| 1991 | "Texarkana" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 4 |
| 1992 | "Texarkana" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |
[edit] Awards
| Year | Award | Album/Track |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Grammy Award – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (song) | "Losing My Religion" |
| 1991 | Grammy Award – Best Alternative Music Performance (album) | Out of Time |
[edit] Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BPI – UK | Gold | March 1, 1991 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Gold | May 24, 1991 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Platinum | May 24, 1991 |
| BPI – UK | Platinum | March 1, 1991 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Double Platinum | June 19, 1991 |
| BPI – UK | Double Platinum | September 1, 1991 |
| CRIA – Canada | Gold | October 4, 1991 |
| CRIA – Canada | Platinum | October 4, 1991 |
| CRIA – Canada | Double Platinum | October 4, 1991 |
| CRIA – Canada | Triple Platinum | October 4, 1991 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Triple Platinum | October 11, 1991 |
| BPI – UK | Triple Platinum | March 1, 1992 |
| RIAA – U.S. | 4X Platinum | June 5, 1992 |
| BPI – UK | 4X Platinum | June 1, 1993 |
| CRIA – Canada | 4X Platinum | September 16, 1994 |
| CRIA – Canada | 5X Platinum | September 16, 1994 |
| BPI – UK | 5X Platinum | October 1, 1995 |
| CRIA – Canada | 7X Platinum | September 29, 2003 |
