Out of Time

Details

Out of Time combines elements of pop, folk and classical music heard on the band's previous album, Green, with a new concentration on country elements that would continue on 1992's Automatic for the People. It features guest appearances by KRS-One and Kate Pierson from The B-52's.

Preceded by the release of "Losing My Religion", which became R.E.M.'s biggest U.S. hit, Out of Time gave them their first U.S. and UK No. 1 album. The band did not tour to support the release, although they did make occasional appearances on television or at festivals. In Germany, it is the band's best-selling album, selling more than 1,250,000 copies, reaching 5× gold. Out of Time was the first R.E.M. album to have an alternative expanded release on CD, including expanded liner notes and postcards. In Spain, a contest was held to have a limited-edition cover, with the winner being an abstract oil painting.

For the 25th anniversary the album was remastered. The standard version of the reissue comes with a second disc of demos, the deluxe version adds a third disc featuring live acoustic tracks. It was released through Concord Records on November 18, 2016.

Songs

Time Side

"Radio Song" begins with a spoken-word introduction by KRS-One of Boogie Down Productions, rather than with instrumentation or vocals from the band. This marks a departure from the group's typical introductions, which often feature Bill Berry's drumming, Peter Buck's guitar, Mike Mills' bass, or Michael Stipe's vocals. Following KRS-One's initial lines, the arrangement transitions into more familiar territory, with Buck's guitar, Mills' bass, and Stipe's vocals entering the mix. The track incorporates elements of funk, a style R.E.M. had previously explored on "Can't Get There from Here" from Fables of the Reconstruction. In this instance, the funk elements are described by participants in the recording process as more naturalistic. The inclusion of KRS-One, who expanded his contribution beyond what was originally requested, is cited by members of the band as a significant factor in the track's development. Berry noted that the song, while built on a strong groove, lacked impact prior to the addition of KRS-One's performance.

Additional musicians contributed to the track. While Mills divided his performance between bass and Hammond organ, Peter Holsapple provided supplementary bass lines. Kidd Jordan performed on tenor, alto, and baritone saxophone, and producer Scott Litt added echo and tape loop effects. The track also marks the first appearance of strings on the album, arranged and conducted by Mark Bingham. Instrumentally, the track features funk-influenced guitar from Buck, syncopated drumming from Berry, and organ playing from Mills that has been likened to the style of recordings released on the Stax label. Stipe's vocal delivery incorporates both directness and irony. The song's lyrics address radio programming practices, specifically the repetition of formulaic content. Although the tone of the lyrics includes critique, Stipe later stated that the intent was partly humorous and self-referential.

"Losing My Religion" emerged from an initial idea by Buck. He experimented with a mandolin while drinking beer and watching a baseball game, recording the result on a boom box. During rehearsals, the band worked on this initial idea, with Berry initially playing bass before switching to drums. The song developed into a full band arrangement, with Buck on mandolin and electric octave guitar, Mills on bass and keyboard strings, Berry on drums and percussion, and Holsapple on acoustic guitar. The strings, arranged by Bingham and Mills, were performed by members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Soundscape Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, in October 1990.

Despite its title, the song does not reference religion in a literal sense. According to Stipe, the phrase "losing my religion" is a Southern expression meaning to be at the end of one's patience or composure. Stipe described the song as secular and categorized it as an "obsession song". The origins of the phrase were initially met with skepticism by Buck, who considered it potentially a fabrication. However, a subsequent encounter in New Orleans with an elderly woman who recognized the expression from her youth confirmed the term's authenticity. The song has also been misinterpreted as autobiographical, particularly due to the lyric "that's me in the spotlight". Stipe denied this interpretation, indicating that the line was not intended to reflect personal experience. He later suggested that the song could be read as a commentary on broader social conditions, identifying it as an extension of the themes explored in the earlier R.E.M. track "World Leader Pretend". Stipe stated that his intent in writing "Losing My Religion" was to emulate the emotional tone and structure of the Police's "Every Breath You Take". The result, according to Stipe, achieved that goal to a satisfactory degree.

Memory Side

"Shiny Happy People" marked R.E.M.'s first collaboration with Kate Pierson of the B-52s. The song, which features Pierson on guest vocals, was described by Stipe as an "abortion", while Mills characterized working with Pierson as a highlight. According to Mills, although the band was familiar with Pierson and her work, they had not collaborated with her prior to this recording. Stipe also expressed admiration for her, referring to her as "probably my favorite female singer". Buck noted that while the track included what he called a "silly lyric", it was not the result of extended labor. Buck added that he had no desire to perform the song live but still expressed a degree of fondness for its spontaneous nature, stating, "It is what it is." He also referred to the song as "tongue-in-cheek". Stipe, however, offered a contrasting interpretation, at one point describing "Shiny Happy People" as a sincere composition and "the happiest song" he had written. He cited its lyrical sounds, particularly the abundance of "E" vowels, as contributing to its upbeat tone, claiming, "You can't sing the words without smiling." He also identified himself as "an extraordinarily happy person".

The song's musical construction includes an unexpected change in time signature, most notably a 3/4 waltz-time signature section in the introduction and the middle of the track. Mills expressed ambivalence about this structural choice, remarking that "Psychotic Reaction" was, in his view, the only song to successfully change time signatures mid-song. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that experimentation was a core aspect of the band's creative process. Berry also supported the inclusion of such elements, stating that introducing "wacky new ideas" helped keep the band's recordings engaging and unconventional. He specifically pointed to the time signature shift in "Shiny Happy People" as an example of such experimentation.

"Belong" draws structural and stylistic influence from the earlier R.E.M. recording "Voice of Harold", a reinterpretation of "7 Chinese Bros" featuring Stipe reading gospel liner notes in place of the original lyrics. While "Voice of Harold" was conceived as a humorous outtake, "Belong" employs a similar spoken-word vocal approach in a more serious context. Stipe's vocals in the song were not recorded in a professional studio but rather on a Walkman in a garage. Unsatisfied with the clarity of the initial studio recordings, he opted for a more ambient approach. "It was too clear, it was too studio", he said during a Rockline interview. Borrowing producer Litt's Walkman, Stipe recorded his vocal part in the garage of a rental home. He described the acoustics of the three-car garage, where he noted the presence of a large tank of unidentified gas, as providing the ideal reverberation for the track. The song's arrangement prominently features background vocals by Mills and Berry.

Packaging

Warner Bros. Records executive Jeff Gold, alongside Rock the Vote campaign co-founder and Virgin Records executive Jeff Ayeroff, approached R.E.M. in regards to printing a petition on the back of Out of Time's CD longbox packaging in the United States, where buyers were encouraged to sign their name in support for Rock the Vote, who were in support of the Motor Voter Act to ease voter registration, and would allow voters "to register through their local DMV". Gold reasoned, considering many of the album's buyers would be young, that this could "vote out" the controversial Parents Music Resource Center music censorship bill, who "put pressure on the creators and distributors of 'objectionable' music", as well as make good use of the popular longbox packaging format of the day, which many artists and customers considered unnecessary and wasteful. Michael Stipe also appeared in a public service announcement for the campaign.

In July 2014, radio show 99% Invisible said that because of this packaging, Out of Time is "the most politically significant album in the history of the United States". They said that three weeks after the album's release, "they had received 10,000 petitions, 100 per senator, and they just kept coming in droves", and a month following its release, the campaign's political director and members of KMD "wheeled a shopping cart full of the first 10,000 petitions into a senate hearing". The bill was eventually passed in 1993 by Bill Clinton and was in effect January 1, 1995; one commentary later said this happened "in no small part because of R.E.M.'s lobbying".

Critical reception

Out of Time received mostly positive reviews on release. Critics offered varied perspectives on the album, highlighting its experimentation and emotional depth. Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune called the album "R.E.M.'s most consistent effort since Reckoning" and appreciated its use of strings, horns, and guest musicians, which "accent the band's melodic strengths". He described the album as "a song cycle of love songs that sound intimate even in the wide open spaces of the arrangements". Writing for Entertainment Weekly, David Browne felt the album fell short of the band's previous standards, stating that while "strings, organs, and collaborations with rappers and the B-52's" gave the album a different texture, it "never matches the vibrancy of the band's earlier work." In the Los Angeles Times, Richard Cromelin observed that the album diverged from the sound of Green, noting that it "draws a line between the bright polish of its radio-ready pop songs and the impressionistic allure of its more shadowy tracks." He acknowledged the string arrangements and moments where R.E.M. aimed to "recapture the aura of their early mystique." Mark Cooper of Q agreed, highlighting Stipe's vocals and the harmony singing while describing the album as a "brooding departure [that] offers them at their most reflective, challenging and intriguing".

Terry Staunton of NME highlighted the album's eclecticism, noting it "veers from the playful exuberance of 'Shiny Happy People' to the desolate beauty of 'Country Feedback'". He concluded, "This is a band growing older with dignity, without losing their sense of adventure." Parke Puterbaugh of Rolling Stone praised the record for achieving a balance between new mainstream appeal and the band's original identity, writing, "R.E.M. have managed to simultaneously branch out and consolidate their strengths." David Cavanagh of Select labeled Out of Time the band's "finest album to date". He noted a shift from political themes toward introspection, remarking, "This is an album of sweet melodies and tender words", with Mike Mills taking a larger role, as exemplified by his lead vocals on "Near Wild Heaven".

Out of Time was one of R.E.M.'s more successful albums in terms of awards and nominations. It was their only album to win a Grammy Award, for Best Alternative Music Album. It also won the Q Award for Best Album of 1991.

The band did not tour to promote the album, although they did make sporadic appearances at music festivals and on TV. On April 13, 1991, R.E.M. was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live and performed "Shiny Happy People" (with Kate Pierson) and "Losing My Religion".

Legacy

In 2000, Out of Time was voted number 49 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. It was featured in Time magazine's 2006 list of the "All-Time 100 Albums". According to the review aggregator Metacritic, the 25th anniversary re-release of Out of Time received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 from nine critic reviews.

Track listing

All tracks written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.

Time Side

"Radio Song" – 4:15

"Losing My Religion" – 4:28

"Low" – 4:55

"Near Wild Heaven" – 3:17

"Endgame" – 3:48

Memory Side

"Shiny Happy People" – 3:44

"Belong" – 4:03

"Half a World Away" – 3:26

"Texarkana" – 3:36

"Country Feedback" – 4:07

"Me in Honey" – 4:06

Personnel

Personnel taken from Out of Time liner notes, except where indicated.

R.E.M.

Bill Berry – drums ("Radio Song", "Losing My Religion", "Near Wild Heaven", "Shiny Happy People", "Belong", "Texarkana", "Me In Honey"), percussion (all tracks), congas ("Low"), bass guitar ("Half a World Away", "Country Feedback"), piano ("Near Wild Heaven"), vocals ("Near Wild Heaven", "Belong", "Country Feedback"); production

Peter Buck – electric guitar (all except "Half a World Away"), acoustic guitar ("Endgame", "Half a World Away", "Country Feedback"), mandolin ("Losing My Religion", "Half a World Away"); production

Mike Mills – bass guitar ("Radio Song", "Losing My Religion", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Belong", "Texarkana", "Me In Honey"), vocals ("Losing My Religion", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Belong", "Half a World Away", "Texarkana", "Me In Honey"), organ ("Radio Song", "Low", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away", "Country Feedback"), piano ("Belong"), harpsichord and percussion ("Half a World Away"), keyboard strings and arrangement ("Losing My Religion", "Texarkana"); production

Michael Stipe – vocals (all tracks), bass melodica and arrangements ("Endgame"); production, packaging, photography

Additional players

Peter Holsapple – bass guitar ("Radio Song", "Low"), acoustic guitar ("Losing My Religion", "Shiny Happy People", "Texarkana"), electric guitar ("Belong")

Kidd Jordan – baritone saxophone ("Radio Song", "Near Wild Heaven"), tenor saxophone ("Radio Song", "Endgame"), alto saxophone ("Radio Song"), bass clarinet ("Low", "Endgame")

KRS-One – rapping ("Radio Song")

Release history

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, lyrics, a photo album, and the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes. In 2011 Warner Bros. released a 96 kHz, 24-bit and 192 kHz, 24 bit stereo release (the same High-Resolution stereo mix as featured on the DVD-Audio and later, the Blu-Ray editions) of the album at HDtracks.

Out of Time

Note

† Edition packaged with a bonus 7" single—"World Leader Pretend"/"Turn You Inside Out" from Tourfilm

Box sets