Out of Thyme
Overall Album Score: 9.2 out of 10 Talk about getting back on track or what! After R.E.M.’s average-good albums Document and Green, the band continued the pop-music path they were undergoing (after signing onto a major label with Green) and decided to be totally awesome with it! “Losing My Religion” take the cake, though. In fact, it takes all the cakes R.E.M. have ever made previous to this! … Well, maybe other people might think that R.E.M. made a better song than that previous to this, but I don’t think so. And my opinion is the only one that matters around here! … Wow, that is simply a stellar tune! Plus, there are countless other greats reeking out of the SEEMS ALL OVER THE PLACE! … Frankly, I don’t know what to do with myself when I run across albums such as these. They make me so happy! Happy, in fact, that I must jump up and down. … … Okay, I didn’t really jump up and down, but I was close to it. Practically up to par with the band’s previous two masterpieces (arguably … I suppose) Murmur and Lifes Rich Pageant, Out of Time is another special treat for the prospective R.E.M. fan. … … And … ARGH!!! I’m praising this too much. I’ve got to stop it. It’s unhealthy. Sorry. Overall Album Score: 9.2 out of 10 (This is another near-masterpiece from our favorite underground-cum-pop band!) Average Song Score: 9.2 (What a splendid bunch of tunes, I ask ya? “Losing My Religion,” in particular, was strikingly brilliant! It beats loads out of everything R.E.M. had done before that in my humble bumble opinion.) Album Tilt: 9.5 (This is a mightily entertaining album with some stellar songs on it.) Artist Rating: 9.0 (This wasn’t artistically daring or anything … it is quite resonant at times, though. … I’m not too positive that this really deserves a higher artistic rating. It sounds too much like pop to me. But it’s great pop!) Track Reviews Radio Song 10/10 Totally wonderful this little ditty is! … It’s also fairly close to being an urban/rap sort of thing, which is something that I generally don’t like. … Well, duh, R.E.M. still sounds like R.E.M., and this is just a great song! The melody is perfect … the rap-groove is even awesome. Wow! R.E.M. is at their best here … again. A great song. Losing My Religion 10plus/10 For my money, this is R.E.M.’s finest moment of their career up to this point, and certainly one of the finest moments ever in rock-and-roll! I haven’t listened to R.E.M. very broadly at the moment, and I can’t say for certain if they have made a song that is *better* than this. But really, “Losing My Religion” is incredibly hard to beat. The strange thing is that this isn’t phenomenally different from any other R.E.M. song … but the melody here is so hook-filled, the instrumentals are lucid and engaging, the lyrics are resonant and heart-wrenching … … Really … This is one of my most favorite songs EVER. This is perfection wrapped up in a track! … I really can’t think any higher of this song than I do at the moment. Low 9/10 This track is principally slow and minimal (with a quiet keyboard in the background and some bongo-esque rhythm). But, the occasional moment in here where it picks up dynamically makes listening to “Low” a treat! It has a good melody throughout, too. (And the last minute of it is great.) Another memorable keeper, although I’m obviously not as affectionate toward it as I was to the previous two priceless ditties. Near Wild Heaven 10/10 Crud! It ought to be a crime or something to have so many excellent melodies so jam packed next to each other! … How are they doing this? Did R.E.M. sell their souls to the devils or something? … Or even worse, did they take therapy? … … Whatever they did, it’s working, and I hope they’re able to keep it up. Pales, of course, in comparison to “Losing My Religion,” but this song is candy to the ears. This is R.E.M. up to The Beatles’ standards. And, I’m serious about that! Endgame 9/10 This is practically an instrumental (with the odd wordless vocal), and it’s utterly gorgeous. I would say that this is something that might go good as the main theme in a film soundtrack … or the theme song for a BBC gardening program. … Anyway, it’s really quite lovely, and it’s not too out of place on here. (This is a diverse album.) Shiny Happy People 9.5/10 This is yet another really really good song! It’s complex yet accessible, the melody is catchy, and the atmosphere is engaging. R.E.M. are on a roll … again. This is the third roll that R.E.M. seems to have been on. Murmur, Lifes Rich Pageant and now Out of Time. Brilliant! (This is a duet from none other than Kate Pierson from the B-52s.) Belong 9/10 Peculiar … unconventional … and it’s STILL AWESOME! This is yet another marvelous pop song from R.E.M. … who’s pretty much now the coolest pop band of the 1990s. And I say that with no hesitation in my ignoramus. Half a World Away 8/10 Whew! I knew the magical streak had to end eventually. … And this is still an eight. (Not that I was expecting anything less than an eight.) The melody here is alright. The instrumentation is alright, too, but it’s a bit too busy. Oh well. Texarkana 9.5/10 And R.E.M. totally gets their butts back to good old 9-land. 9.5-land to be exact. The melody seems like it was almost effortlessly created, and the instrumentation and production were all alluringly done. Another classic! Country Feedback 8/10 Here’s my feedback: I don’t like country! Here’s some more feedback: This is a pretty good song … but it’s not a 9-caliber one. I’ve come to bleedin’ expect better from you R.E.M. … either ship up or ship out! … Okay, don’t ship out. But this is an 8-SCORING song! (I don’t like it because the melody is lesser and the instrumentation is almost annoyingly dreary.) Quit it with the 8-scoring stuff, please. Me in Honey 8.5/10 Well … this is better, but it’s still not QUITE 9-scoring. Eh … oh well. I like this song a lot. The riff might get a little bit monotonous … and the melody might not be that extraordinary … but it’s all listenable and entertaining. That be fine with me, then. Before I die, please find the time to send me a comment about this album here! |
All reviews are copyrighted by Michael Lawrence. The future is now! ... Oh wait, I've gotten a bit ahead of myself. Sorry.
