R.e.m. Out of Time

From the start of their recording career, Athens, Georgia's finest have been a fertile source of cover tunes, non-album B-sides and alternate versions. This limited-edition collection compiles a baker's dozen of rarities and oddities, including the band's readings of Pylon's "Crazy," Aerosmith's "Toys in the Attic," the Floyd Cramer instrumental "Last Date," and the gospel number "Tired of Singing Trouble," plus a variety of alternate mixes and live versions. Rounding out the set are a pair of ramshackle acoustic numbers from the soundtrack of the documentary Athens GA, Inside Out, "Swan Swan H" and the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream." Although a couple of tracks overlap the band's 1987 rarities package Dead Letter Office, In the Attic is a handy adjunct to R.E.M.'s album catalog.

R.E.M. - R.E.M. Live (2007) [2CD+DVD9] {Warner}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 743 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 245 Mb
All Regions | NTSC 16:9 | English (LinearPCM, 2 ch / Dolby AC3, 6 ch) | DVD9 -> 7.16 Gb
~ 01h 46m | ISO Image | 5% repair rar | Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 125 Mb
© 2007 R.E.M. / Warner Bros. | 9362 49925-2
Rock / Alternative Rock / Indie

Cynics may dismiss R.E.M.'s first-ever live CD as a way to run out their contract, and they may not be wrong. Despite the lack of a full-fledged live album in their catalog – and some could call R.E.M. Live not quite an album, since it is a two-CD/one-DVD package that documents a concert the group gave at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, on February 27, 2006, so it's as much a video as an album – there hasn't exactly been a paucity of official live releases, not with all the home videos, DVDs, and B-sides issued over the years (and this isn't even counting the numerous bootlegs).

"Collapse into Now" is her fifteenth and final studio album.

Recorded during and immediately following R.E.M.'s disaster-prone Monster tour, New Adventures in Hi-Fi feels like it was recorded on the road. Not only are all of Michael Stipe's lyrics on the album about moving or travel, the sound is ragged and varied, pieced together from tapes recorded at shows, soundtracks, and studios, giving it a loose, careening charm. New Adventures has the same spirit of much of R.E.M.'s IRS records, but don't take the title of New Adventures in Hi-Fi lightly – R.E.M. tries different textures and new studio tricks. "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us" opens the album with a rolling, vaguely hip-hop drum beat and slowly adds on jazzily dissonant piano. "E-Bow the Letter" starts out as an updated version of "Country Feedback," then it turns in on itself with layers of moaning guitar effects and Patti Smith's haunting backing vocals. Clocking in at seven minutes, "Leave" is the longest track R.E.M. has yet recorded and it's one of their strangest and best – an affecting minor-key dirge with a howling, siren-like feedback loop that runs throughout the entire song.