Genre: Rock Year: 2004 Country: USA Official Site: R.E.M. Details: Tracks & Audio Label: Rhino Records
There is no need to present R.E.M. as the band that went from being a college radio fave to becoming a worldwide sensation with the hit "Losing My Religion". 15 years later, after several albums and artistic detours, the quartet from Athens is still around and their label is re-releasing 8 albums from their catalog with bonus DVDs featuring the same tracks remixed in 5.1 surround audio.
I must admit that, at first, I wasn't really convinced that R.E.M's songs would justify surround treatment. To me, this enhancement is more appropriate for electronic music, bands such as Depeche Mode or Nine Inch Nails, which is based on intricate arrangements. But after putting the DVD in the player and sitting in the middle of the speakers, I suddenly realized that their music was taking a greater dimension, in terms of space, and that, to my surprise, the result was more probing on the folksier pieces, the ones I never really cared for, rather than on the songs I already liked—particularly the more experimental and rougher cuts from the post-Automatic for the people era.
While my favorite R.E.M cuts sound better than ever, muscled up by this rejuvenation—I'm thinking about the superb "E-bow the Letter" as well as "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" & "Animal"—classics like "Man on the Moon" and "Orange Crush" also accrue their impact. But the mellower songs, those featuring subtle arrangements, filled with acoustic cords, pianos and violins got most of my attention here, probably because organic instruments really come to life in quiet concert-hall like environments, a setting that comes close to being reproduced in your living room through this 5.1 surround sound. "Everybody Hurts", "Daysleeper", "At My Most Beautiful", "Nightswimming", "Electrolite" & "All the Way to Reno" get the most out this new treatment, making me rediscover them, which proves the success of this re-edition beyond preaching to the converted.
R.E.M. In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003
