R.E.M. Ready 25th Anniversary Edition of “Out of Time”
The triple Grammy-award winner featured smash hits "Losing My Religion" and "Shiny Happy People"
If you’re aware of the year, can do simple math and are an R.E.M. fan, you’re know that 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the band’s seventh album, Out of Time. And, as is often customary for groups of R.E.M.’s ilk, an anniversary edition of the 1991 album is in the offing.
Though an official announcement won’t come until July-ish, R.E.M. and Warners Bros. are poring over archives right now with the intent to release a supersized Out of Time this fall (likely November). As R.E.M. fans will remember, Out of Time—which featured the mega-hit “Losing My Religion”—marked the first album the band did not tour behind (they also did not support their follow-up, 1992’s Automatic for the People, with a tour). The lack of live shows makes it challenging to buoy Out of Time the same way the band has for previous reissues. Additionally, the group more or less emptied the vaults a few years ago with Complete Warner Bros. Rarities 1988-2011, which included many tracks recorded or remixed around the time of Out of Time (including several remixes of “Shiny Happy People” and the B-Side “Fretless”).
Still, R.E.M. advisor Bertis Downs says there is still plenty of material that will make this reissue “right in line with and hopefully match if not exceed [other ones].” Without getting into specifics, Downs references the promo shows the band did in support of the album in mostly March-April 1991. The band’s first MTV Unplugged show—already commercially released—was recorded during this time as well.
Frogster
August 4, 2016 at 12:43 pm
I’d rather get the whole series of Out Of Time demos (20 or so) than recordings of shows we’ve already had for decades.