Buttmunker

It would be nice, in light of how many albums they have, to have one disc that contains all their best. Especially the "Superman" song.

Also waiting for:

1) Bob Seger (a COMPLETE collection, unlike his 1994 "Greatest Hits" which was missing "Shame On The Moon," "Fire Lake," and others)

2) Roxette

SAShepherd

I thought there was an import that had more songs, so I checked Amazon, and sure enough, there are a couple imports, a "Best of...," which I don't think included Superman, and a "Singles Collection," which did. Both collections, though, are strictly from the IRS years; don't think there's anything that covers their Warner Brothers years.

cdollaz

I would much rather have a live boxed set.

The Antipodean

I would REALLY like to see a "Dead Letter Office II" type compilation -- they've got a TON of great B-sides they've done since 1987 or whenever the first B-sides compilation came out. I know there's boots etc. out there but I'd much rather have the official compilation of tracks from soundtracks, etc. that they've done in the past 15 years or so. I wonder why Warner's not taking advantage of all the great R.E.M. material out there they could collect?

Rico Diablo

There is a Roxette Greatest Hits available on Amazon: "Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus: Greatest Hits" -- there is a domestic and an import version with an extra track. There's also an out-of-stock Japanese import just called "Greatest."

To the original question, yes, I suprised there hasn't been a REM GH. They could easily do a 2-disc set. And throw in some non-released stuff. They seem to have plenty of it.

GuessWho

I made my own REM "best of" cd and there was still plenty of room - no need for 2 discs

Dubya

The band probably hasn't approved one, because you know their label would love to have another cash cow (which is what hits compilations are). I suppose the same is true of AC/DC. I guess they want "Back In Black" to keep selling year after year

jarsim

I think it's refreshing that R.E.M. continues working on new material insteading of going the "cop-out" way as most bands do, throw out a greatest hits CD and take a 2 + year hiatus.

auto

I agree. Whatever happened to bands waiting until the end of their career to issue a Greatset hits compilation. Why not continue to put out new music to satisfy the fans who purchase every album and have no need for a Hits set. A real greatest hits set should contain one to two songs from each of the bands records.

10 albums = 15 or so tracks.

Thats why they call it GREATEST Hits. Not ALL THEIR HITS. It is supposed to be the best of their hit songs. Look at the friggin Backstreet Boys. Two studio albums and then a Greatest Hits CD. Aaaaaggggghhhhhhhhh! How frustrating. How about a Husker Du Greatest hits to bring some new fans to that great band.


A new B-Side disc, live disc or box set from REM would be great though.



Just buy the albums.


BBP

Brain Stew

I think the reason that REM hasn't released a greatest hits package is more of a principle thing. Michael Stipe tries to keep it real by not printing liner notes and for the longest time he tried not to lip sync on videos.

gerrythedon

from [BILLBOARD.COM]

some excerpts: GH cd, new album.

Stipe's update finds the band in busy mode: rehearsing, doing press, mixing a new studio album, working on the package for a greatest-hits set due Sept. 30 from Warner Bros., creating the stage set for the tour, and designing new t-shirts.

The singer's only hints as to the group's new material are that "the mixes are getting wilder and louder," and an aside about a new song: "today we played 'Animal (The Whoa Song)' for the first time all together. Massive."

In March, the group posted a new song recorded during the new album sessions on its Web site. "The Final Straw" lyrically addresses the U.S. government's decision to make war on Iraq, and joined the wave of posted protest songs by the likes of Beastie Boys, John Mellencamp, DJ Shadow and Zack de la Rocha, and Lenny Kravitz. The song may appear on R.E.M.'s next studio album, due in 2004

das Monkey

While not a traditional "Greatest Hits" album, don't forget about Eponymous, which is a decent collection of stuff from the IRS years, including some alternate recordings of a few tracks. Excellent album.

das

Buttmunker

This is good news. While I like R.E.M., there are too many albums to pick up. A hits compilation would fit the bill for me.

gerrythedon

R.E.M. in reconstruction of old song

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Though R.E.M.'s new studio album is almost completed, the band's next release will be an old chestnut.

The group has pegged a newly recorded version of "Bad Day" as the first single for the forthcoming "Best Of" collection, due Oct. 28 from Warner Bros. The trio is shooting a video for the song in Vancouver with director Tim Hope (1 Giant Leap, Coldplay), according to a post on its official Web site (http://www.remhq.com).

The origins of "Bad Day" reach back to 1985, when it was recorded during the sessions for the group's fourth album, "Lifes Rich Pageant" (IRS). Circulated bootlegs from that era showcase the song as a stylistic predecessor of the band's 1987 hit "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)."

R.E.M. is rehearsing for its upcoming world tour, which begins in the Netherlands on June 21. According to a separate post on the Web site by band lawyer Bertis Downs, the group is planning to vary its setlists widely this time around.

"Don't be surprised: a lot of material is being readied, including some I haven't heard in a long, long time," Downs said, adding that R.E.M. is rehearsing songs from each of its 13 studio albums.

Reuters/Billboard

Buttmunker

So this Best-Of collection will only be Warner Brothers stuff, and not IRS?

Decker

Please, please fight the urge and don't include Shiney Happy People on your Greatest Hits package....

Buttmunker

You know, a Warner set will not be all that terrific, when you think about it. It will include the tired songs Losing My Religion and Shiny Happy People from 1991's "Out of Time." Then came 1992's "Automatic For The People" and Everybody Hurts. Okay, "Monster" was good - What's The Frequency, Kenneth and Bang and Blame. Everything else thereafter...I no like. So I guess I will not be getting this collection. Too incomplete - their 80's stuff was the best stuff, and it will not likely be included since it is IRS.

Decker

Well, it would be the best way to pick up "The Great Beyond" (which is the only reason I still have my Man on the Moon DVD). It would also allow me to get "At My Most Beautiful" which was the only song I could stand on Up. Also, "Imitation of Life" is a pretty good song that most people don't have in their collection. I think this could be a pretty good collection, though it will have some tired, overplayed songs in it (you forgot "Stand" as well).

It would be very nice if they included something from their wonderful Unplugged performance which has never been released on CD or DVD (I especially like the acoustic "It's the End of the World")

Adboy151

If Warners had gone through with their merger/buy-out of EMI a few years back then yes, the IRS material would have been included. I believe there is a still a UK "Best Of" import still out there and in print of the IRS years.

I would expect this Warners-era disc to include:

Stand
Orange Crush
Losing My Religion
Shiny Happy People
Everybody Hurts
Man On The Moon
What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
E-Bow The Letter
The Great Beyond
Daysleeper
Imitation Of Life
All The Way To Reno
Bad Day/PSA

With possiblities for:
Pop Song '89
Nightswimming
At My Most Beautiful
Electrolite (or Leave)
Bang And Blame
All The Right Friends

Honestly the inclusion of Bad Day/PSA -- which really is nothing more than a rough/mediocre attempt of what becomes ITEOTWAWKI (AIFF) -- is not enough to make me interested in this. And I'm a huge R.E.M. fan since '86.

If they include some kind of DVD content or B-side content (although there's not a whole lot of interesting B-material out there IMO) as a bonus, then maybe I'll bite.

F For Fake

I'm kinda sad to hear about the Greatest Hits thing being prepared, as that usually tends to signal the wrapping up of a career. Not that R.E.M. won't keep recording and releasing albums...it's just that once a "Greatest Hits" deal is released, the public tends to write off whatever comes afterwards.

We all ready have eponymous, so I'm not sure why we'd need to include IRS albums in a new greatest hits package. Plus I imagine that WB would have to license them from IRS. So I expect it'll just be Warners stuff. If it's strictly a hits/singles comp, it'll still be a huge record. They released a buttload of singles from Out of Time, Automatic and Monster, like four or five from each album.

I hope it's not just singles though. Although I own 50+ R.E.M. cd's including singles, imports, etc and don't really NEED a b-sides compilation, I'd love to see some of that sweet material get a wider release.

cdollaz

There are alot of great songs from this era that will probably not be on this release:

Get Up
Me In Honey
Star 69
Ignoreland
Nightswimming
Crush With Eyeliner
Be Mine
Leave
Walk Unafraid
Hope
The Lifting
I'll Take The Rain

SAShepherd

I'm with Adboy -- I would hope that they follow U2's lead and add a 2nd disc with B-sides and/or a DVD. They're very similar artists in that I have most (but not all) of the albums to be covered by the "Best Of" and if all I'm picking up is 3 or 4 extra songs, I'm unlikely to spend the cash. But add a second disc filled with B-sides, etc., even if it sells for $15 instead of $12, and I'm likely to go out and buy it. That's what I did with both U2 "Best Of"s...

Buttmunker

EPONYMOUS collects some of the most popular tunes from R.E.M.'s first decade, but some appear in slightly different versions. Plus, it doesn't have Superman.

MurraySiskind

I'm a little disappointed by the greatest hits announcement also. Greatest hits albums always seem like such a sellout move and I always admired them for not doing it. But I guess it's to their credit that they waited this long. But for me, my favorite R.E.M. songs aren't the hits. I would like for people who aren't familiar with them to hear something other than the same stuff they hear on the radio, like Nightswimming, Find the River, Half a World Away, Cuyahoga...i could go on and on.

gerrythedon

update from [REMHQ.com] offical site
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Warner Bros will release In Time: The Best of R.E.M: 1988-2003 this October 27th internationally and October 28th in the United States.

As previously reported, the best of collection will include two new tracks, "Bad Day," slated to be the first single, and "Animal," which R.E.M. debuted along with "Bad Day" in Holland and London.

Tim Hope, director of videos by Coldplay and the One Giant Leap project among others, recently shot a video for "Bad Day" in Vancouver just prior to the beginning of R.E.M.'s current tour.
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[Edit/added]

check out the artwork...
http://www.remhq.com/flash/news/news...ml?id=1530&t=f