R.E.M.’s 1991 album Out of Time is a truly bizarre smash hit. It’s the band’s best-selling record and the one that transformed them from a critically admired alternative rock band into a global pop rock superpower, but half of its tracks are the sort of thing I can’t imagine ever playing on the radio.
That goes for powerful, mournful tracks like ‘Country Feedback’ and ‘Low,’ the instrumental ‘Endgame’ and the largely spoken word ‘Belong.’
Among the great finds on Bob Dylan’s first Bootleg series were two tracks recorded for 1983’s Infidels but inexplicably left off.
Mark Knopfler produced Infidels but had to go on tour before the final mixing and sequencing, leaving that to Dylan himself. Dylan decided to omit the tracks ‘Foot of Pride’ and ‘Blind Willie McTell.’
U2 is indisputably one of the most successful and respected rock bands in music history. But they were knocked from their lofty perch two years ago after giving a free copy of their album to 500 million iTunes customers simultaneously.
Funny how a generous gesture can backfire. Apple users who either didn’t know or didn’t like the band ridiculed the unwanted intruder that popped up in their music library. Even some U2 fans thought it was kind of creepy that a company could just download music for you (and make it rather difficult to remove).
R.E.M.’s 2008 album Accelerate received the best reviews of any record they released after drummer Bill Berry’s departure. Personally, I’d rank it below Up but I agree it’s a high point of the late phase of their career.
That said, today’s Random SOTD, ‘Sing For the Submarine,’ is not among my favorites. It has its moments it’s way too melodically unsophisticated for my taste.
I love me some Tom Petty.
Recently I bought several of Petty’s early albums at bargain basement prices on Amazon, more as a show of support than anything. None of those albums live up to his best work — Damn the Torpedoes, Full Moon Fever, Southern Accents and Wildflowers — but they are all thoroughly listenable.
Meet Me In Montauk 