Out of Time (album)

"Losing My Religion"
Out of Time
	Cover to the standard release of Out of Time
Studio album by R.E.M.
Released	March 12, 1991
Recorded	September–October 1990
Studio	Bearsville Studios, Woodstock, New York, United States; John Keane Studios, Athens, Georgia, United States (recording); Soundscape Studios, Atlanta, Georgia, United States (strings); Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, Minnesota, United States (mixing)
Genre	Alternative rock[1]
Length	44:08
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Scott Litt; R.E.M.;
R.E.M. chronology
Alternate cover
	Spanish limited edition LP cover
Singles from Out of Time
	"Losing My Religion"; Released: February 19, 1991; "Shiny Happy People"; Released: May 6, 1991; "Near Wild Heaven"; Released: August 5, 1991; "Radio Song"; Released: November 4, 1991;

Out of Time is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on March 12, 1991 by Warner Bros. Records. With Out of Time, R.E.M.'s status grew from that of a cult band to a massive international act. The record topped the album sales charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom, spending 109 weeks on U.S. album charts and enjoying two separate spells at the summit, and spending 183 weeks on the British charts and a single week at the top. The album has sold more than four and a half million copies in the United States and more than 18 million copies worldwide.[2][3] The album won three Grammy Awards in 1992: one as Best Alternative Music Album, and two for the first single, "Losing My Religion."

Details

Out of Time combines elements of pop, folk and classical music heard on the band's previous album Green, with a new concentration on country elements that would continue on 1992's Automatic for the People.

Preceded by the release of "Losing My Religion," which became R.E.M.'s biggest U.S. hit, Out of Time gave them their first U.S. and UK No. 1 album. The band did not tour to support the release, although it did make occasional appearances on television or at festivals. In Germany, it's the band's best-selling album, selling more than 1,250,000 copies, reaching 5×gold.[4] Out of Time was the first R.E.M. album to have an alternative expanded release on compact disc, including expanded liner notes and postcards. In Spain, a contest was held to have a limited edition cover with the winner being an abstract oil painting.

The album was featured in Time magazine's unranked list of The All-Time 100 Albums.[5]

Several re-packagings were released for the album's 25th anniversary edition through Concord Records on Nov. 18, 2016.

Packaging

Warner Brothers executive Jeff Gold, alongside Rock the Vote campaign co-founder and Virgin Records executive Jeff Ayeroff, approached R.E.M. in regards to printing a petition on the back of Out of Time's CD longbox packaging in the United States where buyers were encouraged to sign their name in support for Rock the Vote, who were in support of the Motor Voter Act to ease voter registration, and would allow voters "to register through their local DMV."[6] Gold reasoned, considering many of the album's buyers would be young, that this could "vote out" the controversial Parents Music Resource Center music censorship bill, who "put pressure on the creators and distributors of 'objectionable' music,"[7] as well as make good use of the popular longbox packaging format of the day, which many artists and customers considered unnecessary and wasteful.[6] Michael Stipe also appeared in a public service announcement for the campaign.[6]

In July 2014, radio show 99% Invisible said that because of this packaging, Out of Time is "the most politically significant album in the history of the United States."[7] They said that three weeks after the album's release, "they had received 10,000 petitions, 100 per senator, and they just kept coming in droves,"[7] and a month following its release, the campaign's political director and members of KMD "wheeled a shopping cart full of the first 10,000 petitions into a senate hearing."[7] The bill was eventually passed in 1993 by Bill Clinton and was in effect January 1, 1995; one commentary later said this happened "in no small part because of R.E.M.’s lobbying."[6]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Chicago Tribune	[10]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	A[11]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[12]
Los Angeles Times	[13]
NME	10/10[14]
Pitchfork	8.4/10[15]
Q	[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
Select	5/5[18]

The 25th anniversary re-release of Out of Time was met with positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. This release received a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 9 reviews.[19]

Track listing

All tracks written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.

1991 CD[20]

"Radio Song" (featuring KRS-One) – 4:12
"Losing My Religion" – 4:26
"Low" – 4:55
"Near Wild Heaven" – 3:17
"Endgame" – 3:48
"Shiny Happy People" – 3:44
"Belong" – 4:03
"Half a World Away" – 3:26
"Texarkana" – 3:36
"Country Feedback" – 4:07
"Me in Honey" – 4:06

Note

LP and Cassette releases list Side 1 (tracks 1–5) as Time Side and Side 2 (tracks 6–11) as Memory Side[21]
The 25th anniversary re-release includes several expanded editions:

Disc two – demos

"Losing My Religion 1" (demo) - 4:00
"Near Wild Heaven 1" (demo) - 4:04
"Shiny Happy People 1" (demo) - 3:13
"Texarkana 1" (demo) - 3:47
"Untitled Demo 2" - 3:31
"Radio – Acoustic" ("Radio Song 1" demo) - 4:13
"Near Wild Heaven 2" (demo) - 3:37
"Shiny Happy People 2" (demo) - 3:55
"Slow Sad Rocker" ("Endgame" demo) - 4:29
"Radio – Band" ("Radio Song 3" demo) - 4:22
"Losing My Religion 2" (demo) - 4:34
"Belong" (demo) - 4:15
"Blackbirds" ("Half a World Away" demo) - 3:24
"Texarkana" (demo) - 4:02
"Country Feedback" (demo) - 4:09
"Me on Keyboard" ("Me in Honey" demo) - 3:43
"Low" (demo) - 4:52
"40 Sec." ("40 Second Song" demo) - 1:22
"Fretless 1" (demo) - 4:51

Disc three – Mountain Stage, 1991

Introduction
"World Leader Pretend"
"Radio Song"
"Fall On Me"
"It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
"Half a World Away"
"Belong"
"Love Is All Around"
"Losing My Religion"
"Dallas" (featuring Billy Bragg, Clive Gregson & Christine Collister)
"Radio Song"
"Disturbance at the Heron House"
"Low"
"Swan Swan H"
"Pop Song 89"

Disc four – Blu-ray

Out of Time Hi-Resolution Audio
Out of Time 5.1 Surround Sound
"Radio Song" music video
"Losing My Religion" music video
"Low" music video
"Near Wild Heaven" music video
"Shiny Happy People" music video
"Belong" music video
"Half a World Away" music video
"Country Feedback" music video
Time Piece electronic press kit

Personnel

R.E.M.

Bill Berry – drums, percussion, congas on "Low", bass guitar on "Half a World Away" and "Country Feedback", piano on "Near Wild Heaven", backing vocals on "Near Wild Heaven", "Belong", and "Country Feedback", production
Peter Buck – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin on "Losing My Religion" and "Half a World Away", production
Mike Mills – bass guitar; backing vocals, organ on "Radio Song", "Low", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away", and "Country Feedback", piano on "Belong", harpsichord on "Half a World Away"; percussion on "Half a World Away", lead vocals on "Near Wild Heaven" and "Texarkana", keyboards and arrangement on "Losing My Religion" and "Texarkana"; production
Michael Stipe – lead vocals (except "Near Wild Heaven" and "Texarkana"), melodica and arrangement on "Endgame", backing vocals on "Near Wild Heaven" and "Texarkana", production, packaging, photography

Additional musicians

David Arenz – violin on "Radio Song", "Low", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away" and "Texarkana"
Ellie Arenz – violin on "Radio Song", "Low", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away" and "Texarkana"
Mark Bingham – string arrangements on "Radio Song", "Low", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away" and "Texarkana"
David Braitberg – violin on "Radio Song", "Low", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away" and "Texarkana"
Andrew Cox – cello on "Radio Song", "Low", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away" and "Texarkana"
Reid Harris – viola on "Radio Song", "Low", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away" and "Texarkana"
Peter Holsapple – bass guitar on "Radio Song" and "Low", acoustic guitar on "Losing My Religion", "Shiny Happy People" and "Texarkana", electric guitar on "Belong"
Ralph Jones – double bass on "Radio Song", "Low", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away" and "Texarkana"
Kidd Jordan – baritone saxophone on "Radio Song" and "Near Wild Heaven", tenor saxophone on "Radio Song" and "Endgame", alto saxophone on "Radio Song", bass clarinet on "Low" and "Endgame"
John Keane – pedal steel guitar on "Texarkana" and "Country Feedback"
Dave Kempers – violin on "Radio Song", "Low", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away" and "Texarkana"
KRS-One – rapping on "Radio Song"
Scott Litt – echo-loop feed on "Radio Song"
Elizabeth Murphy – cello on "Radio Song", "Low", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away", and "Texarkana"
Paul Murphy – viola on "Radio Song", "Low", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away", and "Texarkana"
Kate Pierson – backing vocals on "Near Wild Heaven" (miscredited to "Country Feedback" on the booklet), and duet on "Shiny Happy People", "Me in Honey"
Jay Weigel – orchestral liaison on "Radio Song", "Low", "Near Wild Heaven", "Endgame", "Shiny Happy People", "Half a World Away", and "Texarkana"
Cecil Welch – flugelhorn on "Endgame"

Production

Dave Friedlander – engineering
Tom Garneau – engineering
Ben Katchor – illustrations
John Keane – engineering
Scott Litt – production, engineering
Ted Malia – engineering
Stephen Marcussen – mastering, at Precision Mastering, Los Angeles, California, United States
Frank Ockenfels – photography
Tom Recchion – packaging
Mike Reiter – engineering
Ed Rogers – illustrations
Karina Santo – photography
Doug Starn – photography
Mike Starn – photography

Accolades

Year	Award	Album/Track	Result
1992	Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal	"Losing My Religion" [22]	Won
1992	Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance	Out of Time [22]	Won
1992	Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form	"Losing My Religion" [22]	Won
1992	Grammy Award for Record of the Year	"Losing My Religion" [22]	Nominated
1992	Grammy Award for Song of the Year	"Losing My Religion" [22]	Nominated
1992	Grammy Award for Album of the Year	Out of Time [22]	Nominated
1992	Grammy Award for Best Rock Song	"Radio Song" [22]	Nominated

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart	Peak position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[23]	4
Austrian Albums Chart[24]	1
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[25]	1
Dutch Albums Chart[26]	1
French SNEP Albums Chart[27]	1
German Media Control Albums Chart[28]	2
Italian Albums Chart[29]	1
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[30]	71
New Zealand Albums Chart[31]	3
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[32]	4
Spanish Albums Chart[33]	4
Swedish Albums Chart[34]	7
Swiss Albums Chart[35]	3
UK Albums Chart[36]	1
U.S. Billboard 200[37]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1991)	Position
Australian Albums Chart[38]	12
Austrian Albums Chart[39]	3
Canadian Albums Chart[40]	1
Dutch Albums Chart[41]	2
French Albums Chart[42]	14
Italian Albums Chart[29]	3
Swiss Albums Chart[43]	3
UK Albums Chart[44]	6
U.S. Billboard 200[45]	11
Chart (1992)	Position
UK Albums Chart[44]	47
U.S. Billboard 200[46]	50

Certifications and sales


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[47]	Gold	30,000^{^}
Australia (ARIA)[48]	2× Platinum	140,000^{^}
Austria (IFPI Austria)[49]	Platinum	50,000^*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[50]	Gold	100,000^*
Canada (Music Canada)[51]	7× Platinum	700,000^{^}
France (SNEP)[52]	2× Platinum	825,300[53]
Germany (BVMI)[54]	5× Gold	1,250,000^{^}
Italy	—	500,000[55]
Netherlands (NVPI)[56]	2× Platinum	200,000^{^}
New Zealand (RMNZ)[57]	Gold	7,500^{^}
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[58]	5× Platinum	500,000^{^}
Sweden (GLF)[59]	Gold	50,000^{^}
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[60]	2× Platinum	100,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)[61]	5× Platinum	1,500,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)[62]	4× Platinum	4,000,000^{^}
Summaries
Worldwide	—	18,000,000[2]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

In 2005, Warner Bros. Records issued an expanded two-disc edition of Out of Time which includes a CD, a DVD-Audio disc containing a 5.1-channel surround sound mix of the album done by Elliot Scheiner, lyrics, a photo album, and the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes. In 2011 Warner Bros. released a 96 kHz, 24-bit and 192 kHz, 24 bit stereo release (the same High-Resolution stereo mix as featured on the DVD-Audio and later, the Blu-Ray editions) of the album at HDtracks.

Out of Time

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
Germany	March 8, 1991	Warner Bros.	Compact Disc	7599-26496-2
United Kingdom	March 11, 1991	Warner Bros.	LP	7599-26496-1
United Kingdom	March 11, 1991	Warner Bros.	Compact Disc	7599-26496-2
United States	March 12, 1991	Warner Bros.	LP	1-26496
			Compact Disc	2-26527
			Cassette	4-26496
Canada	March 12, 1991	Warner Bros.	Compact Disc	CD 26496
France	March 1991	Warner Bros.	Compact Disc	WE 833
Germany	March 1991	Warner Bros.	Digital Compact Cassette	7599-26496-5
Argentina	1991	Warner Bros.	Cassette	4-26496
Bolivia	1991	Warner Bros.	LP	WEA WL-1152
Brazil	1991	Warner Bros.	LP	6709323
Germany	1991	Warner Bros.	LP	7599-26496-1†
Israel	1991	Hed Arzi	Compact Disc	9 26496-2
Japan	1991	Warner Bros.	Compact Disc	WPCP 4195
Mexico	1991	Warner Bros.	LP	LPNB-7069
Russia	1991	Warner Bros.	LP	1092MD/RGM 7028-1A/2
South Africa	1991	Warner Bros./Tusk	Compact Disc	WBCD 1701
South Korea	1991	Warner Bros.	LP	7599-26496-1
Zimbabwe	1991	Tusk	LP	WBC 1701
Australia	1991	Warner Bros.	Compact Disc	7599264962
United States	2005	Warner Bros.	Compact Disc/DVD-Audio DualDisc	73951
Internet	2011	Warner Bros.	LPCM FLAC 96 kHz/24bit, LPCM FLAC 192 kHz /24bit