Warner Bros. 26496
Producers: R.E.M. and Scott Litt
Track listing: Radio Song / Losing My Religion / Low / Near Wild Heaven / Endgame / Shiny Happy People / Belong / Half a World Away / Texarkana / Country Feedback / Me in Honey
May 18, 1991
2 weeks (nonconsecutive)
In 1981, R.E.M. emerged out of the small college town of Athens, Georgia, and into the hearts of rock critics across America with “Radio Free Europe.” The single, released on the tiny Hib-Tone label, was voted the top independent single of 1981 in the Village Voice’s annual critics’ poll. It took the American public a decade to catch up with critical opinion, as R.E.M. finally hit Number One on the Top Pop Albums chart with Out of Time.
With the release of its first four albums on I.R.S. Records — 1983’s Murmur, 1984’s Reckoning, 1985’s Fables of the Reconstruction, and 1986’s Lifes Rich Pageant — the quartet remained critics’ darlings, but failed to crack the top 20 of the album chart. R.E.M.’s big commercial breakthrough came in 1987 with its fifth album, Document, and the blistering folk-rock single “The One I Love.” The album reached number 10, while the single peaked at nine. With Green, its debut for Warner Bros., R.E.M.’s success continued. The album reached number 12, while the single “Stand” climbed to number six.
When R.E.M. returned to recording after a year-long hiatus, the band decided it was time for a change. Guitarist Peter Buck had grown tired of playing electric guitar. “He just wanted to explore more acoustic things and get away from loud guitar,” says singer Michael Stipe. As a result, Buck picked up the mandolin, while bassist Mike Mills opted for keyboards on several tracks, and drummer Bill Berry picked up the bass duties on a few songs. In addition, the band recruited a string section, tour sideman and former dB’s member Peter Holsapple, and saxophonist Kidd Jordan for the recording sessions. The band also called in guest vocalists: rapper KRS-1 of Boogie Down Productions and fellow Athens music scenester Kate Pierson of the B-52’s. KRS-1 was featured on the album opener “Radio Song.” Says Stipe, “It was really exciting to involve him in the project. He was really into it, and it made sense, since we both had similar gripes about radio and formatting.” Pierson’s guest shots came on “Shiny Happy People” (a pure-pop delight punctuated by a string section playing a different time signature), “Country Feedback,” and “Me in Honey.” Says Mills, “It was fun working with Kate. That was a highlight.”
Yet the most memorable song on Out of Time was “Losing My Religion,” which was accompanied by a video clip as striking as the track itself. The single climbed to number four, becoming the biggest hit of R.E.M.’s career, while the video, directed by a visual artist known as Tarsem, picked up six awards at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. “I really hit the nail on the head with that one,” says Stipe. “My idea with that song was to try to rewrite ‘Every Breath You Take.’ I guess I did a pretty good job of it.”
Still, the success of the single took the members of R.E.M. by surprise. “Nobody expected that at all,” says Mills. “It was nice to see that a mandolin-based quasi-folk song could be a big hit in America.”
Thanks in part to the success of “Losing My Religion,” Out of Time hit Number One in its eighth week on the Pop Albums chart. The following week, Billboard began utilizing SoundScan data in compiling the album chart and Michael Bolton’s Time, Love & Tenderness temporarily dethroned R.E.M. On June 1, 1991, however, Out of Time returned to Number One, becoming the only album to top the chart in both the pre- and SoundScan eras.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of May 18, 1991
1. Out of Time, R.E.M.
2. Mariah Carey, Mariah Carey
3. Gonna Make You Sweat, C + C Music Factory
4. Wilson Phillips, Wilson Phillips
5. Shake Your Money Maker, The Black Crowes