R.E.M.
Out Of Time

"Hey, I can’t find nothing on the radio Yo! turn to that station."
This is how the album, always defined by critics and fans as the best, begins, the one that encapsulates the true creativity of this group, a constant icon of its own style. This album was the first to break through with a major label, putting R.E.M. on major covers, the world's greatest stages, and bringing them to their current great notoriety.

Although it initially seems like a rap-rock CD with "Radio Song," after just the first 4 minutes, we find ourselves plunged into a very particular atmosphere, made of mandolins and acoustic guitars; it's "Losing My Religion," one of R.E.M.'s most famous songs.
There is no need to dwell on the invaluable importance of this piece, which is a symbol of Stipe's talent, the group's great and enigmatic lyricist. What characterizes the piece most is the text, which, as often happens, was misinterpreted as a mystical crisis (religion), but in reality, the title meant losing patience in slang. The third piece is "Low," with dark and warm features, a slow and melancholic voice accompanied by tribal sounds, with a bass guitar merging with an organ, and in the chorus, with a rock-characteristic guitar. Then there's "Near Wild Heaven," which, with Mills' voice alongside Stipe's, takes us this time to a place that in my imagination could seem like a remote island, absolutely outside life's problems.
In this very "wild paradise," Peter Buck's guitar and a piano leave us in a soft atmosphere of lightness.
"Endgame," which is an instrumental piece, accompanied by vocal warbles, is a good test of the ability to fuse different genres with each other, and indeed, in my opinion, it's part of the great metamorphosis that will lead to Automatic For The People (1992).
This piece isn’t marked by great technical abilities, which in the group are fully represented by bassist Mike Mills - also a pianist and at times a singer in the group - but by the introduction of a small string and brass section, very pleasant to the ear.
Strings we also find in "Shiny Happy People," this single also was very popular at the time, and, contrary to the title, hides melancholic tones in minor chords, which however in the chorus give way to the three lead voices, Kate Pierson is the female voice. It could be said banally that the text is an anthem to happiness, a quest for solidarity among men.
"Belong" starts with a somewhat gloomy bass, followed by a guitar initially arpeggiated, then follows a continuous line along with vocal highs. "Half A World Away," a masterpiece along with "Losing My Religion" (but not only), begins with multiple instruments, also very melancholic (the repetition is necessary) with mandolin, guitar, keyboard, and a biting voice by Stipe, which tells a compelling story with references to love and life. A ballad masterfully carried forward by the four. "Texarkana," sung by Mills' sweet voice, begins with a fast and slapped bass, but at the same time soft and decisive, it’s a piece that talks about life choices, always necessarily posed in an allegorical key.
"Country Feedback," poignant and pasty, starts with a guitar slide and a drum rhythm, in the meantime accompanied by an acoustic guitar.

The album concludes with "Me In Honey," a duet with Kate Pierson with upbeat rock rhythms, it's a piece more rhythmic and insistent, a great example of the group's versatility and of drummer Bill Berry, unfortunately, this isn’t the album that fully reflects his great abilities, as perhaps in Monster or other albums.
In short, Out Of Time is an album that must absolutely be in one’s record collection, both for connoisseurs and for those who want to approach good music.