In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003

For the 1991 album, see The Best of R.E.M..

In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003
Greatest hits album by R.E.M.
Released	October 27, 2003 (2003-10-27)
Recorded	1988–2003
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	76:15
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Scott Litt, Pat McCarthy & R.E.M.
R.E.M. chronology
Vancouver Rehearsal Tapes (2003) In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 (2003) In View: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 (2004)
Singles from In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003
"Bad Day" Released: October 2003 (2003-10) "Animal" Released: January 5, 2004 (2004-01-05)
R.E.M. compilations chronology
R.E.M.: In the Attic – Alternative Recordings 1985–1989 (1997) In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 (2003) iTunes Originals – R.E.M. (2004)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
NME
Pitchfork Media	7.5/10
Rolling Stone
RTÉ.ie
Stylus Magazine	Favorable

In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 is the second official compilation album released by R.E.M. Issued in 2003, it includes tracks from their Warner Bros. Records era, from 1988's Green to 2001's Reveal, as well as two new recordings and two songs from movie soundtracks. The album was a huge success in the UK, the tenth-best selling album of 2003, and the 49th best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK.

Background

"Bad Day" was a demo version in 1986, a Life's Rich Pageant outtake when Bill Berry was still in the band, and was re-recorded for this compilation. "Animal" was a recent song written for their upcoming studio album. Similarly, "All the Right Friends", originally written in the early 1980s, had been re-recorded by the band for use in Cameron Crowe's 2001 film Vanilla Sky. Finally, "The Great Beyond" was initially issued in 1999 as part of Miloš Forman's film on Andy Kaufman, Man on the Moon. It ended up becoming the band's biggest UK hit, with a #3 peak, in early 2000. This, the third inclusion of the song on an official release, is the only unedited version. On the Man on the Moon soundtrack, there is some dialogue from the movie at the end of the track; the single version is a radio edit, with the bridge omitted.

In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 was also issued in a limited two-disc edition that included a "Rarities and B-Sides" disc from the same era, with liner notes by Peter Buck. The single-disc edition of the album reached #1 in the UK, while going platinum in the U.S. and peaking at #8. The limited-edition two-disc release managed to reach #16 in the U.S. and #37 in the UK. There is also a vinyl edition which consists of two LPs inside a gatefold cover and a limited CD box-set edition featuring all eighteen tracks on their own individual one-track CDs, with cover art from the original singles.

A notable omission from the album is the song "Shiny Happy People" which was deliberately left out by the band despite it being one of their biggest hits. "Drive" was also left out in favor of "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" from Automatic for the People, and "Bang and Blame", which was also a big hit, was left out for unknown reasons.

A companion DVD, entitled In View: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003, was released at the same time. In 2005, Warner Bros. Records issued an expanded two-disc edition of the compilation which included a CD, a DVD-Audio disc containing a 5.1-channel surround sound mix of the album done by Elliot Scheiner, and the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes. The "Rarities and B-Sides" bonus disc from the limited edition is not included in this package.

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe except as indicated.

1. "Man on the Moon" (from Automatic for the People, 1992) – 5:12
2. "The Great Beyond" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) (from the Man on the Moon soundtrack, 1999) – 5:04
3. "Bad Day" – 4:05
4. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (from Monster, 1994) – 3:58
5. "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) (from Reveal, 2001) – 4:43
6. "Losing My Religion" (from Out of Time, 1991) – 4:26
7. "E-Bow the Letter" (from New Adventures in Hi-Fi, 1996) – 5:22
8. "Orange Crush" (from Green, 1988) – 3:50
9. "Imitation of Life" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) (from Reveal, 2001) – 3:56
10. "Daysleeper" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) (from Up, 1998) – 3:37
11. "Animal" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 4:00
12. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" (from Automatic for the People, 1992) – 4:06
13. "Stand" (from Green, 1988) – 3:09
14. "Electrolite" (from New Adventures in Hi-Fi, 1996) – 4:04
15. "All the Right Friends" (from the Vanilla Sky soundtrack, 2001) – 2:45
16. "Everybody Hurts" (from Automatic for the People, 1992) – 5:17
17. "At My Most Beautiful" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) (from Up, 1998) – 3:33
18. "Nightswimming" (from Automatic for the People, 1992) – 4:16

Bonus disc

1. "Pop Song 89" (acoustic) – 2:56
   • B-side of "Pop Song 89" 7 Inch; 1989
2. "Turn You Inside-Out" (live) – 4:16
   • although listed on the cover as being from the live video Tourfilm (which version was also released as B-side of "Losing My Religion" "Collector's Editions" CD 1), this recording is actually from the radio broadcast of the Orlando show from April 30, 1989, previously included on a "Get Up" promotional CD-single.
3. "Fretless" – 4:49
   • B-side of "Losing My Religion" "Collector's Editions" CD 2, Until the End of the World soundtrack, B-side of "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" "Collector's Edition" CD 1 UK; 1991
4. "Chance (Dub)" – 2:33
   • B-side of "Everybody Hurts" "Collector's Edition" CD 2 UK; 1993
5. "It's a Free World, Baby" – 5:11
   • B-side of "Drive" "Collector's Edition" Single UK & the Coneheads soundtrack; 1992
6. "Drive" (live, November 19, 1992) – 3:59
   • Alternative NRG, B-side of "Strange Currencies" CD single; 1994
7. "Star Me Kitten" (featuring William S. Burroughs) – 3:29
   • Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files; 1996
8. "Revolution" – 3:02
   • Batman & Robin soundtrack; 1997
9. "Leave" (alternate version) – 4:40
   • A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack; 1997
10. "Why Not Smile" (Oxford American version) (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 2:59
    • B-side of "Daysleeper" CD single; 1998
11. "The Lifting" (original version) (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 5:19
    • B-side of "Imitation of Life" CD single; 2001
12. "Beat a Drum" (Dalkey demo) (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 4:25
    • B-side of "Imitation of Life" CD single; 2001
13. "2JN" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 3:24
    • B-side of "Imitation of Life" CD single; 2001
14. "The One I Love" (live from the Museum of Television and Radio, June 8, 2001) – 3:23
    • previously unreleased
15. "Country Feedback" (live from Wiesbaden, Germany, 2003) – 6:15
    • previously unreleased

Later pressings of the collector's edition have the second disc enhanced with the "Bad Day" video.

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
2003	U.S. Billboard 200	8 (13 weeks on chart) Regular Edition 16 (4 weeks on chart) Limited Edition[citation needed]
2003	UK album chart	1 (41 weeks on chart) Regular Edition 36 (1 week on chart) Limited Edition[citation needed]

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
2003	"Bad Day"	Billboard Canadian Singles Chart	17[citation needed]
2003	"Bad Day"	UK Singles Chart	8[citation needed]
2004	"Animal"	UK Singles Chart	33[citation needed]

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
BPI – UK	3× Platinum	December 12, 2003[citation needed]
RIAA – U.S.	Platinum	September 23, 2008[citation needed]
BVMI – Germany	2x Platinum	2006

External links

• In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 (disc 2) at MusicBrainz

Preceded by Life for Rent by Dido

UK number one album November 8–14, 2003

Succeeded by Guilty by Blue