I just finished listening to Out of Time. I’ve played some tracks here and there but haven’t had a go at the whole album in some years.
I like the album and there are some bangers on there. Me in Honey is a great closer, for one.
But, it crystallized a thought I had.
I’ve said here before that when I listen to Up, I think “why couldn’t U2 have followed Pop with something as great as this?”
But when I listen to Out of Time, I think “damn, they came out with this just a few months before U2 came along and stomped the world with Achtung Baby.”
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a solid work.
It’s just that there’s nothing new there, it was the same old sound. The world of rock was about to change, and U2 were there, but REM had to catch up.
Well, they did catch up. Good work, boys.