R.E.M. REACTON Fall On Me/Can't Get There From Here/The One I Love/Loosing My Religion/Shiny Happy
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- Опубликовано: 30 янв 2023
- THANKS TO JK FOR THIS AMAZING MARATHON!!
1. Fall On Me
2. Can't Get There From Here
3. The One I Love
4. Loosing My Religion
5. Shiny Happy People
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#rem 
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This song is a very happy song. You can't help it. The female vocal is Kate Pierson of the B-52's, also a band from Georgia. I don't know if you've listened to any B-52's, but they are a PARTY!
We have a reaction of them on the channel!! Check it out!
Specifically, both R.E.M. and B-52s are from Athens Georgia which was a little incubator of great talent at that time.
Thank you for reacting to REM.. 4 out of 5 of these songs were Hits and still get radio airplay.. Except for my favorite from these selections "Can't Get There From Here", from the great Fables Of the Reconstruction album.
REM has wealth of outstanding material to choose from.. "Carnival Of Sorts(Boxcars)", "Perfect Circle", "South Central Rain", "Pretty Persuasion ", "Driver 8", "Gardening At Night", "I Believe", and "Don't Go Back To Rockville" are all fantastic tunes to react to.. Thanks.
Guess it depends on what you mean hits. "Can't Get There From Here" reached number 14 on the Billboard rock charts. It got a lot of airplay on 96Rock in Atlanta. Of course R.E.M. were pretty much considered to be a local band in Atlanta back then. Athens was just 60 miles away. First time I saw R.E.M. was in 1980.
@@frankmarsh1159 Thanks, I didn't know it did well as a single.. I was really into the album as a whole.. it really defined the unique progression of their talents and musical abilities at the time.. one of my favorites.
you should do more from the Fables album
I love these block reactions of one band. It’s great to hear some songs that didn’t get tons of airplay, but were great in their own right.
These all got plenty of airplay. They were all big hits.
@@Nightrelic Not Can’t Get There from Here but the rest yeah pretty much.
I guess it depended a lot on where you were listening. That got a lot of airplay in the NY area.
I saw them twice in 82, when I was in school in San Diego, and became a huge fan. A group of us were able to convince the powers that be at school to book them in Montezuma Hall in the fall of 83. They were scheduled to leave for Europe following their gig in Beverly Hills the night before, but they came and played in San Diego, instead. Great times for music, those early years. They were the ultimate college band then.
For many years, they were my favorite band. Tremendous catalog, tremendous albums. Another great basic 4 piece band. The wonderful harmonies between Mills and Stipe sneak up on you.
I think Nick would love a sentimental REM marathon. For me that would include “Nightswimming”, “You are the Everything”, “Perfect Circle”, “Hairshirt” and “Wendell Gee”
Nick, music has a way of bringing people together and it’s where I find myself the most happy. Whether at a live show, listening to a record, or even watching a reaction to music. I hope you never lose that. ✌🏼
Can't get there from Here has been one of my favorites of thiers since that record came out. I actually love the record even though it wasn't a big hit at the time. They recorded it in England and had a miserable time. Love the dark undertones of it. Maps and Legends as well from the same record.
Saw R.E.M. in '82 in Philly. The early days of R.E.M. Radio Free Europe was the big song for them back then. Thanks @JK !
Totally welcome. So hard to pick just five!
Love REM!! 3 more to consider-"Superman", "(Don't Go Back To)Rockville","Man on the Moon".
Yes, yes and yes!
What's the Frequency, Kenneth? and South Central Rain are quintessential REM tunes.
Great job with this one JK...you really can't go wrong with any REM from 1983 to 1993, or so. Very hard to pick just 5 songs. REM, U2 and The Smiths WERE my college years bands. Didn't go a day without hearing at least a few songs from these 3 bands...you basically couldn't avoid it. If you and Lex ever are looking for a full album to react to, I can't recommend REMs 1983 album 'Murmur' enough. Not a bad track on it.
Yes, Murmur is fantastic!!
I agree!
Me too.
Yes! LOVE Murmur, and Chronic Town and Reckoning too!!
Well said Nick the best rant I've heard in 2023, I will play this to my kids.
I first heard REM in my high school years, and they became one of my favorite bands. There are so many great songs and albums. "Near Wild Heaven" is probably my favorite song if I had to choose one. (I kinda get the same feeling listening to it as "Fall on Me" - pop perfection!) Awesome marathon!
Loved this marathon especially to have some of their great early songs included. Didn’t mind your rant either, Nick. I’m glad to have a break from all the negativity during this time enjoying your (re)discovery of R.E.M.
I'm very pleased JK requested an REM marathon. They were a very good band who produced some outstanding music throughout their career. Their debut album 'Murmur' could fill two marathons on its own in my opinion! I have a very soft spot for 'Document' as well as 'Automatic For The People' of course.
Music hits me hard too Nick sometimes. It is literally the soundtrack of my life, almost 70 years of memories. Songs, tunes, pieces of music that remind me of a certain place, time, person, job or happening that had an impact on me and my life. And thank goodness it does that and that it's here with me every day. Life just wouldn't be the same without it.
Your rant hits home with me too. My daughter has taken the decision not to have my 2 year old grandson appear on any social media, and I can understand that. There is no benefit to him at all on any of those sites. Knowing my daughter though, she will encourage him to enjoy music. Thanks Nick for re-affirming my faith in musical memories.
I especially love Fall On Me and Can't Get There From Here on this list. I spent hours and hours listening to their first 4 albums ( Murmur, Reckoning, Fables of The Reconstruction and Life's Rich Pageant ). Didn't spend as much time with the following 2 ( Document and Green ). Listened to Out Of Time and Automatic For the People a hell of a lot. Monster and New Adventures in HiFi were both good albums ( but I didn't connect with either, really ). Up is a fantastic album. Didn't spend much time with any album after Up.
Fave R.E.M. tracks: Radio Free Europe ( Murmur ), Harborcoat ( Reckoning ), So. Central Rain ( Reckoning ), Pretty Persuasion ( Reckoning ), Don't Go Back To Rockville ( Reckoning ), Driver 8 ( Fables... ), Wendell Gee ( Fables.... ), I Believe ( Life's Rich... ), Superman ( Life's Rich.... ), It's The End Of The World As We Know It ( Document ), Hairshirt ( Green ), Low ( Out Of Time ), Half A World Away ( Out Of Time ), Drive ( Automatic.... ), Everybody Hurts ( Automatic.... ), Monty Got A Raw Deal ( Automatic.... ), Ignoreland ( Automatic.... ), Find A River ( Automatic.... ), Lotus ( Up ), Suspicion ( Up ), Sad Professor ( Up ), Daysleeper ( Up )
I find it interesting how many find “Fall on Me” one of their most underrated songs (it’s one of my favorites).
Considering it’s on a few of their greatest hits albums
“Fall on Me” is one of their most criminally underrated songs IMO.
Which is interesting because it is on a few of their greatest hits albums
Underrated by who? It has been heard millions of times by millions of people. What does that even mean it is "underrated"?
@@danielrn133 When it debuted it only came in at No. 94 on the Billboard top 100.
Maybe because I wasn’t around back when it came out but from what I’ve seen and heard it doesn’t get nearly as talked about as their top hits such as “One I Love”, “End of the World”, “Losing my Religion” and “Everybody Hurts”.
I was living in Taiwan in '83 and '84 when R.E.M. first hit the airwaves, and my boyfriend back home sent me a cassette with selections from their first EP and 2 albums, telling me, "This is America's next greatest band," or something to that effect. They sounded really fresh and interesting- and I've always loved Mike Mills' melodic bass playing and his vocal harmonies and counter-melodies. I saw them on their Life's Rich Pageant tour and got to meet them afterwards and shake all their hands. Really nice guys!
"Can't Get There From Here" was my favorite song from that album, and I (and many others, I'm sure) always loved the sound of Peter Buck's mandolin on "Losing My Religion."
You should check out their appearance on Sesame Street with Kate Pierson, they parody "Shiny Happy People" as "Furry Happy Monsters." It's adorable!
Really enjoyed this one, JK and Nick!
🎵❤️🎵 Debbie
I saw them live in a little club on their Reckoning tour. They played almost all the songs from the first two albums. Way before they became big. I’ll never forget it.
Superb reaction and selections of a great band. Lots more to do Monster, Orange Crush, Night Swimming, Man in the Moon. 🤞🤞🤞
Got introduced to REM with their album Fables of the Reconstruciton. And its still my favorite REM album. More experimental and diverse and interesting.
Mine too
Yes!
All their albums from the 1980’s is my favorite era of the band. Their first album Murmur from 1983 is a masterpiece of alternative rock.
Knowing it received Rolling Stone’s Album of the Year against some stellar albums that were released in 83 including Thriller and Synchronicity speaks volumes.
Murmur is a classic, but Reckoning is my favorite REM album
@@Thejazzfan66 Oh I love that one too. I don’t skip any of those tracks.
I was just making a list that included a REM song
Crush With Eyeliner is an amazing song!!!!!
Enjoyed the rant. As a photographer I echo your incomprehension when it comes to selfies. Apparently its not "your" photo unless you are in it? Some REM from the early days - So Central Rain, Begin the Beguine, Radio Free Europe - might be fun. Thanks so much Nick.
Mike mills, bass player did the high harmony vocals.
I love your reactions Nick... I love how emotional you get. It's so special. I get that feeling when I listen to Fall On Me... that's my favorite REM song, and it just moves me to tears... it's the melody... so gorgeous.
Thank you for enjoying it with me. 🙏
Another song which I get lost in from Out of Time is "Half a World Away" which also has beautiful layering of instruments. I know that "true" R.E.M fans like their earlier stuff more, but Out of Time was a ground breaking album which hit the zeitgeist at the right time.
'Can't Get There' has some elements that went into 'Shiny People'. Never cared for 'Shiny Happy People' until I found out it was a spoof on Chinese propaganda. Makes it even more fun.
Grumpy old man mode: I totally agree about social media. RUclips is the only one that I feel enriches me. My friends know that I see nothing that's posted on Facebook. Got my Superbowl party invitation via text yesterday. Yay!
These songs take me back to freshman year of high school
I feel the same way with REM. I was a sophomore in HS when Automatic For The People came out. I have a lot of memories of driving around on the back roads with a friend of mine listening to REM.
Fall on me was the first song i heard from them and was hooked
Thanks so much, Nick, it was a pleasure to share this with you and your very loyal followers! It was so hard to pick five songs. R.E.M. has so many different styles and periods. I chose Fall On Me as representative of their “classic” sound. But their earlier albums are all equally brilliant. Can’t Get There From Here is unusual in comparison. And The One I Love was also a big hit, but you’re right that Out Of Time was their commercial peak. And great songs came after, too! I’m tempted to offer a Part Two on this band too, like I did with The Cars. I definitely wanted to finish with their happiest song (with great help from Kate Pierson of The B-52’s). It seemed like a happier time to me too - great music was a big part of that!
A happier time for whom? That's some privelege talk there, and some cloudy memory. Wasn't too happy for a great many people. Do you even know what "Fall On Me" is about? How about "Flowers of Guatamala"? And SHP is crap. It's like Genesis doing "We Can't Dance" or Rod Stewart singing "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?".
They had those great harmonies
Hey guys… I’m a long time viewer. I appreciate your passion, and your humanity Don’t ever feel bad about expressing your feelings and thoughts. Nick, you are wise beyond your years. I am nearly 58 years old, and was nowhere near your wisdom at that age I wish you and Lex all the happiness and joy you project on your channel.
That is very kind of you; thank you! ❤️ It’s great to have you here to share with you!
I had all their early albums (back when you could not make out most of the words). They always reminded me of the “jingle jangle” sound of the Byrds. By the time they made it big with MTV, I had lost interest. One might say that I lost my religion😜. Good to hear those early tunes again. Ah, those college days. Thanks JK.
Ps, Those were the days... Great RANT! Almost as good as your epic rant on the last Neal Morse Marathon. I have faith that the younger generations will figure it all out. Either that or we’ll all end up selfish, bitter, and alone....like some people I know (but definitely not me?)
I also really liked them early on and lost interest in buying their albums- (the last one I bought was Life's Rich Pageant.) I am a singer and it drove me nuts to not be able to make out the words. I sent a letter requesting lyrics (before the internet, of course!) and I got a sheet of paper with some random graphics and the R.E.M. logo, and scrawled in bright green highlighter was NO LYRICS.😅
I did enjoy most of what I heard on the radio, though, just didn't buy their later albums. I may check them out eventually, though!🎵🙂🎵
I really liked their music from the years they were signed to IRS records. IMHO, I think they jumped the shark when the drummer got sick and left the band.
I did Fall On Me at an open karaoke bar and someone in the audience knew the alternate line & lyrics and came up and sang with me and we brought down the house, was so much fun
Peter always plays with a Rickenbacker which always gives everything he plays a unique sound, even when the chords he plays aren't unique unto themselves.
Wow what timing! I've been on an R.E.M. kick lately, so it was cool to see this reaction. They've been one of my top-tier favorite bands of all time since high school (on a short list that includes the Beatles, Sonic Youth, Slayer, the Smiths, Yo La Tengo, and a few others of various subgenres). I'll be 50 this year, and they still hit that musical spot for me. At this moment, I'm geeking out at the minimal genius of Peter Buck's guitar work. His arpeggios say so much in so few notes. The Byrds may be the originators of that style, but Buck simplifies it to its rawest beauty. (Or maybe it just sounds that way because he's playing a 6-string instead of Roger McGuinn's 12-string. Either way, it's always a treat to hear.) I'm so glad I got to see them play live - as a 4-piece with Bill Berry! 🤘- and it was a GREAT show. RIP R.E.M.
My number 1 all time is Steely Dan. R.E.M. would be about 4 or 5.
Hey I love your rant on shiny happy people you're right on point my friend...back 2 or 3 decades ago you could walk downtown and say hi to people, make friends, and say hey I'll meet up with you at the town square tomorrow at 5, and that person would be there. That is a fairy tale that our kids will never experience because no one trusts anyone now and everyone's biggest fear is making an appointment or a commitment...sad, but we have memories of a better time!
Very late to this one but only commenting because of your “rant” at the end. You hit it spot on man, I hate seeing what social media has done to us, in spite of the good. I am older than you so also remember what life was like without it and without smartphones. I feel sheepish as I spent 11 years chasing likes on Facebook and Instagram until I finally saw the light and deactivated my accounts (twitter as well) a few years ago. I used to get into all kinds of disputes, political and otherwise with people I didn’t even know on those platforms and it is such a relief to be away from that. I do spend some time on RUclips but try to stick with either educational topics or things I love such as music and sharing that with others. Like many of your subscribers I have a very extensive record collection of over 2k albums which are currently in storage unfortunately. I hope you will pick up this topic on a livestream as you mentioned as it is a very important one and certainly struck a chord with me at least. I would also like to share a marathon with you like others have, and I know you have a group of regulars on here which is great but I have never seen your marathon options not all sold out on your CUC page. A good problem to have I suppose!
Very well crafted POP is not easy. REM did right (and no auto-tune). Thanks JK and Nick 😎👍🎵🍁
P.S. That was a good rant, not at all silly. Be good
you must do Orange Crush - best REM song
Love Kate Pierson (from B52) voice on Shiny Happy People. All good songs. Always enjoy Mike Mills' backing vocals on REM's tracks, but you should check out Don't Go Back to Rockville (a cool song where he sings lead)
Perhaps Mills sang it on some live version, but not the studio version.
@@richardkoehler2253 You're right. I misremembered. Still enjoyed his backing vocals on the song, and really like the song
Mike Mills was such a crucial part of their sound!
I'd recommend "Texarkana" for a Mike Mills vocal.
I saw them when they toured England in 1993, always liked their music.
1995
This period is their best (IMHO)
Jangling guitars, haunting voice, and tremendous songwriting are their hallmarks. More REM please. As others have noted, the earlier works are plain, direct, often fast, and fantastic. Think Fables of the Reconstruction, and the astonishing first album Murmer. Dancible, as it comes out of the club scene in Athens, Georgia.
Great reaction, great rant (totally agree with you). More REM please, especially from the subsequent albums - Green, Automatic For The People (one of THE best albums of all time), Monster.
It's not keyboard on "Losing My Religion" It's actually string players from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. And on "Shinny Happy People" also.
The One I Love reminds me of the punk band TSOL.
2011 was the year of their last album, collapse into now.
Ok, three R.E.M. classics, that one song that got way overkill, and one I can't stand. I highly recommend you go back to the earlier recordings ("Radio Free Europe", the Murmur and Reckoning albums). There are a great many amazing songs to hear that established them as their own unique band. They became more and more of a mainstream band in their songwriting and esp. the production from the mid 90's on. I find most of those albums pale in comparison to the 1st five.
Moral Kiosk, Driver 8 and Laughing are great songs as well
At My Most Beautiful off of the album Up is a nice tune. Some might call it corny, but I enjoy it.
Yeah, Nick I feel you on Shiny Happy People. It’s such an upbeat song and from a much happier time for sure. I was just recently married and had a young son. This song was my happy place during times of stress. And couldn’t agree more on the social media. And lastly I appreciate the rant! Totally with you on that. People need to hear it.
Hi i just subscribed on your Billy Joel Marathon vid. I didn't know people are being nasty..please ignore the negative stuff..idk nor will i ever understand why some people have to say mean things. .like life isn't hard enough..anyway..you and yours are so cool, insightful & decent people. Thank you for your videos.✌
Thanks for the kind words🙏
Hi Nick, love REM. Great track listing. There is another track among my favourites called "Bang and Blame" which has a brilliant hypnotic bass line. Lex would love the track. You should also checkout on u.t .. "One Giant Leap - "The Way You Dream" featuring Michael Stipe of REM on vocals. One Giant Leap is not a group, it's a project by 2 musicians inc' Jamie Catto of Faithless, who travelled the world downloading musicians from other cultures onto a multi-track, and making one track combining all the overdubs....Then doing another song and another till they have an entire album. Some of the musicians are from small villages in the middle of nowhere. The results are utterly stunning. The dvd is amazing and has a number of surprise guest vocalists on some songs....Another incredible track is called "Daphine" You wont believe your ears !! .. If you love REM then listen & watch the u.t video "The Way You Dream" Michael Stipe & with Asha Bhosie will leave your jaw on the floor.... She passed away last year and was known in India as the greatest female vocalist of all time.....They are not wrong !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Byee Jim X [ #nicknlexrequest - u.t videos, "The Way You Dream" ... "Daphine" ] ...... Not done that hash tag before, so just giving it a try. Lol ]
Wow, Jim! I can't wait to check that stuff out! It sounds fabulous! Thank you!!
🎵🙂🎵 Debbie
@@debrabrabenec Hey Debbie, [ if I may call you instead of Debra ? ] Thankyou, yes the entire One Giant Leap project is incredible, but be careful ... a movie on u.t is aweful ...a documentary badly downloaded...so if you come across it, read the comments first ... so many complaints to warn you it's unwatchable....The dvd is totally different, it's all the music....There is a cd also which is the tracks without any commentary. I guarantee it will be on your wish list before long. For now I would stick with scrolling through the tracks on u.t and not any movie documentary.....Later maybe ...as you can fast forward the many repeated scenes & bad editing, as the story is fascinating, it's just a shame it's a bad download. Take care, bye Debbie, Jim X
@@jimled50jl49 Yes, please call me Debbie, thanks.
I really appreciate all your tips, and I look forward to listening to this wonderful project! Thanks again!
🎵🙂🎵 Debbie
@@debrabrabenec Hi Debbie, my nephew was inspired many years ago with "One Giant Leap". He lives in Northern Ireland in Belfast, where I use to live. He gave up his job and started a project called "One Skin" which brings musicians from all over the world together to play. In Belfast with the religious and the ethnic separations he built up this reputation, we are all one skin .. one human race. He's met Peter Gabriel & Robert Plant at special festivals like "Womad", all because he watched One Giant Leap all those many years ago. It's his lifes work today. I'm so proud of him. Bye Debbie. Jim X
@@jimled50jl49 Jim, that is so great! You are right to be immensely proud of him. Is his music available on You Tube?
R.E.M takes me away to a Happy Place.
Nick, I am sorry you have received such negative feedback. All words of wisdom I can give you is don't give those bullies the time of day, they have always been there since the beginning of Mankind. They just now have a platform to make more noise...there are enough people who appreciate you and just like me have listened to your reactions and have been with you the whole way through. Look at it this way, how many people criticized Marilyn Monroe when she was living?
Just a request: One of my favorite songs from Allen Parson's from the 'I Robot' album is "Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)" which wasn't a hit but its a beautiful song about the pains of growing up and looking back on life...There are three others on that album I would also recommend if you like to do a marathon of them "Some Other Time", "Breakdown", and "Don't Let it Show" the later two being minor hits. Please consider doing these songs.... 🙂
Thank you so much! 🙏
@@NicknLex Your very welcome. Seeing you two together brings me a lot of joy. Please let Lex know that if she continues to practice the Bass guitar she will eventually be able to pair up with you and do songs together....both of you have so much talent!
One of the really outstanding bands of the time. The voice with the lyrics get a bit depressing after a couple of tracks and a need for something else.
My agenda is trying to listen to as much great music as I can before I die. I think I’ll just skip the mass psychosis track that currently plagues this world. Rock on.
Early REM was pretty stripped down southern grunge. Later on, with better production, they evolved away from college rock.
F1rst!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉
Last!
Nick, you understand that alot of the vocals you are hearing are also from Mike Mills, right?
There are SO Many great REM songs. Why add Shiny Happy People?? facepalm. (OMG so sorry, didn't watch the reaction yet haha wow!)
REM has many great songs. It's OK to have an upbeat catchy tune too. It's a good one
Why do people dislike Shiny Happy People? It's a super happy pop song. It's so catchy and Kate Pierson is so much fun. What's wrong with them lightening up the mood sometimes?
For me that song got out the best reaction. Loved that song!
I think it's their most cynical song! Maybe I'm the cynical one?? I vaguely remember them talking about it in interviews......of course it's been decades....
@@NicknLex YES! I love your 'rants' and it really help me see how being critical can at times be hurtful. I really never imaged anyone being moved by this song! You opened my eyes, thanks!
I was a huge REM fan in the early 80's. Saw them in Austin at the Opera House on the Reckoning tour. Because Stipe mumbled all his lyrics everybody were big fans and singing along, but nobody actually knew the lyrics. All guesswork. It was funny everybody dancing and singing and looking at each other going, "Catapult, yadda, yadda, yadda, Catapult." I find, however, that for me REM doesn't stand up over time. I still admire Mike Mills bass work and harmonies, but something is missing. I think it's that for a lead and lyricist, Michael Stipe doesn't really seem to have a coherent point of view or personality that gets across. He's got a nice voice that he uses as an instrument, but on the whole I find him and his lyrics totally unmoving and uninteresting. Like with any of the songs you could put in a whole other set of lyrics and it would be just as good, or even if you could find another singer with a good voice and the band could go on with hardly a glitch. Unlike say, remove Morissey from the Smiths, and while it may be a good band, it'd never be the Smiths. Or Danny Elfman from Oingo, or Fish from Marillion, or many other examples where there is some kind of coherent world view that comes across in the lyrics or you feel you know the singer/lyricist on a personal level. In a way when Stipe mumbled his lyrics, it was better, because there was more mystery and the mumbling gave his lyrics more of a type of coherence than when he enunciated.
Excellent synopsis. My feelings exactly, but expressed well. BTW, Hook ‘m Horns!
@@sidecardog5244 Ditto!
I feel completely the opposite about REM. The lyrics, once you knew them were incredible and Stipe has one of the most recognizable voices in rock. What he did with it was unique. Maybe you just don’t connect with REM, which is fine. I think it’s tough to do if you didn’t evolve with them from Chronic Town thru Green. There was a definite progression and Journey they went on and brought us all with them.
@@sidecardog5244 Not so much! I did grad school at UT, but for undergrad, when your alma mater sports are more of a thing, I was in San Antonio. But we would drive up to Austin for concerts and 6th Street a lot. I was thinking more about Stipe's lyrics, and how for me they're sort of like flipping through a shoebox full of postcards you found at a garage sale. Lots of disconnected images of quirky places and things you have no real connection to. And they're original, not corny or trite, which is why at first they seem cool and artsy, but ultimately they just leave me cold.
@@Nightrelic Oh, I was following them very closely from the beginning. I had the Chronic Town EP (Gardening at Night is a very nice track), and followed them ardently up through Document. A solid period of interesting development. But Green and everything after (except for a couple of singles here or there) was really disappointing IMO, and I think Out of Time was the last album I ever bought of theirs. And as far as career retrospective, if you asked me what their best albums were, hands down, no contest, it's still going to be those first 5 albums.