Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011

Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011 is a 2011 greatest hits album from alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

band R.E.M.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

Intended as a coda on their career, this is the first compilation album that features their early work on independent record label I.R.S. Records

I.R.S. Records

I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...

in addition to their 10 studio releases through Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

. The double-disc retrospective was released through Warner Bros. on November 11, 2011, and was compiled by the band members. The existence of the compilation was revealed simultaneously with the group's announcement that they were disbanding on September 21, 2011.

Creation and compilation

In addition to previously-recorded music that spans the band's entire career, three new songs are included. Their final studio album—Collapse into Now
Collapse into Now
Collapse into Now is the fifteenth and final studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on March 7, 2011 on Warner Bros...

—fulfilled the band's contractual obligations to Warner Bros. and they began recording material without a contract a few months later with producer Jacknife Lee

Jacknife Lee

Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...

in Athens, Georgia

Athens, Georgia

Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...

with the possible intention of self-releasing the work. Rather than completing an album's worth of material, the band elected to take what they had completed from those sessions and release them on this compilation. The new songs "Hallelujah" and "A Month of Saturdays" were demoed

Demo (music)

A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...

in the Collapse into Now sessions and the lead single "We All Go Back to Where We Belong" was recorded entirely after that album.

The band compiled the contents themselves, attempting to capture different periods of their songwriting. Stipe has explained that the inspiration for his approach to compiling the songs was the David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

compilation Changesonebowie
Changesonebowie
Changesonebowie was David Bowie's first widely-selling compilation album, issued by RCA Records in 1976. It collected songs from the 1969-1976 period, including the first LP appearance of "John, I'm Only Dancing"...

. The title of the album comes from a quip that guitarist Peter Buck

Peter Buck

Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....

made about the band during an interview in 1988, "R.E.M is part lies, part heart, part truth and part garbage."

Promotion

"We All Go Back to Where We Belong" was made available over the Internet on October 17, 2011. Early reviews of the song considered it a "low-key, string-drenched ballad" (Stereogum

Stereogum

Stereogum was one of the first MP3 blogs. It was created by Scott Lapatine in January 2002 with a focus on independent and alternative music news, downloads, videos, and gossip. Stereogum has received several awards and citations, including the 2008 Plug Award for best music blog, Blender's...

) and compared it to the pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

styling of Burt Bacharach

Burt Bacharach

Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...

and R.E.M.'s 2001 album Reveal.

In the weeks leading up to the release of the compilation, Mike Mills

Mike Mills

Michael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...

and Michael Stipe

Michael Stipe

John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...

did a brief span of promotional appearances in British media, ruling out the option of ever reuniting; while Buck went on tour with John Wesley Harding

John Wesley Harding (singer)

Wesley Stace is a folk/pop singer-songwriter and author who goes by the stage name John Wesley Harding. He has called his style of music folk noir and gangsta folk...

and The Minus 5

The Minus 5

The Minus 5 is an American rock band, headed by musician Scott McCaughey and featuring R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.-Band history:Formed in 1993, McCaughey designed the Minus 5 as a pop collective, with each record the group put out featuring a new lineup...

. The band previewed the new songs through NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

's web site starting November 6, 2011.

Critical reception

Writing for BBC Music

BBC Music

BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....

, Paul Whitelaw has called the retrospective "definitive", rendering all the band's other compilations "all but obsolete." He goes on to say that the arc of the band's career shows them becoming increasingly mild and irrelevant, but this album captures that chronology. Andy Gill of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

disagreed and gave the album a perfect five-star rating, saying that the arc of the band's songwriting had "inspired creativity" including the "Bacharach

Burt Bacharach

-esque touches of the final unreleased tracks."

Track listing

All tracks written by Bill Berry

Bill Berry

William "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....

, Peter Buck

Peter Buck

Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....

, Mike Mills

Mike Mills

and Michael Stipe

Michael Stipe

unless otherwise noted.

Disc 1

"Gardening at Night
Gardening at Night
"Gardening at Night" is a song by R.E.M. It was recorded in 1982 for the band's EP Chronic Town.The song is said to have been written on a mattress in the front yard of the Oconee Street church in Athens, Georgia...

" – 3:29 (from Chronic Town
Chronic Town
Chronic Town is the debut EP by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1982 on I.R.S. Records. Chronic Town is the first illustration of R.E.M.'s signature musical style: jangling guitars, chords played in arpeggio, murmured vocals, and obscure lyrics.-Background and recording:After...

, 1982)
"Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe (song)
"Radio Free Europe" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M. "Radio Free Europe" was released as R.E.M.'s debut single on the short-lived independent record label Hib-Tone in 1981...

" – 4:06 (from Murmur
Murmur (album)
Murmur is the debut album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1983 on I.R.S. Records. Murmur drew critical acclaim upon its release for its sound, defined by singer Michael Stipe's cryptic lyrics, guitarist Peter Buck's jangly guitar style, and bassist Mike Mills' melodic...

, 1983)
"Talk About the Passion
Talk About the Passion
"Talk About the Passion" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single released from its debut album Murmur in 1983 and a live performance at Larry's Hideaway, Toronto, Canada, from July 9, 1983 was released on the 2008 Deluxe Edition reissue of that album....

" – 3:23 (from Murmur)
"Sitting Still" – 3:17 (from Murmur)
"So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
"So. Central Rain " is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M.. It was released in May 1984 as the first single from the group's second studio album Reckoning . "So. Central Rain " became the second R.E.M. single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 85.R.E.M...

" – 3:15 (from Reckoning
Reckoning (R.E.M. album)
Reckoning is the second album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1984 by I.R.S. Records. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, the album was recorded at Reflection Sound Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina over 16 days in December 1983 and January 1984...

, 1984)
"(Don't Go Back To) Rockville
(Don't Go Back To) Rockville
" Rockville" was the second and final single released by R.E.M. from their second studio album Reckoning. The song failed to chart on either the Billboard Hot 100 or the UK Singles Charts....

" (Edit) – 3:55 (from Reckoning)
"Driver 8
Driver 8
"Driver 8" was the second single from R.E.M.'s third album, Fables of the Reconstruction. Released in September 1985, the song peaked at #22 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart...

" – 3:23 (from Fables of the Reconstruction
Fables of the Reconstruction
Fables of the Reconstruction, also known as Reconstruction of the Fables, is the third studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on the I.R.S...

, 1985)
"Life and How to Live It" – 4:06 (from Fables of the Reconstruction)
"Begin the Begin
Begin the Begin
"Begin the Begin" is the first song on R.E.M.'s fourth album, Lifes Rich Pageant. Lead singer Michael Stipe has called it "a song of personal, political activism." Though never released as a single, it still appears frequently in the band's live performances as a song early in the set...

" – 3:28 (from Lifes Rich Pageant
Lifes Rich Pageant
Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the American band R.E.M., released in 1986. Intended as an upbeat reaction to the sobering and historical Fables of the Reconstruction, R.E.M...

, 1986)
"Fall on Me
Fall on Me
"Fall on Me" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. from their fourth album Lifes Rich Pageant . It was the first of two singles released from that LP. It peaked at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Meaning and origin:Though R.E.M...

" – 2:50 (from Lifes Rich Pageant)
"Finest Worksong
Finest Worksong
"Finest Worksong" was the third and final single released from R.E.M.'s fifth studio album Document. It peaked at #50 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1988, at the time the group's highest-charting single in the UK....

" – 3:48 (from Document
Document (album)
Robert Christgau praised the album, and called "It's the End of the World as We Know It " an "inspirational title." Stephan Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that "Where Lifes Rich Pageant sounded a bit like a party record, Document is a fiery statement, and its memorable melodies and riffs are made...

, 1987)
"It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
"It's the End of the World as We Know It " is a song by the rock band R.E.M., which appeared on their 1987 album Document, the 1988 compilation Eponymous, and the 2006 compilation And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S Years 1982–1987...

" – 4:05 (from Document)
"The One I Love" – 3:17 (from Document)
"Stand" – 3:10 (from Green, 1988)
"Pop Song 89
Pop Song 89
"Pop Song 89" was the third single released from R.E.M.'s sixth studio album Green. It peaked at #86 on the Hot 100, and in the UK "Stand" was re-released instead....

" – 3:04 (from Green)
"Get Up
Get Up (R.E.M. song)
"Get Up" was the fourth and final single to be released by R.E.M. from the band's sixth studio album Green. It was included in the limited edition Singleactiongreen box set released in November 1989. The song was released as a single only in the U.S. but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot...

" – 2:39 (from Green)
"Orange Crush
Orange Crush (song)
"Orange Crush" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released as the first single from the band's sixth studio album, Green, in 1988...

" – 3:51 (from Green)
"Losing My Religion
Losing My Religion
"Losing My Religion" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. The song was released as the first single from the group's 1991 album Out of Time. Based around a mandolin riff, "Losing My Religion" was an unlikely hit for the group, garnering heavy airplay on radio as well as on MTV due...

" – 4:26 (from Out of Time
Out of Time (album)
Out of Time is the seventh album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on Warner Bros. Records in 1991. With Out of Time R.E.M.'s status grew from that of a cult band to a massive international act. The record topped the album sales charts in both the U.S...

, 1991)
"Country Feedback
Country Feedback
"Country Feedback" is a song by R.E.M. from their 1991 album Out of Time.Michael Stipe has claimed that he did not even write the whole lyric down, that he "just had a piece of paper with a few words. I sang it and I walked out." The following day, the hastily-improvised take was deemed good enough...

" – 4:07 (from Out of Time)
"Shiny Happy People
Shiny Happy People
"Shiny Happy People" is a song by the band R.E.M.. The song appeared on their 1991 album Out of Time and was released as a single in the same year. The song features guest backing vocals by Kate Pierson of the B-52's, who also has a prominent role in the song's music video.It peaked at #10 on the...

" – 3:44 (from Out of Time)
"The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
"The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was influenced by the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", both in the title of the song and through the song's opening refrain...

" – 4:06 (from Automatic for the People
Automatic for the People
Automatic for the People is the eighth album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1992 on Warner Bros. Records. While R.E.M...

, 1992)

Disc 2:

"Everybody Hurts
Everybody Hurts
"Everybody Hurts" is a song by R.E.M., originally released on the band's 1992 album Automatic for the People and was also released as a single in 1993. It peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100, #7 on the UK Singles Chart and #3 on the French Singles Chart.-History:Much of the song was written by...

" – 5:17 (from Automatic for the People)
"Man on the Moon
Man on the Moon (song)
"Man on the Moon" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single from its 1992 album Automatic for the People. The song makes numerous references to the performer Andy Kaufman, including his Elvis impersonation and work with wrestlers Fred Blassie and Jerry...

" – 5:13 (from Automatic for the People)
"Nightswimming
Nightswimming
"Nightswimming" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released in 1993 as the fifth single off the group's eighth album Automatic for the People...

" – 4:16 (from Automatic for the People)
"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" is a song by the American alternative rock group R.E.M. from their 1994 album Monster. It was the first single taken from the album, released three weeks later. It peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. Due to its...

" – 4:00 (from Monster, 1994)
"New Test Leper
New Test Leper
"New Test Leper" is a song by R.E.M. It is included on their tenth studio album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, which was released in 1996. It wasn't released as a single; its only non-album issue was on a 1996 Germany-only-released Warner Bros. Records promotional CD....

" – 5:26 (from New Adventures in Hi-Fi
New Adventures in Hi-Fi
New Adventures in Hi-Fi is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia and the following day in the United States...

, 1996)
"Electrolite
Electrolite
"Electrolite" is a song by R.E.M., released as their third single from their tenth studio album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi. The song is a piano-based ballad to Los Angeles, Hollywood icons and the closing 20th century...

" – 4:05 (from New Adventures in Hi-Fi)
"At My Most Beautiful
At My Most Beautiful
"At My Most Beautiful" is a song by R.E.M. and the third single from the album Up. With a heavy influence from the Beach Boys and the Beatles, lyricist Michael Stipe wanted it to be the most romantic song he'd ever written....

" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 3:35 (from Up
Up (R.E.M. album)
Up is the 11th album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was the band's first album without original drummer Bill Berry, who left the group amicably in October 1997 to pursue his own interests. In his place, R.E.M...

, 1998)
"The Great Beyond
The Great Beyond
"The Great Beyond" is a song by R.E.M. It is not featured on an original studio album as it was written specifically for the 1999 movie Man on the Moon but was released as a single the following year for support of the film's soundtrack album. The single reached #3 in the UK singles chart, the...

" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 5:06 (from Man on the Moon
Man on the Moon (soundtrack)
The soundtrack to the 1999 Miloš Forman film, Man on the Moon, was released on November 22, 1999 in the UK and November 23, 1999 in the US. It was issued on Warner Bros. Records, in conjunction with Jersey Records, a part of Danny DeVito's Jersey Group. Incidentally, in some countries, the film was...

, 1999)
"Imitation of Life
Imitation of Life (song)
"Imitation of Life" is a song by R.E.M., the first single released from the band's 12th album, Reveal in 2001. The song peaked at #83 on the Billboard Hot 100 . It was the lowest chart of a lead single from an R.E.M. album in the United States since "Fall on Me" from Lifes Rich Pageant in 1986...

" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 3:57 (from Reveal, 2001)
"Bad Day
Bad Day (R.E.M. song)
"Bad Day" is one of two previously unreleased songs on and the lead single from R.E.M.'s 2003 compilation In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003....

" – 4:05 (from In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003, 2003)
"Leaving New York
Leaving New York
"Leaving New York" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M.. It was the first single from the band's 2004 album Around the Sun. Although it was not as heavily promoted as earlier singles, it reached as high as #5 on the UK Singles Chart. However, the song failed to chart on the...

" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 4:49 (from Around the Sun
Around the Sun
Around the Sun is the 13th studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 2004.-Description:"The Outsiders" features a guest appearance by rapper Q-Tip. When performed live, Michael Stipe carries out the rap, as he does on a later b-side release of the song."Final Straw" is...

, 2004)
"Living Well Is the Best Revenge" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 3:11 (from Accelerate
Accelerate (R.E.M. album)
Accelerate is the 14th studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on March 31, 2008 in Europe, and on April 1 in North America. Produced with Jacknife Lee, Accelerate was intended as a departure from the 2004 album Around the Sun. R.E.M...

, 2008)
"Supernatural Superserious
Supernatural Superserious
"Supernatural Superserious" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M.. It is the first single and third track from the band's fourteenth album Accelerate and was first released on February 11, 2008 as an MP3, and February 25, 2008 on CD...

" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 3:23 (from Accelerate)
"Überlin
Überlin
"Überlin" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., from the band's fifteenth studio album Collapse into Now. It was released as the second single from the album on January 25, 2011....

" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 4:15 (from Collapse into Now
Collapse into Now
Collapse into Now is the fifteenth and final studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on March 7, 2011 on Warner Bros...

, 2011)
"Oh My Heart
Oh My Heart
"Oh My Heart" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., from the band's fifteenth studio album Collapse into Now. It was released as the third single from the album on February 1, 2011.A music video for the track was directed by Jem Cohen....

" (Buck, Mills, Stipe, Scott McCaughey
Scott McCaughey
As a singer and songwriter, Scott McCaughey is the leader of the Seattle and Portland-based bands The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5.He is also bassist for Robyn Hitchcock's most recent touring band, The Venus 3, along with Bill Rieflin and Peter Buck....

) – 3:21 (from Collapse into Now)
"Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 2:45 (from Collapse into Now)
"A Month of Saturdays" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 1:40
"We All Go Back to Where We Belong" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 3:35
"Hallelujah" (Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 3:42

iTunes Store bonus music videos

"Radio Free Europe" – 3:11
"Talk About the Passion" – 3:21
"Fall On Me" – 2:59
"The One I Love" – 3:17
"Orange Crush" – 3:50
"Losing My Religion" – 4:45
"Man On the Moon" – 4:46
"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" – 4:01
"All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)
All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)
"All the Way to Reno " is a song by R.E.M., from their twelfth album Reveal, the second single released from that album. According to Peter Buck's sleevenotes to In Time, the R.E.M. best-of on which this song appears, the song describes someone who believes they can get famous if they go to Reno...

" – 4:22
"Leaving New York" – 4:43
"Supernatural Superserious" – 3:39
"Überlin" – 3:53

Personnel

R.E.M.

Bill Berry
Bill Berry
William "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....

– drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

; percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

; backing vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

; bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

on "Country Feedback"; writing
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

; production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

on "Gardening at Night", "Finest Worksong", "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", "The One I Love", "Stand", "Pop Song 89", "Get Up", "Orange Crush", "Losing My Religion", "Country Feedback", "Shiny Happy People", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", "Everybody Hurts", "Nightswimming", "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", "New Test Leper", and "Electrolite"; liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
Peter Buck
Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....

– electric
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

and acoustic
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...

guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

s; mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

; banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

on "Electrolite"; writing; production on "Gardening at Night", "Finest Worksong", "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", "The One I Love", "Stand", "Pop Song 89", "Get Up", "Orange Crush", "Losing My Religion", "Country Feedback", "Shiny Happy People", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", "Everybody Hurts", "Nightswimming", "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", "New Test Leper", "Electrolite", "At My Most Beautiful", "The Great Beyond", "Imitation of Life", "Bad Day", "Leaving New York", "Living Well Is the Best Revenge", "Supernatural Superserious", "Überlin", "Oh My Heart", "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter", "A Month of Saturdays", "We All Go Back to Where We Belong", and "Hallelujah"; liner notes
Mike Mills
Mike Mills
Michael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...

– bass guitar; backing vocals; organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

on "Country Feedback" and "New Test Leper"; piano on "Electrolite"; keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

and arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...

on "Losing My Religion"; writing; production on "Gardening at Night", "Finest Worksong", "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", "The One I Love", "Stand", "Pop Song 89", "Get Up", "Orange Crush", "Losing My Religion", "Country Feedback", "Shiny Happy People", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", "Everybody Hurts", "Nightswimming", "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", "New Test Leper", "Electrolite", "At My Most Beautiful", "The Great Beyond", "Imitation of Life", "Bad Day", "Leaving New York", "Living Well Is the Best Revenge", "Supernatural Superserious", "Überlin", "Oh My Heart", "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter", "A Month of Saturdays", "We All Go Back to Where We Belong", and "Hallelujah"; liner notes
Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...

– vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

; writing; production on "Gardening at Night", "Finest Worksong", "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", "The One I Love", "Stand", "Pop Song 89", "Get Up", "Orange Crush", "Losing My Religion", "Country Feedback", "Shiny Happy People", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", "Everybody Hurts", "Nightswimming", "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", "New Test Leper", "Electrolite", "At My Most Beautiful", "The Great Beyond", "Imitation of Life", "Bad Day", "Leaving New York", "Living Well Is the Best Revenge", "Supernatural Superserious", "Überlin", "Oh My Heart", "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter", "A Month of Saturdays", "We All Go Back to Where We Belong", and "Hallelujah"; liner notes

Additional musicians

Shamarr Allen – trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

on "Oh My Heart"
David Arenz – violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

on "Shiny Happy People"
Ellie Arenz – violin on "Shiny Happy People"
Denise Berginson-Smith – violin on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Mark Bingham
Mark Bingham (musician/music producer)
Mark Bingham is an American music producer/composer/musician/engineer.In 1966 , Bingham was signed to a publishing contract with Elektra Records. After a brief stint at Elektra in Los Angeles and one single released on Warner Bros., he returned to Bloomington where he attended Indiana University...

– string
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...

arrangements on "Shiny Happy People"
David Braitberg – violin on "Shiny Happy People"
Andy Carlson
Andy Carlson
Andrew "Andy" Carlson is a notable violinist from the United States.He began learning traditional fiddle music from his grandfather when he was five. He has won numerous fiddle contests including being named Georgia State Champion Fiddler twice and being named the 2000 Ohio Grand Champion fiddler...

– violin on "Electrolite"
Knox Chandler
Knox Chandler
Knox Chandler is mostly known as a session guitarist and cellist, he has worked with such acts as Depeche Mode , Lori Carson, The Golden Palominos, The Psychedelic Furs, Ultra Vivid Scene, The Creatures and R.E.M....

– cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Andrew Cox – cello on "Shiny Happy People"
Nathan December
Nathan December
Nathan December is an American rock guitarist, best known for his work as a side musician with R.E.M. and the Goo Goo Dolls during the 1990s. He lives in Los Angeles, California.-Music:...

– guiro
Güiro
The güiro is a Latin-American percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound. The güiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role...

on "Electrolite"
Lommie Ditzen – violin on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Patti Gouvas – violin on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
George Hanson
George Hanson
George Hanson is a former American basketball coach. Hanson was the head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers for the 1970-71 season, where he finished 11-13 and led the squad to a 5th place finish. Hanson resigned after one season and was replaced by Bill Musselman. Hanson played for the...

– conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Reid Harris – viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...

on "Shiny Happy People", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Peter Holsapple
Peter Holsapple
Peter Holsapple formed, along with Chris Stamey, the singing, songwriting, and guitar-playing core of the dB's, a jangle-pop band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He became the band's principal songwriter and singer after Stamey's departure. The dB's were at the forefront of the guitar bands...

– acoustic guitar on "Losing My Religion" and "Shiny Happy People"
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...

– orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

l arrangements on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Leroy Jones – trumpet on "Oh My Heart"
Ralph Jones – double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...

on "Shiny Happy People"
Kirk M. Joseph, Sr. – sousaphone
Sousaphone
The sousaphone is a type of tuba that is widely employed in marching bands. Designed so that it fits around the body of the musician and is supported by the left shoulder, the sousaphone may be readily played while being carried...

on "Oh My Heart"
Lenny Kaye
Lenny Kaye
Lenny Kaye is an American guitarist, composer and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group.- Early life :...

– guitar on "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter"
John Keane
John Keane (record producer)
John Keane is an American record producer based in Athens, Georgia, who has worked extensively with R.E.M., Indigo Girls and Widespread Panic. He owns and operates John Keane Studios in Athens, which opened in 1981....

– pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...

on "Country Feedback"
Kathleen Kee – cello on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Dave Kempers – violin on "Shiny Happy People"
Daniel Laufee – cello on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Scott McCaughey
Scott McCaughey
As a singer and songwriter, Scott McCaughey is the leader of the Seattle and Portland-based bands The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5.He is also bassist for Robyn Hitchcock's most recent touring band, The Venus 3, along with Bill Rieflin and Peter Buck....

– guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, accordion
Elizabeth Murphy – cello on "Shiny Happy People", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Paul Murphy – viola on "Shiny Happy People", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Heidi Nitchie – viola on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Peaches
Peaches (musician)
Merrill Beth Nisker , better known by her stage name Peaches, is a Canadian electronic musician and performance artist who lives in Berlin, Germany. Her songs are noted for disregarding traditional gender norms and their use of sexually explicit lyrics...

– vocals on "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter"
Bill Rieflin – drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

, bouzouki
Bouzouki
The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...

, keyboards, guitar
Kate Pierson
Kate Pierson
Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Pierson is an American vocalist and one of the lead singers and founding members of The B-52's. One of the multi-instrumentalists in the band, Pierson played guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments...

– vocals on "Shiny Happy People"
Sandy Salzinger – violin on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Sou-Chun Su – violin on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Judy Taylor – violin on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"
Deborah Workman – oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

on "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming"

Technical personnel

Chris Bilheimer – art design
Joe Boyd
Joe Boyd
Joe Boyd is an American record producer and former owner of the Witchseason production company. Boyd was instrumental in launching the careers of Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, and The Incredible String Band.-Career:...

– production on "Driver 8" and "Life and How to Live It"
Don Dixon – production on "Radio Free Europe", "Talk About the Passion", "Sitting Still", "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)", and "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville"
Don Gehman
Don Gehman
Don Gehman is an American record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s with John Mellencamp.Gehman grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and played bass in a local rock band...

– production on "Begin the Begin" and "Fall On Me"
Mitch Easter
Mitch Easter
Mitch Easter is a songwriter, musician, and producer. As a producer, he is probably best known for his work with R.E.M. from 1981 through 1984, though he has also worked with many other acts including The Hang Ups, Pavement, Suzanne Vega, Game Theory, Marshall Crenshaw, Velvet Crush, and...

– production on "Gardening at Night", "Radio Free Europe", "Talk About the Passion", "Sitting Still", "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)", and "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville"
Jacknife Lee
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...

– production on "Living Well Is the Best Revenge", "Supernatural Superserious", "Überlin", "Oh My Heart", "Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter", "A Month of Saturdays", "We All Go Back to Where We Belong", and "Hallelujah"
Scott Litt
Scott Litt
Scott Litt is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums.-Biography:...

– production on "Finest Worksong", "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", "The One I Love", "Stand", "Pop Song 89", "Get Up", "Orange Crush", "Losing My Religion", "Country Feedback", "Shiny Happy People", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", "Everybody Hurts", "Nightswimming", "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", "New Test Leper", and "Electrolite"
Pat McCarthy – production on "At My Most Beautiful", "The Great Beyond", "Imitation of Life", "Bad Day", and "Leaving New York"
Jay Weigel
Jay Weigel
Jay Weigel is a composer, producer, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, and contractor for film, television, recordings, and concerts.From 1998 to 2001, he worked as an orchestrator, assistant conductor, and head music preparatory for composer Terence Blanchard. From 1985 to 1991 he was Lecturer of...

– orchestral liaison on "Shiny Happy People"

Charts

Chart (2011)	Peak position
Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...	79
Polish Albums Chart	37

External links

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