R.E.M. - Complete Rarities 1988-2011 (2014/2016)

Unlike its companion, Complete Rarities: IRS 1982-1987, the music collected on the 2014 digital-only Complete Warner Bros. Rarities 1988-2011 hasn't been anthologized often. Bits and pieces have been rounded up in singles boxes, and there was a "Rarities and B-sides" bonus disc added to the 2003 compilation In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003, but there was no Warner-era equivalent of Dead Letter Office, and the expanded editions of the albums often skimped on bonus tracks. So this mammoth collection -- 131 tracks, all instrumentals, alternate, and singles, mixes, covers, and live tracks that never appeared on albums -- is noteworthy for providing a service for dedicated fans who nevertheless stopped buying all those multi-part CD singles somewhere around New Adventures in Hi-Fi or Up. The eagle-eyed will notice there are a few songs missing -- usually, these are alternate versions from the early '90s -- but there are also a couple of live cover versions M.I.A., along with instrumental B-sides from Automatic for the People -- but the sheer heft of the set guarantees that almost all will take its title claim of "Complete" as factual; it's close enough to complete for most intents and purposes. Also, as it's a digital clearinghouse and not a sequenced compilation, it's designed to be cherry-picked and not listened to straight through (after all, it'd take many hours to finish). Unlike its I.R.S. cousin, there aren't many major songs tucked away here -- only the Automatic-era "It's a Free World Baby" and "Fretless" count, with the Accelerate flips "Redhead Walking" and "Airliner" also coming close -- which in itself suggests the shifting dynamics within the band and in the industry in the '90s and 2000s. Once Bill Berry left after 1996's New Adventures, R.E.M. worked harder to complete records, so there weren't as many rarities lying around, and that explains the lack of originals, but the real key to this absurdly large set is that the band was required to churn out B-sides for multi-part singles in every market in the world. The easiest way to do this was through live versions, covers and, for a brief moment, remixes (R.E.M.'s music never lent itself to dance mixes but 808 State did overhaul "King of Comedy"). It's flotsam and jetsam, and although it sometimes sounds like filler, there's enough enjoyable music here to make it worthwhile for those dedicated fans wishing to round out their collection. Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine