The Shins are playing some of the most inventive pop songs around. James Mercer is capable of reinventing his influences (instead of merely recyling them), mixing them in and producing titilating, scruptious pop goodies that can compete with the best of 'em.

Not since Black Francis from the Pixies has such a unique lyrical stylist emerged. Mercer blends allegory, metaphor and stream of consciousness into well structured pop songs.

Unlike their brilliant debut album "Oh, Inverted World" which was tight and focused, "Chutes too Narrow" has a wider scope, a more confident ambition. Mercer has taken in many influences on this album and intertwined them with his unique song writing stylings. Songs like "Kissing the Lipless" and "Pink Bullets" are just startling in their inventiveness. "Saint Simon" is filled with falsetto cresendos via 60's California pop, "Gone for Good" and "Pink Bullets" include Nashville slide guitar into the mix and British post punk is demonstrated on the track "So Says I" yet all the songs merge their influences with contemporary indie rock: making this record timely and timeless all at once.

R.E.M. make you work.

On the surface "Reveal" is a sunny pop album, an extended tribute to Brian Wilson that started with "At My Most Beautiful" from the previous album "Up". Yet once you delve under the surface there are darker shades, dank corners and a touch of the perverse.

R.E.M. don't write songs that fully reveal themselves on first listen and that's why I love this band. There is a new discovery waiting each time you play the CD. "Imitation of Life" is the obvious radio-friendly single that flexes the band's pop muscle. But songs like "All the Way to Reno" show the band's ability to write complex, innovative music. This song fuses a Roy Rogers vibe with an airy lounge styling. The chorus (You're going to be a star) is so filled with empty enthusiasm. The surface of the song is all effervescent and light: an optimistic anthem for the disenfranchised, but then the inherent sadness of the song unfolds (going to Reno to become a star?), and the listener is left with the paradox of such dualistic elements-all in the same song.

Other reviewers panned this album for being boring, lacking contagious melodies. And, admittedly, it took me a while to fully appreciate this album. The labored production, so lush and full, in contrast with sparse melodies married to the sunny vibe went over my head. Unlike the darker, starker "Up" which I instantly sank into, "Reveal" was the antithesis of its title. I found the album to be very stubborn and self-protective. But once I found my way in through songs like "She Just Wants to Be", "The Ring and the Chorus" and "Disappear" then other songs came more easily.

I still have problems with "Beat a Drum" and "Beachball". Even for this mid-tempo band, those songs seem to reach an almost catatonic state.

Initially I didn't care for "All the way to Reno". I found it too pedestrian for R.E.M. It seemed too obvious. Now, it's one of my favorite songs on the album. I realized its complexities after repeat listens and it, in a sense, revealed itself to me. And I think that that is the obstacle of this album. It requires some work, but in the end, the reward is fantastic.

This collection starts with the quientessential R.E.M. track 'Man on the Moon'. The band's relevence is made apparant within the first pluckings of Mike Mills' bass line. What follows are some of the best songs recorded by an American band in the past 15 years. The folk-pop incandescence of 'Losing My Religion' is here as is the sonic charge of 'What's the Frequency, Kenneth?'. The oddly straight forward lyrics of 'Everybody Hurts' chime in near the finale and the mid-tempo sway of 'Daysleeper' lays comfortably between the overlooked 'Imitation of Life' and the new raucious cut 'Animal'.

... But one cannot help to notice some of the holes inherent in any 'best of' collection. The album, Out of Time, that brought them world wide acclaim, makes only one appearance with the before mentioned 'Losing My Religion'. The absence of 'Shiny Happy People' is understandable due to the band's voiced distaste for the song but where is 'Country Feedback'? Or even 'Radio Song'? And why was Automatic for the People's chipper'The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite' chosen over 'Drive'? The 1994 sonic soundscape that is 'Monster' is represented only by 'What's the Frequency, Kenneth?', leaving out such moments of brilliance as 'Tongue' and 'Strange Currencies'.

In the end these gaps work as testiment to the breadth and integrity of R.E.M.'s work. It's just too difficult to put everyone's favorite song from the past 15 years on one album.

This collection is apparently making a case for the newer material, which has been virtually ignored by the American public who currently are more interested in the artifice of disposable bubblegum pop and the slick posturings of contemporary hip hop. But there seems to be a hope that, with this collection, maybe we'll start to get this band all over again; we'll remember the innovation and intelligence of their older songs and be introduced to sublime craftings of their newer works. With a few listens one might be surprised to find out that many of the strengths of this band ARE the more recent songs. 'The Great Beyond' is a minor classic filled with a contagious melody and fierce chorus, 'All the Way to Reno' is a rolling lounge number all sad and effervescent at once and the rare lyrical intimacy of 'Ebow the Letter' is a reminder of where a song can transport us.

The two new singles are both fresh, begging to be put on repeat. On 'Bad Day' Peter Buck's jangly guitar reinvents Document era R.E.M. while Michael Stipe delivers a prickly social critque of corporate media and carbon copy public leadership. 'Animal' is a visceral, ragged song that shows that brawn and brains can merge in the same song.

In the end, what we have here is a great collection of songs by one of America's most prolific and important bands chronicling their heights of popularity to their comfortable plateau of success. The timelessness of their music is demonstrated by the fact that there is no chronological sequence to this collection and yet the songs flow into each other flawlessly.

This collection is a fantastic retrospective, lets hope the public realizes it.

Producer Ethan Johns (of Ryan Adams fame) described the Jayhawks song structures as American roots music with British melodies. I think he hit it on the head. The influences heard on 'Rainy Day Music' range from Gram Parsons to the Kinks, CSN&Y to the Beatles, the Beach Boys to Faces . But in the end the sound is undeniably unique. Even though influence is evident, there is nothing recycled or banal about this music. It is pure, stripped down goodness. Gary Louris and gang have left behind the glossy, out of place production of 'Smile' and the psychedelic experimentation that floated through 'Sound of Lies' allowing the new songs to speak for themselves. In this bare form the tunes seem deceptively simple, yet with repeat listens the intricacy of Louris' writing reveals itself proving that this album will only age better with time. By cutting away the excess 'Rainy Day Music' offers up sparse, honey soaked ditties dealing with love, loss, and being lost. The great achievment here is that they make loneliness and longing so damn beautiful. The harmonies that have become associated with the Jayhawks' sound are here but more subtle. Songs such as All the Right Reasons, Save it for a Rainy Day and Angelyne are among the best this band has ever produced. Drummer Tim O'Reagan's gem Tampa to Tulsa is more aching and intimate on the demo version as is Louris' gorgeous ballad All the Right Reasons. And what better way to end this collection than with Gary playing Waiting for the Sun all by his lonesome.

There will be those who still say the Jayhawks aren't the same without Mark Olson. Well, yes, this is a different incarnation of the Jayhawks. One, in my opinion, just as glorious as when Olson was co-fronting the band. Gary Louris has had the bravery to march forward into new territory, to constantly challenge himself and his bandmates by respecting the past but never trying to relive it. With 'Rainy Day Music' the Jayhawks continue to evolve. I can't wait to see what's next.