Tonight, I figured we’d take a look at an often overlooked group who last year was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Van Halen and Run DMC.

That would be R.E.M. Spanning three decades, they have churned out excellent work. With hits such as “The One I Love,” “Losing My Religion” and “Stand,” lead singer Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry didn’t really get the recognition until the 1994 Monster album came out.

It produced top 40 hits “What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?” and “Bang and Blame.” But anyone who has the album knows better than that because it’s one of the most complete albums from top to bottom utilizing their unique sound which combined Stipe’s strong vocals with a more rock sound.

Their 1992 Out of Time album previously won three Grammys including Best Alternative Music Album. Losing My Religion was No.1 on the charts.

Another interesting album which appeared later that same year was Automatic For People. It included “Drive,” “Everybody Hurts” and “Man on The Moon,” which later was used in Jim Carrey’s infamous role as the late Andy Kaufman. 

They also released a Greatest Hits album in 2003 which included a couple of new songs, “Bad Day,” and “Animal.”

In any event, here are a couple of ones I like from the Monster album:

R.E.M.: “Strange Currencies” very cool sounding with excellent lyrics with plenty of meaning.

R.E.M.: “Star 69“  another very good sounding song from a great album.