Document (25th Anniversary Edition)

R.E.M.

Capitol, 2012

http://www.remhq.com

REVIEW BY: Benjamin Ray

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 10/10/2012

Given that Document was R.E.M.’s entry to the mainstream and superstardom, it’s no surprise that the album marking that transition has been given the superstar treatment for its 25th birthday.

Document is now available as a CD-size box set, featuring the original album remastered (read: much louder), a concert recording from Holland, and a poster of the 1987-era band plus a postcard of each member. It’s the kind of thing that appeals to completists, but if you are looking to upgrade your original CD or album, this is the one to get.

If you’ve not heard the whole of Document or only know it from its two hits, do yourself a favor and grab it. It is the sound of a band fully evolved from its origins reaching for the stars. It is the alternative underground murk of early R.E.M. with beefy production, semi-political lyrics, and a sense of adventure and weirdness not found on releases after this. It was the final album for I.R.S. and the final album to truly feature all that was good about the band; later albums like Out Of Time and Automatic For The People, great as they were musically, tended to take themselves a bit seriously or go overboard in trying to appeal (looking at you, “Shiny Happy People”).my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Others on this site have written much about Document, so I won’t get into it much more, but no matter what flavor of R.E.M. you prefer, you will find much here to enjoy. “Finest Worksong” hits as hard as anything in the band’s catalog, “Welcome To The Occupation” is all driving melancholy and political satire (“Listen to the Congress / Where we propagate confusion’). “Oddfellows Local 151” is ambitious and paints a character study that would have fit in nicely with those on Fables Of The Reconstruction, and the heavy pop funk of “Lightnin’ Hopkins” is unlike anything else in the band’s catalog. Of course, everyone knows “The One I Love” and “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).”

Since the original disc was well produced by Scott Litt, the only revision necessary was to upgrade the sound, and this is certainly the loudest these songs have ever been. Michael Stipe’s lyrics, which were enhanced for the first time on this record, are even more clear…at least sonically, if not in meaning. The jackhammer drums of “Finest Worksong” and “Exhuming McCarthy” sound great; this also may be the first time you can actually figure out the whipsaw references of “It’s The End of the World.”

But the real treat is the live show. Little from the Work tour exists on record, at least officially, and the radio broadcast of this show captured the band’s sound perfectly. The set list draws on the first five albums, splitting up the Document songs with a few buried gems from Murmur and fan favorites “Driver 8,” “Life And How to Live It,” “Feeling Gravity’s Pull,” and the first three songs from Lifes Rich Pageant. Of special note is the solo Peter Buck/Stipe duet on the closing “So. Central Rain,” which transforms the song into a yearning paean that is quite beautiful; the same approach is taken to the first verse of “The One I Love.” Also of note is “Lightnin’ Hopkins,” which sounds much better live, and the Murmur tracks, played five years later by a wised-up band with experience and consequently sounding far better.

Document is the best album R.E.M. ever made and still sounds great today, not at all dated and certainly politically relevant in this election year. The 25th anniversary edition and the addition of a concert from the era only enhance an already-classic album.

Rating: A

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