|
Document | 
 enlarge | Artist: R.e.m.
Label: Capitol
Category: Music
List Price: $11.98
Buy New: $7.97
You Save: $4.01 (33%)
New (42) Used (51) Collectible (12) from $1.44
Rating:  95 reviews
Sales Rank: 7172
Format: Original Recording Reissued
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 93480
UPC: 724349348028
EAN: 0724349348028
ASIN: B000002UW1
Release Date: January 27, 1998
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
| |
| Tracks:
| • | Finest Worskong | | • | Welcome to the Occupation | | • | Exhuming McCarthy | | • | Disturbance at the Heron House | | • | Strange | | • | It's the End of the World As We Know It (and I feel fine) | | • | The One I Love | | • | Fireplace | | • | Lightnin' Hopkins | | • | King of Birds | | • | Oddfellows Local 151 |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential recording
Singer Michael Stipe finally confesses that even he doesn't know what he's trying to say--among the lines flying by are "tryin' to tell you something we don't know" and "there's something going on that's not quite right." But R.E.M.'s roar is at its sharpest, as Peter Buck's guitars twist up surf riffs and the Bill Berry-Mike Mills rhythm section captures the force of forebears Big Star and the Byrds. After half a decade of college-rock heroism, R.E.M. achieved its first hit album thanks to the rambling "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and the gentle (but subtly barbed) "The One I Love." --Steve Knopper
Amazon.com
R.E.M. Photos More from R.E.M.
Lifes Rich Pageant | 
The Best of the I.R.S. Years: Collector's Edition | 
Fables of the Reconstruction |
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 90 more reviews...
 The Final Document November 24, 2008
R.E.M. ended their tenure at IRS Records with their second 5-star album, "Document." Having flirted with mainstream production with Don Geham on Lifes Rich Pageant, the switch to producer Scott Litt kept the smoother, more arena ready sound, but brought back some of the band's trademark atmosphere. "Document" also became R.E.M.'s first album to sport a hit single, the breakout "The One I Love."
Along with The Police's "Every Breath You Take," "The One I Love's" tale of obsession and paranoia marks one of the most deceptive Top 10 love songs of the 80's. It also sported one of Peter Buck's heaviest riffs. Paired with the high speed rant of "It's The End Of The World as We Know It," (which might as well have become a hit), "Document" boosted R.E.M, from the arms of its beloved cult and into the arms of the mainstream.
Even with that new-found appeal, it's amazing just how political the band was becoming. "ITEOTWAWKI," "King Of Birds" and "Welcome To The Occupation" all some charged lyrical content, upping the ante from "Pageant." There was still plenty of jangle-pop and Byrds-ish chiming to go around, like "Finest Worksong" and "End of the World," but by finding a sympathetic soul with Producer Litt (who would helm them for the next few albums and their peak Automatic for the People, "Document" was R.E.M. hitting their stride and setting themselves up for the bidding war that Warner Brothers ultimately won (Green).
R.E.M. Heads Into Mainstream July 12, 2008
"Document" was R.E.M.'s first breakout album that took them out of the obscurity of indie rock. Although R.E.M.'s guitars and Stipe's voice are louder, they added some cool guitar effects and some saxophones too.
Although this album eliminated R.E.M.'s softy band status temporarily, this album added a stadium sound that increased R.E.M.'s accessibility. After all, listeners had a hard time hearing the words in R.E.M.'s first albums. In fact, with the opening track, "Finest Worksong," Stipe shows off his stadium voice, bellowing "The time to rise has been engaged/You'd better best to rearrange." As guitars blast in the background, Stipe calls people to take their instinct by the reins.
R.E.M. also prove that they can still sing great soft songs, in the part acoustic, part-electric guitar ballad "Welcome to the Occupation." Stipe continues his political edge about the government, with lyrics such as "Listen to the Congress/where we propogate confusion/primitive and wild/Fire on the hemisphere below."
But this isn't completely a political album at all. In fact, Stipe sings some really wacky line in the song "Strange," where he sings to a cool drum beat "There's something strange going on tonight/There's something going on that's not quite right/Michael's nervous and the lights are bright/There's something going on that's not quite right, uh-huh." The next few lyrics don't really elaborate much, but it proves how much R.E.M. is interested in utter absurdity at this point of their career.
And of course, no song is as absurd as "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." Stipe mouths off fast strings of lyrics, such as "The other night I dreamt of knives/continental drift divide/Mountains sit in a line/Leonard Bernstein." Of course, the first parts of the song make more sense, where he sings "Eye of a hurricane/listen to yourself churn/World serves its own needs/don't misserve your own needs." Although I don't think anyone who heard the song could make much sense out of the words, it was still a fun, original song that became a huge hit.
Of course, there is another song that received plenty of recognition, named "The One I Love." Don't be fooled by the title--it isn't a love song. In fact, Stipe sings that "This one goes out to the one I left behind/A simple prop to occupy my time." Obviously, that girl wasn't much of a person, if she was just a prop. But the guitar strums and drum beats accompanying Stipe after crying "Fire!" made this song legendary.
In fact, Stipe proves that his band is just as capable of blasting cool guitar strums, frets and feedback effects. And "Fireplace" really shows off the guitarist's talent with a saxophone playing a hot improv accompaniment.
Even though some songs, such as "Exhuming McCarthy," sound way too happy to be taken seriously, the album is a very strong effort from R.E.M. It proved that R.E.M. was a band that deserved to enter into the limelight.
 Asi-asi June 14, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really hate to admit it, but I've been a die-hard R.E.M. fan for almost two decades and this is the only record that never really much did for me. I decided to give it another spin because when I saw them in D.C. they opened with "Finest Worksong." Nothing has changed. It'll be a long time before I give this one another try. For those new to R.E.M., please, please, please start with something else. Once you hear "One I Love" and "End of the World" too many times, this one won't hold much water. It's not terrible, just nothing significant going on. It's really just a Diet-Lifes Rich Pageant.
REM - Gain Mainstream Success February 12, 2008
It took me a while to warm up to REM. They were the darlings of the alternative music press after the release of their first album "Murmur" in the early 80's and steadily grew a more mainstream following with each sequential release. I kept reading about them and thinking about giving them a try, but it was not until this their 4th studio album that the band hooked me. "Document" is an album that divides fans of the band. This was the first album that saw REM gain any significant mainstream attention producing two big hits in the dark often misinterpreted "The One I Love" and the frantic "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)". Older fans screamed "sellout" and indeed this would be the bands last album on an independent label. For me I think it is a great disc and filled with quirky yet satisfying songs. Full of jangling guitars and politically charge lyrics REM are able to capture a picture of the American 80's. Along with the singles the album is full of great songs: "Finest Worksong", "Welcome To The Occupation", "Exhuming McCarthy", "Lightnin Hopkins", "King Of Birds", and the aptly titled "Oddfellows Local 151".
Their last good album August 23, 2007
This album defined alternative music before the term became diluted and meaningless. Great lyrics and great melodies mean that twenty years later, this album is now officially a classic, and you will continue to reach for it long after you tire of the rest of your collection.
For those of us who were teenagers when this came out, it will bring back memories of how good music used to be, before the industry became a near monopoly and bands were assembled from random parts.
|
|
|
Copyright 2006 - CD Shopper | |
