R.E.M. Document released

Document R.E.M.

Released: September 8, 1987 Peak: 10 US, 28 UK, 13 CN, 9 AU, 4 DF Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 4.0 world (includes US + UK) Genre: college rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Finest Worksong (2/6/88, 28 AR, 11 CO, 50 UK, 25 DF) Welcome to the Occupation (39 DF) Exhuming McCarthy (33 DF) Disturbance at the Heron House (39 DF) Strange (38 DF) It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (8/87, 69 BB, 16 AR, 1 CO, 39 UK, 1 DF) The One I Love (9/5/87, 9 BB, 10 CB, 14 GR, 13 RR, 2 AR, 1 CO, 16 UK, 11 CN, 84 AU, 3 DF) Fireplace (38 DF) Lightnin’ Hopkins (39 DF) King of Birds (7 DF) Oddfellow’s Local 151 (38 DF) Total Running Time: 39:51 The Players: Bill Berry (drums, percussion) Peter Buck (guitar.) Mike Mills (bass, piano, keyboards) Michael Stipe (vocals)

Rating: 4.293 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings) Quotable: “Not only a commercial breakthrough, but a creative breakthrough as well, offering evidence of R.E.M.'s growing depth and maturity” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Michael Stipe mumbled his way through R.E.M.’s early albums” TL and then “began to move toward mainstream record production on Life’s Rich Pageant, but they didn't have a commercial breakthrough until…Document.” AM “Ironically, Document is a stranger, more varied album than its predecessor, but co-producer Scott Litt – who would go on to produce every R.E.M. album in the following decade – is a better conduit for the band than Don Gehman, giving the group a clean sound without sacrificing their enigmatic tendencies.” AM “The One I Love beats all comers as the most brutal love song ever to hit the Top 10 (‘A simple prop, to occupy my time/ This one goes out to the one I love’).” TL “The stream-of-conscious rant” AM “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) proved Stipe’s pessimism was trumped by his sense of humor.” TL Those two and the album’s third charting song, Finest Worksong “all crackle with muscular rhythms and guitar riffs, but the real surprise is how political the mid-tempo jangle pop of Welcome to the Occupation, Disturbance at the Heron House, and King of Birds is.” AM In particular, “‘Welcome to the Occupation’ (‘Sugar cane and coffee cup/ Copper, steel and cattle/ An annotated history/ The forest for the fire’) made imperialism rhythmic.” TL “Where Life’s Rich Pageant sounded a bit like a party record, Document is a fiery statement, and its memorable melodies and riffs are made all the more indelible by its righteous anger. In other words, it's not only a commercial breakthrough, but a creative breakthrough as well, offering evidence of R.E.M.'s growing depth and maturity, and helping usher in the P.C. era in the process.” AM

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for R.E.M. AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine TL Time Magazine (11/13/2006). “All-TIME 100 Albums” by Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 4/2/2008; last updated 6/18/2024.