REM - Document [24 bit FLAC] vinyl

R.E.M. - Document (1987) [24 bit FLAC] vinyl

Released: 1987
Genre: Pop/Rock
Style: Alternative
Codec: FLAC
Bit Rate: ~ 3,100 kbps
Bits Per Sample: 24
Sample Rate: 96,000 Hz
Source: 1987 / IRS-42059 / US

A1 Finest Worksong 3:49
A2 Welcome To The Occupation 2:46
A3 Exhuming McCarthy 3:19
A4 Disturbance At The Heron House 3:32
A5 Strange 2:31
A6 It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) 4:04

B1 The One I Love 3:17
B2 Fireplace 3:22
B3 Lightnin' Hopkins 3:20
B4 King Of Birds 4:09
B5 Oddfellows Local 151 5:22

R.E.M. began to move toward mainstream record production on Lifes Rich Pageant, but they didn't have a commercial breakthrough until the following year's Document. 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. "Finest Worksong," the stream-of-conscious rant "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," and the surprise Top Ten single "The One I Love" 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. Where Lifes 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.