R.E.M. - Document [Import Bonus Tracks]

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. [In 1992, the British division of IRS reissued all of R.e.m.'s albums with bonus tracks. Many of these cuts were featured on Dead Letter Office, but others were rare flexi-discs, fan-club singles, compilation contributions, forgotten B-sides, live tracks, and outtakes. The bonus tracks on Document were all released as B-sides for singles from the album, including a cover of Floyd Cramer's "Last Date," two remixes of "Finest Worksong," and live versions of "The One I Love," "Time After Time," and "Disturbance at the Heron House." There are no great revelations here, but it's worth the extra price for hardcore fans, even if R.e.m. themselves were reportedly unhappy with the bonus tracks on these reissues. However, keep in mind that many of these bonus tracks -- the ones that weren't originally on Dead Letter Office -- later appeared on the limited-edition U.S. rarities collection In The Attic, which means that these imports aren't necessarily worth the search.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide