Maps of Music

Document (1987)

Where the lyrics of Document take you, and where it was really made.

This album gave R.E.M. their first Top 10 hit, yet its sleeve printed two rejected titles, R.E.M. No. 5 and Table of Content.

Key places

Where Document was recorded (1987)

Recording site Sound Emporium Studios — Document was recorded at Sound Emporium in Nashville, the recording facility credited on the album. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Document: fifth studio album by American rock band R.E.M.
• Released 31 August 1987 by I.R.S. Records
• Peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200, the band's greatest success at the time
• 'The One I Love' gave the band their first Top 10 hit, number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100
• First album co-produced by the band and Scott Litt
• Continues the direction of Lifes Rich Pageant, with more audible lyrics and a harder rock sound

Background

• The previous album, Lifes Rich Pageant, was produced by Don Gehman; this album built on that work
• Instrumentation expanded: dulcimer on 'King of Birds', saxophone on 'Fireplace'
• Steve Berlin was brought in for saxophone through a prior working relationship with Scott Litt
• These experiments led to the mandolin, which featured on Green and Out of Time
• Band members swapped instruments in concert and in the studio to avoid stagnation
• 'Strange' was originally recorded by post-punk band Wire on their debut album Pink Flag

Recording

• Recording facility: Sound Emporium, Nashville
• Mixing facility: Master Control
• Mastered at Masterdisk, New York City

Cover

• Original sleeve carried the message 'File under Fire', referring to the central lyrical theme that Michael Stipe identified
• Similar messages appeared on the covers of Reckoning and the compilation Eponymous
• Rejected titles R.E.M. No. 5 and Table of Content also appear on the sleeve artwork

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe, all University of Georgia students
• Released the single "Radio Free Europe" in 1981 on the independent label Hib-Tone
• Signed with I.R.S. Records in 1982

Members

• Michael Stipe (lead vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass, vocals), Bill Berry (drums) until 1997
• Bill Rieflin served as touring drummer from 2003 until his death in 2020

Career

• Breakthrough hit "The One I Love" in 1987 from Document; signed with Warner Bros. in 1988
• Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992) made them leaders of alternative rock
• Continued as a trio after Berry left in 1997
• Broke up in 2011 after selling more than 90 million albums worldwide
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2024

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The Village Voice's Robert Christgau: the band had moved beyond the escapism of its past work
• Christgau cited 'It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)' as an 'inspirational title'
• Rolling Stone's David Fricke: felt the album was R.E.M.'s finest to date
• Rolling Stone's David Fricke: 'Document is the sound of R.E.M. on the move'
• Los Angeles Times's Chris Willman: a tougher, meaner, leaner record than its predecessors, with a harder-edged guitar sound
• Entertainment Weekly's David Browne: mostly consolidates the band's strengths, with moments of undeniable power
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine: a fiery statement whose righteous anger makes its melodies more indelible

Reappraisal

• Uncut's Andrew Mueller, in a retrospective review: the album was where the band first reconciled itself to playing stadiums
• Rolling Stone: ranked it 41st on its list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s
• Rolling Stone: ranked it 462nd on its 2012 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
• Slant Magazine: listed it 17th on its 2012 list of the best albums of the 1980s

Records

• Peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200
• 'The One I Love' reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, the band's first Top 10 hit
• Gave the band their first platinum album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The sleeve printed two rejected titles, R.E.M. No. 5 and Table of Content.
• Other rejected titles included Mr. Evil Breakfast, Skin Up with R.E.M., and Last Train to Disneyland, the last suggested by Peter Buck, who felt America under Ronald Reagan was becoming like the amusement park.
• 'Strange' was originally recorded by Wire on their debut album Pink Flag.
• A truncated edition was also issued on Armed Forces Radio, with five of the album's tracks on one side and Pink Floyd tracks on the other.
• In 1999 the album was remastered by Bob Ludwig and re-released on CD by I.R.S. Records in the United States, in a replica of the record sleeve made of cardboard.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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