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''Document'' is the fifth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...
, released on September 1, 1987, by
I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and a ...
. It was their first album to be co-produced by the band and Scott Litt. Continuing in the vein of their previous album ''
Lifes Rich Pageant ''Lifes Rich Pageant'' is the fourth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on July 28, 1986, by I.R.S. Records. R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album, which was recorded at John Mellencamp's Belmont Mall Stu ...
'', ''Document'' features more audible lyrics and a harder rock sound in comparison to the band's earlier releases. The album became R.E.M.'s greatest success at the time, giving the band their first Top 10 hit (" The One I Love") and album, peaking at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' 200.


Composition

''Document'' was R.E.M.'s first album to be co-produced by the band and Scott Litt; this was a collaboration that continued through the productions of ''
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
'', '' Out of Time'', '' Automatic for the People'', ''
Monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...
'', and ''
New Adventures in Hi-Fi ''New Adventures in Hi-Fi'' is the tenth studio album by the United States, American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major-label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia, and the fol ...
''. The album's clear production and muscular rock riffs both helped to move the band toward mainstream success and built on the work done by Don Gehman, who had produced their previous album ''
Lifes Rich Pageant ''Lifes Rich Pageant'' is the fourth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on July 28, 1986, by I.R.S. Records. R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album, which was recorded at John Mellencamp's Belmont Mall Stu ...
''. This release not only launched "The One I Love" — R.E.M.'s first Top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 9 — but also gave them their first
platinum album Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
. R.E.M. expanded their instrumentation somewhat on the album, adding a
dulcimer The term dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...
to "King of Birds" and a
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
to "Fireplace".
Steve Berlin Steven M. Berlin (born September 14, 1955, in Philadelphia) is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, the Blasters, and the Fl ...
was brought in to add his saxophone skills because of a prior relationship with producer Scott Litt. This experimentation would lead to their adoption of the
mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
, which featured prominently on their subsequent albums ''Green'' and ''Out of Time''; furthermore, the band's musicians began swapping instruments both in concert and the studio with an effort to create new sounds and avoid stagnation. The song "Strange" was originally recorded by
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
band
Wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...
on their debut album ''
Pink Flag ''Pink Flag'' is the debut album by the British post-punk band Wire. It was released in November 1977 through Harvest Records. The album was critically acclaimed on release, and has since been highly influential; today it is regarded as a landmar ...
''.


Packaging

The original sleeve for the album featured the message "File under Fire", a reference to what Michael Stipe considered to be the central lyrical theme of the album, and also references the chorus to "The One I Love". A similar message ("File under water") could be found on the cover of the band's second album, '' Reckoning'', as well as on the compilation album ''Eponymous'' ("File under grain") referring to the idea behind "Talk About the Passion", which was about hunger. Two rejected suggestions for the title of the album—''R.E.M. No. 5'' and ''Table of Content''—also appear on the sleeve artwork. Other possible album titles included ''Mr. Evil Breakfast'', ''Skin Up with R.E.M.'', and ''Last Train to
Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
'' (the last one having been suggested by Peter Buck, who felt that America under the presidency of
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
was beginning to feel a lot like the famed amusement park).


Critical reception

In a contemporary review for ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'',
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
said that R.E.M. had moved on from their past work's
escapism Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism also may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or general s ...
and that "their discovery of the outside world has sharpened their sense of humor along with everything else", citing "
It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" is a song by American Rock music, rock band R.E.M., which first appeared on their 1987 album, ''Document (album), Document''. It was released as the album's second music single, single ...
" as an "inspirational title". ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' reviewer
David Fricke David Fricke (born ) is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 ye ...
felt that the album was R.E.M.'s "finest to date", and said that "''Document'' is the sound of R.E.M. on the move". ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' critic Chris Willman complimented the diversity of the music and themes, observing, "''Document'' is a tougher, meaner, leaner record than its immediate predecessors—replacing the jangly, sprightly, romantic sound the band became known for with a far more hard-edged guitar sound, as well as tenser rock rhythms. It's predictably cryptic indeed at times, but the opaque mystery that was so enticingly R.E.M. has been largely replaced here with something more definite and immediately tangible." '' Uncut''s Andrew Mueller praised ''Document'' in a retrospective review, saying, "If 1986's ''Lifes Rich Pageant'' had marked the beginnings of R.E.M.'s emergence from their cocoon of indie diffidence, 1987's ''Document'' was where they first properly reconciled themselves to their destiny as the only group of the 1980s American college-rock milieu to graduate to stadiums, and stay there." David Browne of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' observed, "The record that gave R.E.M. a top 10 hit ('The One I Love') mostly does no more than consolidate their strengths but has moments of undeniable power and the most sardonic apocalypse ever recorded, 'It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine).'"
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
said that "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." ''Rolling Stone'' went on to include ''Document'' in their list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s (in 41st place), and then ranked it number 462 on 2012 list of
the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...
. In 2012, ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' listed the album at number 17 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".


Reissue

In 1999, the album was remastered by Bob Ludwig and re-released on
Compact Disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
by
I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave and a ...
in the United States. This version came in a replica of the record sleeve made of cardboard. In 2005,
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
(whose then parent company
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
at that time owned I.R.S. Records' catalog) issued an expanded
DualDisc The DualDisc is a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including MJJ Productions Inc., EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group ...
edition of ''Document'' which includes a digitally remastered version of the album on the CD side, a
DVD-Audio DVD-Audio (commonly abbreviated as DVD-A) is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio uses most of the storage on the disc for high-quality audio and is not intended to be a video delivery format. The ...
, DTS and
Dolby Digital Dolby Digital, originally synonymous with Dolby AC-3 (see below), is the name for a family of audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. Called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1995, it is lossy compression (except for Dolby Tr ...
5.1-channel surround sound mix of the album done by
Elliot Scheiner Elliot Ray Scheiner (born March 18, 1947) is a music producer, mixer and engineer. Scheiner has received 27 Grammy Award nominations (winning eight), four Emmy nominations (winning two Emmy Awards for his work with the Eagles on their farewell t ...
on the DVD side, and the original CD booklet.


Track listing

All songs were written by
Bill Berry William Thomas Berry (born July 31, 1958) is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guita ...
,
Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.; he played the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his caree ...
,
Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., hi ...
and
Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe was born in Metro Atlanta in January 1960. Due to his father's militar ...
, except "Strange" by
Bruce Gilbert Bruce Clifford Gilbert (born 18 May 1946) is an English musician. One of the founding members of the influential and experimental art punk band Wire,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 180-182 he branched ...
,
Graham Lewis Graham Lewis (born Edward Graham Lewis, 22 February 1953) is an English musician. He is best known as a bassist, songwriter, and vocalist with punk rock/post-punk band Wire, of which he has been a core member since founding in 1976. Biography ...
,
Colin Newman Colin John Newman (born 16 September 1954) is an English musician, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as the primary vocalist and songwriter for the post-punk band Wire (band), Wire. Early life Newman was born in Salisbury ...
, Robert Grey. Side one – "Page side" #" Finest Worksong" – 3:48 #"Welcome to the Occupation" – 2:46 #"Exhuming McCarthy" – 3:19 #"Disturbance at the Heron House" – 3:32 #"Strange" – 2:31 #"
It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" is a song by American Rock music, rock band R.E.M., which first appeared on their 1987 album, ''Document (album), Document''. It was released as the album's second music single, single ...
" – 4:05 Side two – "Leaf side" #
  • " The One I Love" – 3:17 #"Fireplace" – 3:22 #"Lightnin' Hopkins" – 3:20 #"King of Birds" – 4:09 #"Oddfellows Local 151" – 5:21


    Personnel

    Personnel taken from ''Document'' liner notes. R.E.M. *
    Bill Berry William Thomas Berry (born July 31, 1958) is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guita ...
     – drums, percussion, backing vocals *
    Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.; he played the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his caree ...
     – guitar,
    dulcimer The term dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...
    on "King of Birds" *
    Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., hi ...
     – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *
    Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe was born in Metro Atlanta in January 1960. Due to his father's militar ...
     – lead vocals Additional musicians *
    Steve Berlin Steven M. Berlin (born September 14, 1955, in Philadelphia) is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, the Blasters, and the Fl ...
     – horns *Carl Marsh –
    Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, music sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commerc ...
    Production * Scott Litt – production *R.E.M. – production *Steve Catania –
    engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
    *Tom Der – engineering *Toni Greene – engineering *Gary Laney – engineering *Ted Pattison – engineering *Todd Scholar – engineering *
    Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...
     – mastering at Masterdisk,
    New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
    ,
    New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
    ,
    United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
    ; remastered at Gateway Mastering, Portland,
    Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
    , United States in June 1999 *
    Elliot Scheiner Elliot Ray Scheiner (born March 18, 1947) is a music producer, mixer and engineer. Scheiner has received 27 Grammy Award nominations (winning eight), four Emmy nominations (winning two Emmy Awards for his work with the Eagles on their farewell t ...
     – mixing on 2005 re-release *Jim McKay – photography *Michael Meister – photography *Sandra-Lee Phipps – photography *Ron Scarselli – packaging


    Chart performance


    Weekly charts


    Singles


    Certifications and sales


    Release history

    Notes *†I.R.S. Vintage Years edition, with bonus tracks *‡Compact Disc remastered edition *•DualDisc remastered edition *†† 25th anniversary edition, with bonus disc *A truncated edition of ''Document'' was also issued on Armed Forces Radio—catalogue number P-24576—with "Finest Worksong", "Welcome to the Occupation", "Fireplace", "Lightnin' Hopkins", and "King of Birds" on one side and tracks from
    Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
    's '' A Momentary Lapse of Reason'' on the other.


    References


    Further reading

    *


    External links


    R.E.M.HQ on ''Document''
    * (I.R.S. Vintage Years edition) * (DualDisc edition) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Document (Album) 1987 albums Albums produced by Bill Berry Albums produced by Michael Stipe Albums produced by Mike Mills Albums produced by Peter Buck Albums produced by Scott Litt I.R.S. Records albums R.E.M. albums Reagan Era