When Lifes Rich Pageant producer Don Gehman was unavailable to work with R.E.M. on a song they were contributing to a film soundtrack, he suggested they contact Scott Litt. Things went so well with that single that the band invited Litt to work with them on their fifth full studio album. The rest is, as they say, history, as Document marked R.E.M.’s first substantial entry into the mainstream.
The song that broke into the Top 40 was “The One I Love;” it is now a rite of passage for R.E.M. fans to closely consider the lyric “A simple prop to occupy my time” and exclaim “It’s not a love song!” (Bonus points for making this remark upon seeing couples acting romantically to each other while watching the song in concert.) Making less of an impact at the time was “Its the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine),” a song whose rapid-fire stream of pop culture and other random references still inspires me to yell “Leonard Bernstein!” at the appropriate moment and has itself become ingrained in popular consciousness. (The song title is also the point at which the band’s practice of eschewing apostrophes most grates on my grammar-snob nerves, but I’ve almost gotten over it.)
Document is a much deeper album than its two best-known tracks, however. Many of its songs, like “Exhuming McCarthy” and “Welcome to the Occupation,” reflect the social activism that began to come to the fore in Lifes Rich Pageant. The former may be my favorite track from the album; it opens with the sound of Michael Stipe’s manual typewriter and slides from a jaunty march-like cadence to a mellower tone for Mike Mills’ declaration that “It’s a sign of the times” and back again. Bill Berry’s drums and Peter Buck’s electric guitar are prominent throughout the album, not quite at the built-for-the-arenas level of Green, but definitely going for a stronger rock feel than a lot of the band’s previous work. A good example of that approach is in the band’s cover of the Wire song “Strange,” which blends into the rest of the album rather well.
Document tends to get moodier as it progresses; the shift can felt in the transition from “End of the World” to “One I Love,” and progresses from there to the horn-heavy “Fireplace.” The drum riff behind the wordless “ohhhhhh” chorus of “Lightnin’ Hopkins” sounds like a somewhat ominous call to action. Things slow down for “King of Birds,” which is a bit too lively to really be called a dirge, but which has a similar air of melancholy hanging over it. I think that song would have been a more effective closer than “Oddfellows Local 151,” which I think tends to meander a little too long.
After R.E.M. achieved international success with Warner Bros., IRS Records re-released the band’s early catalogue overseas with additional tracks, mostly live performances and remixes along with the occasional b-side. These additional tracks remain unavailable on U.S. versions of the album.
- Finest Worksong (3:48)
- Welcome to the Occupation (2:48)
- Exhuming McCarthy (3:19)
- Disturbance at the Heron House (3:33)
- Strange (2:32)
- Its the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine) (4:07)
- The One I Love (3:17)
- Fireplace (3:24)
- Lightnin’ Hopkins (3:18)
- King of Birds (4:07)
- Oddfellows Local 151 (5:21)
(Track listing reflects original U.S. release; foreign re-releases contain additional tracks)
Released by: IRS Records/Capitol
Release date: 1987
Total running time: 39:49
