Rick Clark's Music I Love Blog - Artist: R.E.M. / Album: Document
Artist: R.E.M. / Album: Document
By the time R.E.M.’s fifth album, Document, came out in 1987, the band was well on its way beyond the college rock world where it started. Document would deliver the band’s first two big hits with “The One I Love” and “It’s The End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).”
Scott Litt’s production added an extra warmth to the sound that wasn’t as present on the previous album Life’s Rich Pageant. I loved Life’s Rich Pageant, but Document packed a big sonic wallop and managed to do this without losing R.E.M.’s raw essence. I could link their clips of their hits here, but I want to shine a light on the album’s numerous other highlights, including more adventurous areas where the band had never gone before.
Document kicks off with the thunderous “Finest Worksong” with Stipe declaring “The time to rise has been engaged” and I immediately remembered how this felt like a call to pay attention to what was in the air during the Reagan era of great international and domestic tensions. It is a call to get down to work and that is what Document largely feels like to me.
“Fireplace” is a stunning dark immersion in 6/8 with Stipe intoning “Crazy crazy world. Crazy crazy times” as the track winds up into an explosive sax break by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin taking the song to a place the band had never been prior. It is exhilarating.
One quality I love about Document was how memorably melodious it is. “Disturbance At The Heron House” is one of my favorite R.E.M. tracks, because of Stipe’s melody, Mike Mills emotive harmony counterpoints and Peter Buck’s economically powerful lead guitar break. The reverbs on Bill Berry’s toms and his fills and cymbal work on the verse B sections are hooks unto themselves. I never tire of this.
“Lightnin’ Hopkins” is a great throwdown and the meditative “King of Birds” are other highlights.
R.E.M. always picked great rock nuggets to cover and on Document, they do a rave-up version of Wire’s “Strange” from that band’s classic debut Pink Flag. Some might like the dark grind of the original Wire version, but R.E.M.’s spin works on Document and thematically meshes with many of the other tracks on the album.
Artist: Wire / Song: “Strange” from the album Pink Flag
If you aren’t familiar with “The One I Love” or “It’s The End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine),” they are great tracks and easy to find anywhere. I’ve included a live version of “Finest Worksong” from the video TourFilm below. It is a great performance and statement of their strength as a live band. There is also a link to the full album that includes the music video of “Finest Worksong.”
Document would be the last album R.E.M. would deliver on the I.R.S. record label. It would mark the end of an era and also become the band’s first platinum album. After Document, R.E.M. would sign a hugely lucrative deal with full-artistic control on Warner Brothers. From there the R.E.M. would attain the kind of ubiquity on radio and MTV reserved for superstars, something I’m sure that was hard for them to imagine when they released their first EP Chronic Town in 1982.
Thanks for listening!
R.E.M. “Finest Worksong” live from TourFilm