Document (album)

, with whom they worked for the next decade. 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, Out of Time, Automatic for the People, Monster, and New Adventures in Hi-Fi. 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. 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. R.E.M. expanded their instrumentation somewhat on the album, adding a dulcimer to "King of Birds" and a saxophone to "Fireplace". Steve Berlin 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, 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 band Wire on their debut album Pink Flag. ==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 (the last one having been suggested by Peter Buck, who felt that America under the presidency of Ronald Reagan was beginning to feel a lot like the famed amusement park). ==Critical reception==

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said that R.E.M. had moved on from their past work's escapism 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)" as an "inspirational title". Rolling Stone reviewer David Fricke 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". In 2012, Slant Magazine 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 by I.R.S. Records in the United States. This version came in a replica of the record sleeve made of cardboard. In 2005, Capitol Records (whose then parent company EMI at that time owned I.R.S. Records' catalog) issued an expanded DualDisc edition of Document which includes a digitally remastered version of the album on the CD side, a DVD-Audio, DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound mix of the album done by Elliot Scheiner on the DVD side, and the original CD booklet. ==Track listing==

All songs were written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, except "Strange" by Bruce Gilbert, Graham Lewis, Colin Newman, 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" – 3:31 • "Strange" – 2:31 • "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" – 4:06 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==

Sources: R.E.M. • Bill Berry – drums, vocals • Peter Buck – guitar, dulcimer • Mike Mills – bass, vocals • Michael Stipe – vocals Additional musicians • Steve Berlin – horns • Carl Marsh – Fairlight CMI Production • Scott Litt – production • R.E.M. – production • Steve Catania – engineering • Tom Der – engineering • Toni Greene – engineering • Gary Laney – engineering • Ted Pattison – engineering • Todd Scholar – engineering • Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk, New York City, New York, United States; remastered at Gateway Mastering, Portland, Maine, United States in June 1999 • Elliot Scheiner – 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==

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's A Momentary Lapse of Reason on the other. ==References==