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From:R.E.M. , Capitol ,
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#6035 |
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1 of 2 customers found the following review helpful:
 Document of a Great Band at their Peak, 2007-03-05
R.E.M. one of the few good bands of the '80's (along with U2 and a few others), and this is arguably the best record of the decade, not to mention easily the best thing the group ever did. This was also the group's breakthrough, containing their first Top 40 hit: The One I Love, which can best be described as Led Zeppelin filtered through The Byrds, only without each group's bad elements - none of the former's brainless lyrics or the latter's ill-advised forays into psychedelia. The One I Love happens to be their best song, with a jangly riff, simple yet cryptic lyrics (I'm with Michael Stipe's interpretation about how it's people who use others over and over, but that's just me), and a dramatic ending. Hit #2 was It's the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine) - Subterranean Homesick Blues for the information age, namechecking everyone from Lester Bangs to Lenny Bruce (Right? Right!) and featuring what may very well be the best sing-along refrain of all time. There have been several, let me add. Finest Worksong also got, and deserved plenty of attention - a straight ahead rock 'n' roller that's uncharacteristic of the group's classic sound, but rocks just the same. Some of this has been unjustly overlooked, though: King of Birds is an experiment with Indian instrumentation and rhythms that works better than most others do, calling to mind similar-sounding Beatles tracks such as Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown). Continuing in the bird thing, there's also the disquieting Disturbance at the Heron House. Plus this contains one of the group's most experimental tracks, period: Exhuming McCarthy, which works in keyboards, horns and even a vocal sample of Joseph Welch damming McCarthy. Pretty creative, and one of the best here. Strange and Fireplace (both featuring Michael Stipe's ill-advised hard-rock singer impression) don't really work out, but the rest does. It's too bad R.E.M. sold out RIGHT after this release, seeing just how good it is.
1 of 4 customers found the following review helpful:
REM5 Document CD, 2007-01-15
Product was in excellent shape, Item cost & shipping were reasonably priced, and arrived in a very timely manner considering I ordered it late in the 2006 holiday season. Thank you AMAZON.
The manifesto, 2006-12-01
The most aptly-titled R.E.M. album, this is really, in a nutshell, the mission statement if you will of the band. Using this album as a base of comparison, a person can listen to each of its other albums and get an appropriate read of the test subject's poppiness, or its political tone, or almost whatever angle they want to look at.
It's their manifesto, if you will, and the album which (appropriately so) everything after would be compared to due to the fact that it is the album first widely accepted by both the college radio and pop radio communities as well as critics.
Starting with the songs (almost) everyone knows, "The One I Love" and "The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" are staples of classic modern rock, and deservedly so. Michael Stipe could really be singing the alphabet in "The One I Love" and I wish that people would get over the issue of it begin a misunderstood song. It's the MUSIC and vocal melody of it that made it great. Pete Buck's guitar in that song is likely his most memorable single lick, and the dynamics of the song (from subdued verses to screaming chorus) paved the way for a lot of later pop music by many alt acts (Nirvana in particular).
"The End of the World..." has admittedly devolved over the years into a frat-party favorite, but that's not R.E.M.'s fault. It remains one of the best takes on apocalypse I've ever heard. Bring it on...
But as per usual the hits (both real and imagined) aren't the best songs on an R.E.M. album, and they're certainly not the most important ones on Document.
"Welcome To The Occupation" and "Disturbance At The Heron House", as well as "Oddfellows Local 151" and "Exhuming McCarthy" are the best examples of sociopolitical songwriting the band ever had. This is perhaps due to the fact the band became so big (and thus less on the pulse of the everyday man) on subsequent releases. These four, and in particular the first two listed, are among my personal favorites of the band's career.
1987 was a huge year for alternative rock, perhaps the biggest between 1976 and 1991. Key releases by many artists (U2's The Joshua Tree, INXS's Kick, 10,000 Maniacs' In My Tribe, The Replacements' Pleased To Meet Me) really pushed the genre toward the end of that decade with more energy than gathered at one point prior.
Document was at the center of that push, and is a must-own for not just alt. rock fans, but really anyone who studies and enjoys the development of pop music in America.
2 of 4 customers found the following review helpful:
'Document' of Brilliance, 2006-09-10
'Document' is arguably R.E.M.'s best album. That's a pretty bold statement, considering R.E.M. has had the best roll of studio albums of any group since the Beatles. Now just like the latter, critics and fans could easily pick out 'Murmur,' 'Out of Time,' and 'Automatic for the People' as their magnum opus; however, there is at least enough evidence to put 'Document' at least among their top works.
It must be conceded that not all of the lyrics make sense. However, it doesn't take too much scholarship to point out that the theme of reform is in every corner on every song. (Notice, too, the image of fire is a major thread in several songs.) There's the call to justice and equality on the opener "Finest Worksong". With troubadour vocals and Peter Buck's blaring guitar, it is a majestic anthem. Then, U.S. policy in South America is addressed in "Welcome to the "Occupation," a stirring protest with beautiful, intricate guitars and spare, poignant lyrics. "Exhuming McCarthy" stirs up the smugness of the newly rich and arrogant. With bright instrumentation, it is a perfectly pleasing piece of pop music. Next, "Disturbance at the Heron House" gets confused, but it seems to speak about environmentalism, equality, and Darwinism in the same breath. Shimmering musically, Michael Stipe's needling vocals zero in on the subject matter like few songs previously. The variety is remarkable and the energy is laudable, but their next two numbers outdo both with "Strange," an honest caveat about dangerous drugs, and, especially, with "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)". The latter is played and sung like it's Armageddon. The lyrics are presented like rap with a trajectory the genre usually lacks. Bill Berry's drumming, Michael's annunciation, and Mike Mill's and Peter's playing come together synergistically for what has to be their all time best song. The second half isn't a slouch either. "The One I Love," their first top ten hit, is beautiful for its devotion, angst, and able guitar. "Fireplace" continues the theme of reform with an able commentary about the church or state, or a similar organization. The extended metaphor and the firey saxophone work together well in one their better written songs for this outing. "Lightning Hopkins" continues the firey language and skilled musicianship, delivering a scathing sermon. One of the most dramatic moments starts off slowly. The truly eloquent "King of Birds," a beautiful, soaring song articulately speaks of a vision of flight from oppression. Then, the fire of reform is also given some its most idiosyncratic treatment on the finale "Oddfellows 151," a stab at some decadent group or another.
The energy, variety, and concept all solidify 'Document'. Also, the recent acquisition of producer Scott Litt enabled the band to reach heights not known previously. What a trek they took from their brilliant debut 'Murmur' to this expert classic! 'Document' has to be one of the top ten albums of all time.
1 of 6 customers found the following review helpful:
Prefection in 11 songs, 2006-02-21
Like each colored brush-stroke makes a Van Gogh, this song is a masterpiece in 11 songs.
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