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Old 02-07-2010, 01:06 PM   #42 (permalink)
Rickenbacker
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Document
Released 1987
I.R.S. Records



The time to rise has been engaged

I doubt that truer words have ever opened an album. With this line from "Finest Worksong", R.E.M.'s fifth record begins. Due to its incredible commercial success and the rising popularity of the band, Document would be their last released on I.R.S. records., and would carry them down the path to international stardom, wealth and musical freedom they had never before experienced.

But at what cost?

It's easy to blame document for R.E.M.'s Warner Brother's Era mediocrity. Document sounds mainstream. It was trying to be mainstream. It became mainstream, and with that it was arguably the indirect reason for records like Around the Sun. In a sense, Document is R.E.M.'s "The Joshua Tree": polished, popular, pervasive and the "big break" for both bands. Without Document, R.E.M. would have fallen to the same fate as the Feelies and the Violent Femmes, still playing small shows and eventually petering out whilst retaining their signature sound despite financial hardships and dwindling success. But that isn't R.E.M., the multi-million dollar megastars who once declared that the "Everybody hurts, everybody cries", and like it or not, it's all because of Document. But while we can in a way blame the record for its own success, blaming it for the sporadically brilliant and at times not-so-brilliant by products of that success is hardly fair.

Rather, examining how Document became successful is what is important to do when analyzing this record. No one can effectively predict an album to be a hit, but by 1987, R.E.M. seemed to have a fairly clear idea of how to attain it. Working off the musical path laid in place by Don Gehman's production on Lifes Rich Pageant, producer Scott Litt took Document one step further. Until then, Michael's vocals had been audible at times but indiscernible more often than not. On Document, Stipe sings with a clear and resonant tenor that dominates the album. As a result, the guitars and bass are oftened drowned out, and Mike Mills harmonies are nowhere to be found. This is a slight problem, as Michael never was and never will be Bono, and while he is a great frontman, his voice simply doesn't work as a centerpiece of an album. Herein lies the overwhelming difference between Lifes Rich Pageant and Document in terms of sound. Whereas the former was a guitar album in every sense, the latter is more mismatched; trying to glean from Michael's voice something that he doesn't possess, that is, the ability to belt. And as such, these eleven songs ultimately fail to serve their purpose as anti-establishment political anthems.

In 1987, College students loved two things: R.E.M. and hating Ronald Reagan. As their most lyrically political album to date, Document bridged the gap between the two, thus beginning their short-lived two album stint in which they openly linked political beliefs with their music. The college kids bought into it because of sheer prospect, but I don't. With 20 years of political music since Document and ever more before its release, the whole idea is becoming quite tired. Without the songwriting, production or Henry Rollins-like frontman to back it up, Document fails despite Bill Berry's best drumming ever on tracks like Lightnin' Hopkins and Finest Worksong.

However, when they lay down their picket signs for song or two is when this album begins to show its strength. The One I Love, which would become a top ten single, is led by a classic riff and a one word chorus to die for (see "FIIIIAAAAAAAAAHH"). It is a classic alternative love song, or rather a song about love, as it is in actuality a harsh snide kiss-off to lovers "left behind". Lightnin' Hopkins is even better, with an absolutely cracking beat and catchy harmonious chorus. It is only brought down by Michael's vocal, too loud and overdone to the point of near annoyance. However, the only point at which the album achieves near perfection is with the closing song Oddfellow's Local 151. The haunting vocal performance from Michael Stipe is great, but the instrumentation makes the song brilliant, as Mike Mill's Joy Division-esque bass line plods along to the beat of Berry's drum. Buck's guitar, double tracked and distorted is not lost amongst these musical forces, thankfully, and as a result, Oddfellows is very different from any R.E.M. song before or since. They never tried this formula again, but on Oddfellows it works with great results. Unfortunately, these songs, plus the rabble-rousing classic "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" are not enough to make the album great, and it rests firmly as the worst record of the I.R.S. Years. (Sorry Jackhammer )

Key Tracks (Click to Download): "The One I Love", "Lightnin' Hopkins", "Oddfellows Local 151"

7/10



Next Step: U2 - War

Last edited by Rickenbacker; 02-07-2010 at 01:28 PM.
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