Document (Remastered) [Extra tracks]

The last of the 5 studio albums R.E.M. recorded for IRS Records finally gets the DELUXE EDITION CD treatment in 2012 and like the others before it - "Reckoning" (1983), "Murmur" (1983), "Fables Of The Reconstruction" (1985) and "Life's Rich Pageant" (1986) - it's a mixed bag of vastly improved sound quality offset by hollow extras you're never going to play, infuriating packaging and a far-too-steep price tag.

Released Monday 24 September 2012 in the UK (25 Sept 2012 in the USA) as a 2CD Mini Box Set on Capitol 509999972000628 - it breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 is the 11-track studio album "Document" first released on vinyl in early September 1987 on IRS 42059 in the USA and on IRS MIRG 1025 in the UK (39:49 minutes)

Disc 2 is a 20-track PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED live set called "Live At Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht, Holland 14 September 1987". It was recorded for Vara Radio and runs to 79:37 minutes.

The first thing that hits you is the power of the REMASTERED album which has been done by ROBERT VOSGIEN in the USA - never too showy or trebled up - it's impressive to say the least. The drums and bass are so sweet now and the guitars finally heard - making lesser-heard nuggets like "Disturbance At The Heron House" (lyrics above) and "King Of Birds" suddenly feel alive. The treated guitar and drum opening of "Oddfellows Local 151" is HUGE - again not overdone - just meaty in all the right ways. "Strange" is the same - great rocking stuff...

The live set with its 20-tracks and near 80 minutes playing time is certainly value for money - but I found after 4 songs its unlistenable - same tune - over and over again. The sound quality is excellent though - great presence.

The 10-page booklet has some new liner notes by David Daley describing the US political landscape that so influenced the songs (Reagan, Iran etc) - there's a large black and white fold-out poster and 4 x Lobby Cards of the band. But you can't help feel that instead of puffed-up presentation there should have been non-album B-sides and outtakes instead of tedious live stuff. The lyrics aren't reproduced - neither is the inner sleeve to the UK LP - and you can't read the typically oblique artwork that isn't artwork.

The overall feel is this - a really great remaster of the album that truly makes you reassess just how good the album was - but the rest is superfluous to requirements - and you're being charged for the privilege.

These guys used to be the biggest band in the world - and the excellent remaster of this forgotten album will go some way to explaining why.

But I doubt the rest will do anyone any favours...especially long suffering fans...

For me, as a lover of earlier REM, Document is their last great album before it all starts to go wrong and become too slick.

Easily one of their darker and most overtly political albums, as the new accompanying notes make clear, but still retaining some of the punky, garage band feel of their earliest albums.

Stipe's vocals are far clearer than on, say, Murmur, and Berry's drums more prominent than had been the case. The music itself is becoming a bit more twisted, showing influences of the darker side of psychedelia.

Why get this new release? The sound is a distinct improvement on earlier releases, while avoiding too much "loudness wars" over-compression. I find the live stuff on this series of releases to be worthwhile, showing the, as mentioned above, garage band side of REM, which certainly appeals to me, who lived through the original days of punk.

The slide begins after this one...

The topic of "What is REM's best album" is exactly the sort of topic that is designed to set internet forums alight, and it is one that has been dissected many ways, it's one of the great things about the band that there's so many different sides to their albums.

For me though, this is one of the big ones. As described in the essay in the new accompanying booklet, it's a muscular album, the production is clear and clean, and most of all it is a consistent set of strong songs. Fireplace perhaps feels a little out of place on the album, a b-side that accidentally made the big time, but even that isn't a really bad track. And then there's 'The One I Love", "It's The End Of The World As We Know It", and "Finest Worksong", three different singles but all very memorable. This album is very much the sound of REM as a rock band, the songs are often uptempo, the guitars often crunchy. The remaster sounds good, but it's the underlying album that's excellent and a 5 star effort - though really if you just want Document, you can buy Document (Remastered) which is an older reissue that actually contains bonus tracks not in this version.

So for your extra cash, what do you get here? A large cardboard box (in line with the last couple of REM reissues) filled with extra paper (postcards and a poster, which will likely stay in the box and are all a bit pointless, even more so for a band with REM's green credentials). A new booklet with an essay on the album which doesn't really have much to add. And then a second CD with a live show from the same era, featuring most of the album's songs and several older tracks as well. This is the real draw for the extra expense and it's an interesting listen. Most of the songs sound a little rawer and looser, as you'd expect from a live recording, most notably Lightnin' Hopkins without the studio bass sounds over the drum pattern. And The One I Love kicks off in a low key fashion before turning into the album version. Is it essential? No. But as a document of REM in 1987 it'll do.

So 4 stars, mainly from a value for money perspective, because although the album itself is great, unless you really want to hear the live performance you may as well go for a single CD version.