Their first platinum record. Their first top ten single. Their first kinda bad album?

It was 1987 and R.E.M. was staring down their last album with IRS. Continuing the trend from Lifes Rich Pageant, they wanted it to be loud and political. That may have been the right move commercially, but we come down on the side that Document is, overall, no great shakes. Listen to our 30 year old hot takes today!

Links:

• Work Tour Trailer

• REM- Exhuming McCarthy (Demo) - YouTube

• REM- Oddfellows Local 151 (Demo) - YouTube

• REM- Lightnin' Hopkins(Demo) - YouTube

• REM- It's The End Of The World As We Know It(Demo) - YouTube

• REM- Welcome To the Occupation(Demo) - YouTube

• REM- Finest Worksong(Demo) - YouTube

• Wire - Strange - YouTube

• REM Romance - YouTube

• Finest Worksong (Other Mix) (2006 Digital Remaster) - YouTube

• Rem Last Date - YouTube

• R.E.M. - The One I Love [Acoustic/McCabe's Guitar Shop] - YouTube

• REM - Time after Time - YouTube

• Finest Worksong (Lengthy Club Mix) - YouTube

• R.E.M. - The One I Love - YouTube

• R.E.M. - Finest Worksong - YouTube

• R.E.M. - It's The End Of The World - YouTube