Rocks In The Attic #146: R.E.M. - ‘Document’ (1987)

Document is R.E.M.’s fifth album, but their first with producer Scott Litt. You can hear how important this addition is, with not only a fantastic sound overall (the album, released on the independent I.R.S. Records comes across like a major label release) but a more channelled direction.

Earlier R.E.M. albums sound to me like a random bunch of Michael Stipe’s poetry set to Peter Buck’s jangly guitar. Here, they sound like a fully fledged band, readily placed on the brink of mainstream crossover.

Hit: The One I Love

Hidden Gem: Finest Worksong

Rocks In The Attic #145: Blondie - ‘Blondie’ (1976)

Whenever I listen to a band’s debut album, and the material on there isn’t really representative of their later work, I always think back to an interview I heard once with John Peel. He was explaining why his musical tastes were drawn to the obscure and away from the mainstream. To paraphrase, he said that a band’s debut is essentially their most concentrated output, and that any subsequent albums are diluted attempts to rehash earlier glories, influenced greatly by record company involvement or, even worse, the fans.

In most cases, I agree with him. But you have to bring a degree of common sense to the party. Anybody who thinks that the first R.E.M. album, Murmur, is their finest achievement would be deluded. Or U2’s debut, Boy. There are many bands who just don’t get going properly until they’re a few albums into their career - R.E.M. and U2 are extreme examples I think, but the same can be said for Blondie.

This is in no way the ‘best’ or even the most interesting Blondie album. Rip Her To Shreds, or Rip Her To Shreads as it is mistakenly spelled on the album sleeve, is the only song on here that stands up to their later output.

Hit: Rip Her To Shreds

Hidden Gem: X Offender

Rocks In The Attic #23: R.E.M. - ‘Out Of Time’ (1991)

I’ve never been a huge fan of R.E.M. I’ve always been slightly suspicious that it took them so long to finally start recording hit albums. I was also put off by them because it was fashionable to like them when I was at college. And it was usually knobheads who liked them - R.E.M. and Oasis.

But I’ve always been a big fan of Automatic For The People, and this album’s really growing on me every time I listen to it.  I remember Automatic For The People was one of the first albums I bought on CD - it was one of the five or so CDs I got when I joined one of those music clubs (where they’ll send you the latest chart album if you do absolutely nothing).

Automatic sounded otherworldy back then (and still does now), and this seems much more accessible. I don’t think I’ve ever owned this on CD - I’d probably have listened to it much more than I have if I had it on my iPod, but as it stands I’ve only listened to it on vinyl.

I probably bought it for Shiny Happy People - probably the first R.E.M. song I ever heard  and one of my favourite singles, which I think I bought on CD - and I think I was always slight disappointed that Kate Pierson didn’t sing on all the rest of their songs.

Hit: Losing My Religion

Hidden Gem: Low