Document, released in 1987, saw REM taking a giant step towards the arenas: Scott Litt's production put Bill Berry's drums front and centre, huge and echoing, in the mid-80s fashion; Michael Stipe's lyrics were getting ever more discernible; Peter Buck's guitar no longer just jangled, but crunched and roared in the way required of Major Rock Bands. It was REM's angriest album to date, with Stipe increasingly concerning himself with the state of America, and even when the politics are subdued, there's a disquiet running through the likes of Disturbance at the Heron House and Oddfellows Local 151. The standout is It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine), still a brilliant piece of work, in which Mike Mills' "time I had some time alone" harmony gradually takes over the chorus, changing the song from being an extrovert rant to the internal monologue of someone who needs to be removed from the world. As with the rest of the superb REM reissue series, the second disc is nearly as essential, offering a 1987 show that thrills and delights.
REM: Document (25th Anniversary Edition) – review
REM's 1987 album saw them take a big leap towards being a stadium-filling band, writes Michael Hann