Recorded 1981–1987 Release date 17 October 1988 | Length 43:06 Artist R.E.M. | |
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Released October 17, 1988 (1988-10-17) Similar REM albums, Alternative rock albums |
R e m radio free europe
Eponymous is the first greatest hits and the second compilation album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1988. It was their last authorized release on I.R.S. Records, to whom they had been contracted since 1982, having just signed with Warner Bros. Records.
Contents
Eponymous is notable for its inclusion of several rare or alternative versions of known tracks, most notably the soundtrack contribution "Romance", which had not previously appeared on an R.E.M. record. Spanning from the initial single release of "Radio Free Europe" to the previous year's breakthrough hit album Document, Eponymous provides a fair overview of R.E.M.'s early work.
The album features the alternate title "File Under Grain", a reference to the cover photograph. A previous album, Document, had "File Under Fire" inscribed on it, and Reckoning featured the words "File Under Water". On the backside of the LP cover was a photograph of singer Michael Stipe with the words "They Airbrushed My Face" above his head.
Released in October 1988, just a month before R.E.M.'s Warner Bros. debut Green appeared, Eponymous reached #44 in the US and #69 in the UK.
Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe:
Side one – "Early"
- "Radio Free Europe" (original Hib-Tone single) (1981) – 3:47
- "Gardening at Night" (different vocal mix)1 – 3:30
- "Talk About the Passion" (from Murmur, 1983) – 3:20
- "So. Central Rain" (from Reckoning, 1984) – 3:15
- "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" (from Reckoning, 1984) – 4:32
- "Cant Get There from Here" (from Fables of the Reconstruction, 1985) – 3:39
Side two – "Late"
- "Driver 8" (from Fables of the Reconstruction, 1985) – 3:23
- "Romance" (from soundtrack album to the 1987 film Made in Heaven) – 3:25
- "Fall on Me" (from Lifes Rich Pageant, 1986) – 2:50
- "The One I Love" (from Document, 1987) – 3:16
- "Finest Worksong" (mutual drum horn mix) (from "Finest Worksong" single) – 3:50
- "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" (from Document, 1987) – 4:05
Notes
Chart positions
Songs
1Radio Free Europe (original Hib-Tone single)3:49
2Gardening at Night (Different vocal mix)3:30
3Talk About the Passion3:23