Dead Letter Office (album)
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| Dead Letter Office | ||
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| Compilation album by R.E.M. | ||
| Released | 27 April 1987 | |
| Recorded | 1981-1986 | |
| Genre | College rock | |
| Length | 43:22 63:51 (with Chronic Town EP) |
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| Label | I.R.S. Records | |
| Producer(s) | Mitch Easter, Don Dixon, Joe Boyd, Don Gehman and R.E.M. | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| R.E.M. chronology | ||
| Lifes Rich Pageant (1986) |
Dead Letter Office (1987) |
Document (1987) |
Dead Letter Office is a rarities and B-sides collection by R.E.M., released in 1987. The album effectively mops up many of the additional recordings R.E.M. made pre-Murmur to Lifes Rich Pageant that were outtakes or released as flip sides to their singles internationally. Many of the tracks are favorite cover versions indicating the band's disparate influences and musical tastes, including three Velvet Underground covers, and songs by Pylon, Aerosmith and Roger Miller.
Guitarist Peter Buck composed wry, self-deprecating (and, in one instance, apologetic) liner notes to the songs on Dead Letter Office.
The album was initially issued as a 15-song collection on vinyl and cassette, but when its CD edition appeared (now the only available edition of Dead Letter Office), the legendary (and rare) Chronic Town EP from 1982 was slotted in.
Dead Letter Office originally reached #52 in the U.S. and #60 in the UK.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, except as indicated.
- "Crazy" (Randy Bewley, Vanessa Briscoe, Curtis Crowe, Michael Lachowski) – 3:03 (B-side of Driver 8 7 inch & Wendell Gee 7 & 12 inch)
- "There She Goes Again" (Lou Reed) – 2:50 (B-Side of I.R.S. Radio Free Europe 7 inch)
- "Burning Down" – 4:12 (B-Side of Wendell Gee 7 & 12 inch)
- "Voice of Harold"1 – 4:24 (B-Side So. Central Rain 12 inch)
- "Burning Hell" – 3:49 (B-Side Can't Get There From Here 12 inch)
- "White Tornado" – 1:55 (#B-Side of Superman 7 & 12 inch)
- "Toys in the Attic" (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry) – 2:28
- "Windout" (Jerry Ayers, Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 1:58
- "Ages of You" – 3:42 (B-Side of Wendell Gee 7 & 12 inch)
- "Pale Blue Eyes" (Reed) – 2:53 (B-Side So. Central Rain 12 inch)
- "Rotary Ten" – 2:00 (B-Side of Fall on Me 7 inch)
- "Bandwagon" (Berry, Buck, Mills, Lynda Stipe, M. Stipe) – 2:16 (B-Side Can't Get There From Here 7 & 12 inch)
- "Femme Fatale" (Reed) – 2:49 (B-Side of Superman 12 inch)
- "Walter's Theme" – 1:32 (B-Side So. Central Rain 7 inch)
- "King of the Road"2 (Roger Miller) – 3:13 (B-Side So. Central Rain 7 inch)
- "Wolves, Lower" – 4:10
- "Gardening at Night" – 3:29
- "Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)" – 3:54
- "1,000,000" – 3:06
- "Stumble" – 5:40
Note that tracks 16 - 20 were originally released on the Chronic Town EP in 1982 and added to CD edition of Dead Letter Office.
[edit] The IRS Years reissue
On January 26, 1993, EMI (which owns the I.R.S. catalogue) re-released Dead Letter Office with two bonus tracks:
- "Gardening at Night" (Acoustic version)
- "All the Right Friends"
[edit] Notes
1 Features the backing track of "7 Chinese Bros." with Stipe reading the liner notes from the back cover of a gospel album (The Joy Of Knowing Jesus) by The Revelaires.
2 Buck says this track was recorded extemporaneously during a recording session while the band was drunk. It consists mostly of Stipe fumbling through the lyrics as Buck and Mills try to arrive at the same key.
[edit] Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Billboard 200 | 52 (14 weeks on chart) |
| 1987 | UK Albums Chart | 60 (2 weeks on chart) |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | "Ages of You" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 39 |
