Eponymous (album)
Encyclopedia
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
. The title is a pun on the convention in the recording industry to refer to a band's self-titled album as their "Eponymous Album".
Eponymous is notable for its inclusion of several rare or alternate versions of known tracks. Spanning from the Chronic Town
EP 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". Inside the album was a photograph of singer Michael Stipe
with the words "They Airbrushed My Face" across his eyes.
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.
, Peter Buck
, Mike Mills
and Michael Stipe
:
Side one – "Early"
Side two – "Late"
Track listing note: On the vinyl and cassette releases, R.E.M. labeled side one (tracks 1–6) as the "Early side" and side two (tracks 7–12) as the "Late side."
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
and the second compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
by American alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, released in 1988. It was their last authorized release on I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...
, to whom they had been contracted since 1982, having just signed with Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. The title is a pun on the convention in the recording industry to refer to a band's self-titled album as their "Eponymous Album".
Eponymous is notable for its inclusion of several rare or alternate versions of known tracks. Spanning from the Chronic Town
Chronic Town
Chronic Town is the debut EP by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1982 on I.R.S. Records. Chronic Town is the first illustration of R.E.M.'s signature musical style: jangling guitars, chords played in arpeggio, murmured vocals, and obscure lyrics.-Background and recording:After...
EP to the previous year's breakthrough hit album Document
Document (album)
Robert Christgau praised the album, and called "It's the End of the World as We Know It " an "inspirational title." Stephan Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that "Where Lifes Rich Pageant sounded a bit like a party record, Document is a fiery statement, and its memorable melodies and riffs are made...
, 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
Document (album)
Robert Christgau praised the album, and called "It's the End of the World as We Know It " an "inspirational title." Stephan Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that "Where Lifes Rich Pageant sounded a bit like a party record, Document is a fiery statement, and its memorable melodies and riffs are made...
, had "File Under Fire" inscribed on it and Reckoning
Reckoning (R.E.M. album)
Reckoning is the second album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1984 by I.R.S. Records. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, the album was recorded at Reflection Sound Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina over 16 days in December 1983 and January 1984...
, featured the words "File Under Water". Inside the album was a photograph of singer Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
with the words "They Airbrushed My Face" across his eyes.
Released in October 1988, just a month before R.E.M.'s Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
debut Green appeared, Eponymous reached #44 in the US and #69 in the UK.
Track listing
All songs written by Bill BerryBill Berry
William "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....
, Peter Buck
Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
, Mike Mills
Mike Mills
Michael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...
and Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
:
Side one – "Early"
- "Radio Free EuropeRadio Free Europe (song)"Radio Free Europe" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M. "Radio Free Europe" was released as R.E.M.'s debut single on the short-lived independent record label Hib-Tone in 1981...
" (Original Hib-Tone Single) – 3:47 - "Gardening at NightGardening at Night"Gardening at Night" is a song by R.E.M. It was recorded in 1982 for the band's EP Chronic Town.The song is said to have been written on a mattress in the front yard of the Oconee Street church in Athens, Georgia...
" (Different Vocal Mix)1 – 3:30 - "Talk About the PassionTalk About the Passion"Talk About the Passion" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single released from its debut album Murmur in 1983 and a live performance at Larry's Hideaway, Toronto, Canada, from July 9, 1983 was released on the 2008 Deluxe Edition reissue of that album....
" (from MurmurMurmur (album)Murmur is the debut album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1983 on I.R.S. Records. Murmur drew critical acclaim upon its release for its sound, defined by singer Michael Stipe's cryptic lyrics, guitarist Peter Buck's jangly guitar style, and bassist Mike Mills' melodic...
, 1983) – 3:20 - "So. Central RainSo. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)"So. Central Rain " is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M.. It was released in May 1984 as the first single from the group's second studio album Reckoning . "So. Central Rain " became the second R.E.M. single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 85.R.E.M...
" (from ReckoningReckoning (R.E.M. album)Reckoning is the second album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1984 by I.R.S. Records. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, the album was recorded at Reflection Sound Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina over 16 days in December 1983 and January 1984...
, 1984) – 3:15 - "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" Rockville" was the second and final single released by R.E.M. from their second studio album Reckoning. The song failed to chart on either the Billboard Hot 100 or the UK Singles Charts....
" (from ReckoningReckoning (R.E.M. album)Reckoning is the second album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1984 by I.R.S. Records. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, the album was recorded at Reflection Sound Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina over 16 days in December 1983 and January 1984...
, 1984) – 4:32 - "Cant Get There from HereCant Get There From Here"Cant Get There from Here", or "Can't Get There from Here", was the first single released by R.E.M. from its third studio album Fables of the Reconstruction in 1985. The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, equaling to a position of #110 on the main Billboard Hot 100...
" (from Fables of the ReconstructionFables of the ReconstructionFables of the Reconstruction, also known as Reconstruction of the Fables, is the third studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on the I.R.S...
, 1985) – 3:39
Side two – "Late"
- "Driver 8Driver 8"Driver 8" was the second single from R.E.M.'s third album, Fables of the Reconstruction. Released in September 1985, the song peaked at #22 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart...
" (from Fables of the ReconstructionFables of the ReconstructionFables of the Reconstruction, also known as Reconstruction of the Fables, is the third studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on the I.R.S...
, 1985) – 3:23 - "Romance"2 – 3:25
- "Fall on MeFall on Me"Fall on Me" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. from their fourth album Lifes Rich Pageant . It was the first of two singles released from that LP. It peaked at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Meaning and origin:Though R.E.M...
" (from Lifes Rich PageantLifes Rich PageantLifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the American band R.E.M., released in 1986. Intended as an upbeat reaction to the sobering and historical Fables of the Reconstruction, R.E.M...
, 1986) – 2:50 - "The One I Love" (from DocumentDocument (album)Robert Christgau praised the album, and called "It's the End of the World as We Know It " an "inspirational title." Stephan Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that "Where Lifes Rich Pageant sounded a bit like a party record, Document is a fiery statement, and its memorable melodies and riffs are made...
, 1987) – 3:16 - "Finest WorksongFinest Worksong"Finest Worksong" was the third and final single released from R.E.M.'s fifth studio album Document. It peaked at #50 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1988, at the time the group's highest-charting single in the UK....
" (Mutual Drum Horn Mix)3 – 3:50 - "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"It's the End of the World as We Know It " is a song by the rock band R.E.M., which appeared on their 1987 album Document, the 1988 compilation Eponymous, and the 2006 compilation And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S Years 1982–1987...
" (from DocumentDocument (album)Robert Christgau praised the album, and called "It's the End of the World as We Know It " an "inspirational title." Stephan Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said that "Where Lifes Rich Pageant sounded a bit like a party record, Document is a fiery statement, and its memorable melodies and riffs are made...
, 1987) – 4:05
Track listing note: On the vinyl and cassette releases, R.E.M. labeled side one (tracks 1–6) as the "Early side" and side two (tracks 7–12) as the "Late side."
Chart performance
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
44 |
| 1988 | UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
69 |