Eponymous [LP]

EPONYMOUS is a collection of mostly singles.
R.E.M.: Michael Stipe (vocals); Peter Buck (guitar); Mike Mills (keyboards, bass, background vocals); Bill Berry (drums).
Producers include: Mitch Easter, R.E.M., Don Dixon, Joe Boyd, Scott Litt.
EPONYMOUS collects some of the most popular tunes from R.E.M.'s first decade, some appearing in slightly different versions. Consequently, the album does double duty as a greatest-hits collection and a repository for rarities that didn't turn up on DEAD LETTER OFFICE. Organized chronologically, EPONYMOUS offers a look at the band's artistic development, from the Byrdsy jangle of the jumpy "Radio Free Europe" to the more laconic, country-tinged "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville)." "Can't Get There From Here" and "Driver 8" are simultaneously more rhythmic and more abstract, while a heavier rock sound is introduced on "The One I Love" and the closing anti-anthem "It's the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)." EPONYMOUS is an effective overview of the band's early and middle periods, and a chronicle of a fiercely independent band's marriage of commercial and artistic success.