NEW LP
New sealed copy. 2023 reissue.
Released in October 1988, Eponymous is R.E.M.’s first greatest hits compilation and their final release with I.R.S. Records before moving to Warner Bros. The collection spans the band’s formative years, from their 1981 debut single “Radio Free Europe” through 1987’s breakthrough album Document, offering a well-rounded overview of their early catalog.
The album features several alternate versions of familiar tracks, along with “Romance,” a soundtrack contribution previously unavailable on any R.E.M. release. Known for its cryptic presentation, the packaging includes the phrase “File Under Grain” (a play on earlier album inscriptions) and handwritten cover art by Michael Stipe, whose high school yearbook photo also appears on the back cover.
Peaking at number 44 in the US and 69 in the UK, Eponymous serves as both a retrospective and a transition point, capturing the end of R.E.M.’s college rock era just as they entered the mainstream.
TRACKLIST:
A1 Radio Free Europe (Original Hib-Tone Single)
A2 Gardening At Night (Different Vocal Mix)
A3 Talk About The Passion
A4 So. Central Rain
A5 (Don't Go Back To) Rockville
A6 Can't Get There From Here
B1 Driver 8
B2 Romance
B3 Fall On Me
B4 The One I Love
B5 Finest Worksong (Mutual Drum Horn Mix)
B6 It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
