R.E.M. were known for quirky, artistic album cover art. The artwork for their fifth album Document (released on 31 August 1987) does not disappoint. Reflecting the album title, the image is in itself something of a document of ideas, and certainly a collection of self-references from one of America’s top alternative rock bands of the late 1980s/early 1990s.
The upper left corner prominently displays ‘R.E.M. No. 5,’ which references that this is the band’s fifth release, but it was also a rejected title for the album.
The broken image, with a book spine-like design separating the left-hand quarter of the sleeve, looks like a grainy, messy collection of paraphernalia from a surveillance file.
The documenting imagery is furthered by the image of Michael Stipe (vocals) taking a photo of the photographer taking a photo of him.
In keeping with all the self-references, the original sleeve design featured a ‘File Under Fire’ message, a reference to what Michael Stipe considered to be the central lyrical theme of the album. It also references the chorus to The One I Love.
This continues a certain tradition for R.E.M.’s sleevenotes. Their second album Reckoning (1984) has a ‘File Under Water’ message. ‘File Under Grain’ would appear on their Eponymous compilation the following year – presumably referring to the idea behind the track Talk About the Passion, which was about hunger.
Other working titles for the album included Mr. Evil Breakfast, Table of Content (which appeared in the sleeve artwork, along with the aforementioned R.E.M. No. 5), Skin Up With R.E.M. and Last Train To Disneyland.
The latter suggestion came from Peter Buck (guitar), who felt that America under the presidency of Ronald Reagan was beginning to feel a lot like the famed amusement park.
As messy as the sleeve may seem, it is evidence of a band working with more ideas than they could ever have the opportunity to use.
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