And I Feel Fine...The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 - R.E.M. (2 disc version)(2006)


And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 (two disc version) collects 26 songs from various albums by R.E.M., which is about a third of their output on I.R.S. Additionally, the "bonus disc"  presents several demos, outtakes, live cuts and a few B-sides to entice fans who already have the albums -- like me. 

As a playlist (selected for flow not for chronological presentation) it makes a pretty great introduction to the band, which dominanted the 80s underground scene and became for a brief time the "biggest band in the world" in the early 90s, selling something like 30 million albums in three years. 

Many of the bonus tracks are nice and a few are essential -- they were later all released on the digital compilation Complete Rarities: The IRS Years 1981-1987, however, that  compilation has been deleted over the last year or two(although it may still be available on streaming platforms like Apple Music. 

Of great interest are a handful of Lifes Rich Pageant's outtakes, including the original version of "Bad Day"which was later re-recorded released on a Warner Brothers comp as well as some other bits and pieces that Not a great song but you want to hear the real R.E.M. do it not the "three-legged" dog post-Berry R.E.M. At the time R.E.M. wanted to release a double album, but producer Don Gehman wisely dissuaded them from doing so.

Overall, a list of songs like this can get no less than a 5/5. If you're new to R.E.M., and you probably aren't,  I'd skip the two disc version and just go for the one. 

Having said that, due to the fact that I don't like over-long collections, I don't think this has the power of 1988's much shorter IRS collection Eponymous which is what got me into R.E.M. back in 1990. But this is more complete and has more songs on it. Just wish it wasn't so loud.

Big fans won't need it, other than for the bonus tracks; your mileage will vary on that. Some people will want to have everything, if indeed they don't already have everything. (this is an eighteen year old compilation...)

There are liner notes with little quotes from various members on the songs, which is actually the main reason I bought this album, as I was conducting a song-by-song discussion of the band on a forum at the time and wanted more information.


5/5

Spotify Link:

https://open.spotify.com/album/6OFXDvCdZ1BLnKUgiv3hZc?si=xaER2iDLRwegfjj5KsNhWg

I got the iTunes version primarily for the liner notes which were included and which were somewhat enlightening. 

 The mastering on this sucker is really really loud and undynamic: it doesn't clip to my ears but it's pretty compressed. Sounds good in the car and on my laptop but otherwise...Even listening to it at the lowest possible volume on my headphones makes my ears ring. And it needs to be turned down low on my regular stereo too. Very uncrankable. If you're sensitive to that stick to the original versions of the albums, or Eponymous. 



Coming Up:

A.M. Wilco

A.T.O.M. - Carbon Silicon

ABBA - ABBA 

ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits

Abbey Road - The Beatles

Achtung, Baby! U2

Actually - Pet Shop Boys

Adult/Child- The Beach Boys

Aerosmith's Greatest Hits

After The Gold Rush - Neil Young

Afterglow - Crowded House

Aftermath (UK Version) - The Rolling Stones

Against The Odds: 1974-1982 Blondie (three disc version)

Aimee Mann Live at St. Ann's Warehouse

Aiming For Your Head - Betchadupa

The Album -- ABBA

The Album That Never Was - The Kinks

All Four One - The Motels

All Over the Place - The Bangles

All Summer Long -- The Beach Boys

All the Great Hits -- Diana Ross

All Things Must Pass -- George Harrison

All This Useless Beauty -- Elvis Costello & the Attractions

All-Time Greatest Hits - Neil Diamond

Alluvium -- Eddie Rayner

Almost Blue -- Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Almost Summer - Celebration

Alpha Mike Foxtrot -- Wilco*

The Alphabetchadupa - Betchadupa

Altitude - ALT

American Idiot Green Day*

American Prayer -- The Doors

Amnesiac Radiohead*

And I Feel Fine...The Best of the IRS years (1982-1987) - R.E.M.

Animals - Pink Floyd

Anodyne - Uncle Tupelo

Another Life - Another Life

Another Music in Another Kitchen: The Buzzcocks

Another Side of Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan

Anthology: Diana Ross & The Supremes

Anthology: Smokey Robinson & The Beatles

Anthology 1: The Beatles

Anthology 2: The Beatles

Anthology 3 The Beatles

Anthology: North South, East West - Tim Finn

Apple Venus: Volume One -- XTC

Apollo 18 - They Might Be Giants

The ArchAndroid: Janelle Monae

Are the Village Green Preservation Society -- The Kinks

Are Well-Respected Men - The Kinks

Armed Forces -Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Around the World in a Day - Prince

Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) - The Kinks

At My Piano - Brian Wilson

Autoamerican - Blondie

Automatic for the People - R.E.M.

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