... which is not to say I was hitting the Athens club scene in the mid-late-80s, I was a disgruntled high schooler in a hick town with a few cool-nerdy friends and we spent a lot of time trying to figure out ways to obtain beer and places to sit around and drink it. That's when we began to stain our pink lungs with cigarettes and sit on the hoods of cars in fields, playing music on a one-speaker boom box: Elvis Costello's "Trust" and "Armed Forces," Warren Zevon, They Might Be Giants, "Nebraska," the Violent Femmes and, especially, REM's "Dead Letter Office."

I completely respect a band's right to make the music they want to make, but at the same time I'm firmly a fan of REM's pre-"Losing My Religion" stuff (so fans of latter albums should take my 5-star rave with several grains of salt). And I love "Reckoning" and "Fables" and "Murmur" and most of all "Life's Rich Pageant." They're great, hand-tooled classics.

But "Dead Letter" is loose, banged-out, sloppy music by a surly young band for surly young people growing up in the waning days of the Reagan era.

"Ages of You" and "Voice of Harold" and "Rotary Ten" and "King of the Road" just kind of sum up winter, 87, for me and I can't listen to them without thinking about warm cans of Milwaukee's Best, Lucky Strikes and cottonmouth. And the covers of "There She Goes Again" and "Femme Fatale" led me directly to the Velvet Underground. Let me say that again: This Album Led Me to The Velvet Underground. Can an album, or anything, do more for a listener than that? I don't think so.

This is, quite simply, my favorite REM CD for repeat listening. The only track I feel is even remotely substandard is the mangled rendition of "King of the Road", and even that track is pretty good listening compared to the filler most bands use to fill out an album. The inclusion of the Chronic Town EP as the last five tracks on the disc are an added listening bonus, as this album provides one of the longest-playing REM CD's I own, and I'm just as happy to start over again at the beginning immediately after listening to it.

This record is not for everyone. However, if you are like me and got into the band circa Green,you missed a lot of stuff! Like many, I went back and got all of the older albums I'd missed, yet my collection was still lacking. The Chronic Town EP had been out of print for years and tracking down the singles? HA! Anyone who was fortunate enough to glom onto one of these certainly wasn't letting it go. Not at a resonable price at least. Then I stumbled across this little gem. A virtual treasure trove of lost B-sides; drunken fun in the studio; covers that, many times, outshine the originals and they threw in Chronic Town to boot! No, not every song is solid gold, but this album isn't about "the hits", nor does it try to be. It's simply a compilation that showcases the many facets of a brilliant band growing, expanding, and trying new things, sometimes finding itself on the top of the mountain, sometimes tossed against the jagged rocks below, but always walking unafraid. But then again, maybe it's just a compilation of stuff you could never track down put together on on one CD, a smourgasborg of tasty treats offered up for your enjoyment from the fine folks at R.E.M. Either way, I'm diggin' it.

When most of my friends were sulking to Led Zeppelin, grooving to Kool and the Gang, or screaming along with the Dead Kennedys, I was listening to REM, Aztec Camera, INXS, and their ilk. Dead Letter Office is quintessential REM from the early years when it was a challenge to understand Michael Stipe's mumbles and the the music had a fresh, raw sound. Recently, I have been playing DLO in my car and reminiscing. The mix of covers and original material works well, and this album includes some of my favorite tunes. I love how REM does Toys in the Attic- it's a worthy tribute though it still maintains the REM feel. Femme Fatale is absolutely gorgeous- and no offense to Lou Reed, but I think Michael sings it better.

I saw REM in concert back when they were playing colleges, and this collection captures the energy, humor, and soul of the band perfectly.

Many years ago, before CDs dropped [in price], I bought "Dead Letter Office" on cassette. I wore out the tape quickly skipping the sillier songs and listening to my favorites -- a "Toys in the Attic" cover propelled by Mike Mills' bass, the quirky "Bandwagon," a version of "Pale Blue Eyes" that's easier on the ears than the original, etc.

Then it came out on CD. Of course, the CD has an inherent advantage -- I could just skip "King of the Road" at will. (That's worth one or two listens and the occasional amusement of watching your friends exclaim "That's R.E.M.??!!", but that's it.)

But they weren't content with that. They added one of the best collections of five songs available anywhere -- the "Chronic Town" EP from their very early days. Any of those songs will show why R.E.M. became a critical darling so quickly.

It's an odd combination, to be sure. But it's better than paying [more money] for five songs, as good as they are. Think of it as five good singles on one disk -- you shouldn't have any trouble finding five worthwhile B-sides out of the rest.