Dead Letter Office | 
 enlarge | Artist: R.e.m.
Label: Emd Int'l
Category: Music
List Price: $17.98
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $7.99 (44%)
New (6) Used (7) from $7.95
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 83093
Format: Extra Tracks, Import
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 077771319921
EAN: 0077771319921
ASIN: B000005RQD
Release Date: January 26, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item. CD, DVD, Book, VHS more than 400 000 titles to choose from. ALL days Low Price !
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| Tracks:
| • | Crazy - R.E.M., Pylon | | • | There She Goes Again - R.E.M., Reed, Lou | | • | Burning Down | | • | Voice of Harold | | • | Burning Hell | | • | White Tornado | | • | Toys in the Attic - R.E.M., Perry, Joe | | • | Windout | | • | Ages of You | | • | Pale Blue Eyes - R.E.M., Reed, Lou | | • | Rotary Ten | | • | Bandwagon | | • | Femme Fatale - R.E.M., Reed, Lou | | • | Wolves, Lower | | • | King of the Road - R.E.M., Miller, Roger [Coun | | • | Wolves, Lower | | • | Gardening at Night | | • | Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars) | | • | 1,000,000 | | • | Stumble | | • | Gardening at Night | | • | All the Right Friends |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
Mid-priced reissue of the foreign edition of their 1987 compilation with two bonus tracks added, 'Gardening At Night' (Acoustic) & 'All The Right Friends'. 22 tracks total. The main album itself is a compendium of their B-sides up to that point & their entire 1982 debut EP 'Chronic Town'. 1993 release.
Album Details
Includes Two bonus tracks, the rare B-sides 'Gardening at Night (Acoustic)' & 'All the Right Friends (Live)'.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Delivered from the Recycle Bin May 5, 2007
Rocky Raccoon (Boise, ID)
In the liner notes, Peter Buck says that this collection is like entering a junk shop. True, except there are some real finds to be made here. R.E.M. always had a disdain for labeling "sides" to their music. Sometimes the Beatles had double-A sides for singles. During their early years, R.E.M. called their albums' sides different names. On 'Fables of the Reconstruction' it was "A Side" and "Another Side". For 'Green' it was "Air" and "Metal" sides. For 'Automatic for the People' it was "Drive" and "Ride" sides to accentuate their theme of our control on life and life's control on us, especially developed on their single "Drive".
Anyway, 'Dead Letter Office' accentuates the arbitrariness of labels while keeping in mind Peter Buck's commentary. To sort through this collection is mostly a fun-filled adventure. Despite other's commentaries, I believe their renditions of Velvet Underground sounds aren't extraneous, but good interpretations that show their musical finesse. Other able moments abound, like their version of "Toys in the Attic," "Ages of You," and the heartwarming "Bandwagon". The best song of the group is, in my humble estimation, one of their ten best. "Windout" is a progressive number with expert guitar work by Peter Buck and a spirited performance all around. "Voice of Herald" is a remake of "Seven Chinese Brothers" done identically to the 'Reckoning' musically, but with different words. Here Michael Stipe leads a diatribe at someone of pompous self-importance, probably in the gospel music industry. "Crazy," which starts the album, gives us able folk-rock with both an urgent and caressing delivery by Stipe. Some instrumentals are also present. The compilation flows well, and the only stinker is their rendition of Mitch Miller's "King of the Road," but, even this song is interesting. It gives us the impression that, as perfectionistic as the band is, they probably arrived in the studio after a few beers and recorded this song off-the-cuff. Their debut 'Chronic Town' follows the original album. It is a dark piece of folk-rock, New Wave music and a fine debut. Since it was only an E.P. originally with only five songs, 'Dead Letter Office' makes a nice C.D. home for a brilliant debut. Even R.E.M's trashcan brings us treasure.
 CHRONIC TOWN June 9, 2006
Chronic town my very well be the worlds first and only concept EP. The concept is the title 'a chronic town', chronic meaning 'bad' in french. All 5 songs on this EP are simply wonderful with the band mebers using thier insrtuments to thier full potential and the mumbled vocals of Michael Stipe gives it a good vibe along with the compelling lyrics. You don't have to be a die-hard fan of R.E.M. to like this EP because it's just fantastic, however I really don't like Dead letter office, The 5 stars I give to this album are strictly for the 5 songs of Chronic town. So just buy Dead letter office for the Chronic town EP! You'll love it!
PROMISING EARLY WORK September 24, 2003
Pieter (Johannesburg)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As a compilation of rare B-sides and the first EP, this album provides an enjoyable listening experience although it may not be up there with the best of this brilliant band. With its 22 tracks, it offers good value for money anyway.My favorites include the three Velvet Underground covers: There She Goes Again, Pale Blue Eyes and Femme Fatale. I also love the spiritual song Voice Of Harold with its gripping melody, churning guitars and whistling towards the end. Other tracks of note are the instrumental White Tornado with its powerful guitars, the speedy and energetic Toys In The Attic, Wolves Lower with its nervous rhythm, Gardening At Night with its lovely winding melody and All The Right Friends. Their sound appears a bit thin in places in this early phase of their career but it's rather charming to listen to the beginnings of this amazing band that later give us masterpieces like Document, Out Of Time and Automatic For The People.
Great deep cuts. July 16, 2003
Dana Psimer (Kennesaw, GA USA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This alblum, when it came out, was my absolute favorite. I was, and still am, a huge R.E.M. fan from the beginning. This alblum filled a gap for me since I did not have all their single at the time. Also the cover of "King of the Road" is not to be missed. If you are a fan of their latest work, check this one out to see where they came from.
Chronic Town (1982) + outtakes, b-sides, etc! April 25, 2000
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This album is essential for all but the newest REM fans. It is where you can find REM's one and only EP -- Chronic Town, which was released a year before their landmark debut, Murmur. It is also where you can find many cover songs, B-sides, and alternate versions of songs. I highly recommend the import version of this album (although I realize Peter Buck wasn't all that happy about the re-release with 2 extra tracks). Track 21, Gardening At Night (acoustic) is beautiful, although a little tenative. Track 22, All The Right Friends, is a Murmur outtake, but almost sounds like it belongs on Chronic Town. Another great song out of the 1,000s REM has done already. Maybe most people don't take this album seriously, but for me, it holds a dear place in my heart. Like that professional reviewer above mentioned, REM does a fine job of any cover song they record. This is a very enjoyable album. A 7-year cross section of early REM work.
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