Green (CD + DVD-A) (Dig)
Green catapulted R.E.M. from campus cult favorites to rock stars of the highest order. The album contains three of the Athens, Georgia, quartet's most popular radio hits ("Pop Song 89," "Stand," and "Orange Crush"), punching up the big rock hooks and letting the spooky independent production slip away. Some diehard fans cried "Sellout!" but that's a strange attitude given singer Michael Stipe's environmental activism. "I'm very scared of this world," he sings above jangling mandolins on "You Are the Everything." It's still unclear what he's trying to say, but at least we can understand the words this time.--Steve KnopperThis new edition bolsters the album's reputation as one of the '80s best, combining a remastered edition of the album proper with a newly produced bonus DVD. That disc contains a new 5.1 surround mix that gratifyingly drops the listener into the midst of producer Scott Litt's masterful sonic aura, and also features a previously unreleased 20-minute-plus 1988 interview with all four band members, the impressionistic videos for "Orange Crush" and "Stand" and a collection of contemporary still photos.