Conversation so far:
How did the band R.E.M form?
Peter Buck met Michael Stipe in Wuxtry Records. Through mutual friend Kathleen O'Brien, Stipe and Buck met Bill Berry and Mike Mills/. The quartet agreed to collaborate on several songs
What was R.E.M's first song?
During April 1981, R.E.M. recorded its first single, Radio Free Europe, at producer Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studios in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
How did the R.E.M. song Radio Free Europe do on the charts?
Radio Free Europe peaked at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Question: What was their first album?
Self-contained rewrite: what was R.E.M's first album?