...And I Feel Fine: The Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987

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Collector's Edition features an additional CD of 21 rare tracks including 9 previously unreleased, many not available even on bootlegs. Amazon.com The songs collected on And I Feel Fine... The Best of The I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 are just good enough to render the previous I.R.S. years collection, 1998's Eponymous, officially dead. The latter was likely the way the masses heard R.E.M.'s underground hits on CD the first time--after all, the band had just come off of their apocalyptic breakthrough single ("It's the end of the world...") and CD players were finally hitting below the $400 mark. It did the trick. We all got up to date and it paved the way for a more sonic R.E.M. to grow into the phenomena they've become. This new version is a welcome history re-write as it pulls more from Murmur and Reckoning days and does a far better job at telling the early story--owing a great deal to the photos and in-depth notes from Anthony DeCurtis. For our money it's worth $2 to buy the "Collectors Edition" for the massive collection of rarities on disc 2. The DVD companion to this CD is a visual goldmine. --Peter Hilgendorf