R.E.M.

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

(EMI)

In 1992, when Everybody Hurts was inescapable, R.E.M. were heralded as the best band in the world with a regularity that must have wearied even them. However, this set makes a compelling case for the Georgia quartet being at their most potent much earlier.

And I Feel Fine... showcases a radical hybrid of wiry post-punk and 1960s jangle rock, given a patina of mystery by Michael Stipe’s cryptic mumble. Much here revisits 1988’s Eponymous compilation, but a second CD of rarities and live tracks provides plenty of succour for obsessives. A slower take of 1982’s Gardening at Night epitomises the grace and strangeness that was so sorely missing from R.E.M.’s last album, Around the Sun.