Eponymous

Limited vinyl LP repressing. Eponymous is the first greatest hits and the second compilation album by R. E. M., released in 1988. It was their last authorized release on I. R. S. Records, to whom they had been contracted since 1982, having just signed with Warner Bros. Records. Eponymous is notable for its inclusion of several rare or alternative versions of known tracks, most notably the soundtrack contribution "Romance", which had not previously appeared on an R. E. M. record. Spanning from the initial single release of "Radio Free Europe" to the previous year's breakthrough hit album Document, Eponymous provides a fair overview of R. E. M.'s early work. On the backside of the LP cover was a photograph of singer Michael Stipe with the words "They Airbrushed My Face" above his head.