R.E.M. recorded an EP and five studio albums and released a collection of oddities during their five-year tenure with the independent I.R.S. Records. The jump to the major label Warner Bros. didn’t change the band any; they continued to evolve at their own pace. But the label switch did create a distinct chapter in R.E.M.'s story. This nonchronological collection of their early history includes the single versions of their hits and includes key early songs such as “Radio Free Europe” (the version on Murmur, not the Hib-Tone single), “Gardening at Night” from their debut Chronic Town EP, “Talk About the Passion,” “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville,” “Pretty Persuasion,” “Can’t Get There from Here,” “Fall on Me,” “The One I Love,” and “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” R.E.M. wrote the unofficial rules for ‘80s alternative rock with literate, mystical lyrics, jangling guitars, and modest rhythm section, which all recalled the values of ‘60s and ‘70s rock more than the big, club-friendly sounds mostly heard on mainstream radio in the ‘80s.