By Jeff Tamarkin
04.24.87
CMJ Magazine
It’s a rare band whose throwaways are 10 times more instantly wonderful than most bands’ best shit, but then R.E.M.’s just one of those instantly wonderful bands. Dead Letter Office will be old news to those who’ve actively sought after their 12″ imports, flexis and various compilations that included their outtakes. For [...]
By Andy Gill
04.24.87
Q Magazine
3 stars
Only the other week, I managed to find a bootleg tape of 24 R.E.M. covers - everything from What’s New Pussycat and Radar Love to In The Year 2525 - firm evidence that they’ve become perhaps the most collectable American band of the ’80s. Dead Letter Office, then, is a sensible [...]
By Jimmy Gutterman
04.22.87
Rolling Stone
Neither the new R.E.M. album nor the stopgag product bands often spit out between records, “Dead Letter Office” is what its title suggests, a clearinghouse for outtakes, cover versions and B sides of singles. R.E.M. just wants to make them available. If the fans don’t like it, the next R.E.M. album will [...]