What is the alternate title of R.E.M.'s album 'Reckoning'?
Answer
File Under Water
Answer
File Under Water
What is the alternate title of R.E.M.’s album Reckoning? It is File Under Water.
Reckoning was R.E.M.’s second studio album, released by I.R.S. Records in 1984. The phrase “File Under Water” appears on the spine of the vinyl edition, and Michael Stipe told NME that it represented the record’s true title. In the United Kingdom, the label insisted that Reckoning appear prominently on the cover, while the American edition presented both names on the spine.
The alternate title connects with the album’s recurring water imagery and darker lyrical atmosphere. Its packaging continued a naming pattern that later appeared on Document, marked “File under Fire,” and on the compilation Eponymous, labeled “File Under Grain.” These phrases are descriptive sleeve conceits rather than separate releases, which is why they can be confused with official album titles.
Recorded at Reflection Sound Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina, Reckoning was produced by Don Dixon and Mitch Easter. The album includes “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry),” “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” and “Pretty Persuasion,” and reached number 27 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026