Analogman Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 R.E.M.'s pre-major label stint on I.R.S. Records will be anthologized on two CDs and a DVD due Sept. 12 via EMI Catalog Music Marketing. "And I Feel Fine" will be available as both a single-disc CD package and a double-disc set with a host of rarities, live cuts and previously unreleased selections. The DVD, "When the Light Is Mine," features a mix of music videos and live TV performances. As expected, the single-disc version of "And I Feel Fine" includes the finest tracks from R.E.M.'s first five years, from "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" and "Radio Free Europe" to "Driver 8," "Sitting Still" and "Begin the Begin." The set appropriately closes with "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," from 1987's "Document," the band's final I.R.S. album before inking with Warner Bros. But it's the two-disc edition of the collection that will prove a bounty for R.E.M. collectors, as it includes the first authorized release of the studio outtakes "Theme From Two Steps Onward" and "Bad Day." The former has circulated on bootlegs for years, while the latter was originally recorded during the sessions for 1986's "Life's Rich Pageant." It was revived and re-recorded for inclusion on R.E.M.'s 2003 retrospective "In Time -- The Best of R.E.M." Other nuggets include an early 1980s version of "All the Right Friends" (which was re-recorded for the 2001 soundtrack to "Vanilla Sky), demos of "Hyena" and the early live favorite "Mystery to Me," a "live in the studio" version of "Just a Touch" and live takes of "Ages of You," "We Walk" and "1,000,000" taped July 13, 1983 at Boston's Paradise. "When the Light Is Mine" is highlighted by performances from the U.K. TV show "The Tube" of "Talk About the Passion," "Radio Free Europe" and "Can't Get There From Here" (featuring a blonde Michael Stipe), a 20-minute film titled "Left of Reckoning" and a 1984 performance of "Pretty Persuasion" from "The Old Grey Whistle Test." The label promises "rare interview footage and acoustic performances" but details of these features have yet to be announced. According to R.E.M. manager Bertis Downs, original R.E.M. members Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry were heavily involved in crafting the upcoming releases, including selecting their favorite studio tracks for the two-disc edition of "And I Feel Fine." "This is a good history lesson on the days of yore when the band first started out and were writing sometimes 2-3 songs a day, many of which became classics, and some of which were lost in the mists of tape and time and vault," he says. To coincide with the releases, R.E.M. will be induced into Georgia Music Hall of Fame on Sept. 16 in Atlanta. Here is the track list for "And I Feel Fine": "Begin the Begin""Radio Free Europe""Pretty Persuasion""Talk About the Passion""(Don't Go Back to) Rockville""Sitting Still""Gardening at Night""7 Chinese Bros.""So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)""Driver 8""Can't Get There From Here""Finest Worksong""Feeling Gravity's Pull""I Believe""Life and How To Live It""Cuyahoga""The One I Love""Welcome to the Occupation""Fall on Me""Perfect Circle""It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" Bonus disc: "Pilgrimage" (Mike's pick)"These Days" (Bill's pick)"Gardening at Night" (slower electric demo; previously unreleased)"Radio Free Europe" (Hib-tone version)"Sitting Still" (Hib-tone version)"Life and How to Live It" (Live at the Muziekcentrum, Utrecht, Holland 9/14/87; previously unreleased)"Ages of You" (Live at the Paradise, Boston 7/13/83; previously unreleased)"We Walk" (Live at the Paradise, Boston 7/13/83; previously unreleased)"1,000,000" (Live at the Paradise, Boston 7/13/83; previously unreleased)"Finest Worksong" (other mix)"Hyena" (demo; previously unreleased)"Theme From Two Steps Onward" (previously unreleased)"Superman""All the Right Friends" (previously unreleased)"Mystery to Me" (demo; previously unreleased)"Just A Touch" (live in-studio version; previously unreleased)"Bad Day" (previously unreleased)"King of Birds""Swan Swan H" (live acoustic version)"Disturbance at the Heron House" (Peter's pick)"Time After Time" (Annelise)" (Michael's pick) Here is the track list for "When the Light Is Mine": "Wolves, Lower""Radio Free Europe""Talk About the Passion""Radio Free Europe" (Live, "The Tube," 11/18/83)"Talk About the Passion" (Live, "The Tube," 11/18/83)"So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)"James Herbert's "Left of Reckoning""Pretty Persuasion" (Live, "The Old Grey Whistle Test," 11/20/84)"Can't Get There From Here""Driver 8""Life and How To Live It""Feeling Gravity's Pull""Can't Get There From Here" (Live, "The Tube," 10/25/85)"Fall On Me""Swan Swan H" ("Inside/Out")"The One I Love""It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)""Finest Worksong" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 looks fantastic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 24, 2006 Author Share Posted July 24, 2006 I'll get it - ever see Inside/Outside Athens GA? I'd love to have that DVD. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 looks fantasticyea, it does...this box set may suck me in. After the other thread on REM, I am nostalgic for their good old days, back when I was in my 30s. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I don't know if anyone mentioned this before, but did everyone know that The concept behind "Snakes on a Plane" actually comes from an REM song? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Steve Brule Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hooray! I have most of those "rarities" but will happily buy the official versions. And the DVD! I haven't been able to watch the Succumbs video in a while, so that will be awesome! To celebrate, here's one of my favorite early performances: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 To celebrate, here's one of my favorite early performances: Very cool...Stipe with hair, Letterman with hair, Letterman was funny, records were cheap, man, those were days. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Steve Brule Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Very cool...Stipe with hair, Letterman with hair, Letterman was funny, records were cheap, man, those were days. LouieB Yeah, I was only like 6 when that came out, I wasn't turned on to R.E.M. until 1987, but I was lucky enough to tape that entire episode back when A&E was showing Letterman repeats. Youtube is the best! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Man, I don't know if I ever loved a band as hard as I loved R.E.M. in 1985. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 24, 2006 Author Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hooray! I have most of those "rarities" but will happily buy the official versions. And the DVD! I haven't been able to watch the Succumbs video in a while, so that will be awesome! To celebrate, here's one of my favorite early performances: I own that and Tourfilm - which I bought at a indie record store - back when there was actually such a place here. REM actually played here on that tour - but I did not like them then - so I did not go. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
watch me fall Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Wow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fortuneinmyhead Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 (edited) wow *drools* Edited July 24, 2006 by fortuneinmyhead Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Man, I don't know if I ever loved a band as hard as I loved R.E.M. in 1985.REM was the coolest sounding band ever at the time. They ripped open the field for everyone else. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted July 24, 2006 Author Share Posted July 24, 2006 I don't I ever heard of REM until they came here in 1989. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fortuneinmyhead Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I remember seeing 'radio free europe' on mtv in the early 80s thinking it was such a cool song .. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheMaker Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 God, that Letterman clip is great. If only those IRS records sounded anything like R.E.M. did live during those years (read: better than anything else)... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Edie Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 "Radio Free Europe""Pretty Persuasion""Talk About the Passion""(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" :wub :wub Were played by 'XRT often in 1983 (or was it 4?). The coolest band around in those days, easily. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airtaco Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 If they toured behind this and only played songs from the IRS years, I think I would go to every show within a 5 hour distance. And I would cry. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Edie Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I saw them in '87 and I think I did cry a little. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airtaco Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I saw them in '87 and I think I did cry a little. I've been a fan for three years but a fanatic for almost two (essentially right after they stopped touring the US for Around the Sun.) I'll almost certainly see them the next tour, but I am forever jealous of those who saw them during their first decade. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Edie Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I've been a fan for three years but a fanatic for almost two (essentially right after they stopped touring the US for Around the Sun.) I'll almost certainly see them the next tour, but I am forever jealous of those who saw them during their first decade. Definitely in my top 5 concerts ever. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jakobnicholas Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Wow! This will be sweet. I, too, just started getting into R.E.M. around 87-88....so I missed out on their early shows. Any guess on the pricetag for everything? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Steve Brule Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 If they toured behind this and only played songs from the IRS years, I think I would go to every show within a 5 hour distance. And I would cry. insert "with Bill Berry" and I would go with you Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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