cdollaz

Yeah, I'm not sure what that means. I like the packaging of the first 2 the best. Fables, not so much. I didn't care for the box, but I would imagine that this one will be like the Fables packaging.

Supermallet

This is my favorite REM album. I will be buying this.

Guru Askew

The early IRS catalog is controlled by Universal and Universal has their own standard packaging for most of their 2-disc Deluxe Editions so that's why "Murmur" and "Reckoning" were packaged that way.

EMI/Capitol controls the last three so that's why the packaging is different. I could have seen them trying to match the Universal releases if Universal didn't use such a specific design.

musick

Pageant streaming

http://www.spin.com/articles/exclusi...s-rich-pageant

atlantamoi

Pageant is my 2nd favorite REM album behind Murmur. I just started listening to the demos and began laughing hearing "Fall On Me". It's just weird hearing Stipe in that first verse sounding not quite sure. They certainly were sure about the chorus, though. Still gorgeous.

cungar

Maybe I don't have the equipment to tell the difference but I did a blind test of my original CD with the remaster and damned if I can hear a difference. Both sound great to me. The demos are nice though.

atlantamoi

Wonder why they dropped "Bad Day" off the list back in '86? The demo was a really good start.

dolphinboy

I was thinking the very same thing. I can't imagine sitting on a song that good for 2 decades. I bet R.E.M. has songs in the vault from back then that were never finished that are better songs than almost anything they've released in the last 10 years.

I'm not quite old enough to remember how R.E.M.'s releases first came out. Was Murmur really their first release or was it the Chronic Town EP? Either way, why wouldn't they re-release Chronic Town's songs, even as a bonus in one of these sets?

I, personally, think the first 5 or 6 R.E.M. albums were the best albums released consecutively by one band in my lifetime. Only the commercial success and over-playing of certain songs makes that number 5 or 6 and not 7 or 8. Automatic For the People is just about perfect as well. But I can't consider the remastered collections to be complete without Wolves, Lower, 1,000,000, Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars), and Stumble.

Pageant is exquisite but the packaging sucks. And who wants mini-posters anymore? They have to know their audience is older and we don't put bumper stickers on our bumpers or have any use for mini-posters. They could have come up with something else and I don't like the box. But the music is perfect.

PS-Does anyone know who the female voice belongs to on the R.E.M. song "Fretless"? Thanks.

auto

Well, if they plan to re-release Dead Letter Office the Chronic Town EP will probably be included on that.

auto

It's Kate Pierson.

keith71

I've listened to the demos a few times on-line and they are great.
Still, I'm going to wait until the price goes down on Pageant deluxe before I buy.
I know this is off-topic, but when in the hell are they going to release their
1991 Unplugged performance on dvd?! I don't know how much longer my twenty year old VHS copy of the show is going to last.

slop101

Kinda bummed that they didn't bother to add the L'sRP-era b-sides to the re-issue. Pretty weak-sauce.

Superdaddy

Was just browsing amazon and found that this was out. Somehow slipped completely under my radar. I'm ordering it today.

It was suggested earlier in the thread that a compilation of all the pre-Warner b-sides and rarities be released...essentially an expanded Dead Letter Office. Count me in as someone who'd be all over that if it ever happened.

So I guess it's on to Document now for the reissues. I'm waiting, but if I had to choose, I'd pick that one as (don't shoot me) the least of their IRS albums. And it's still pretty damn great.

reubs82

I thought that's what pretty much what Singles Collected was. I don't know if it's every B-side, but I think it's a good number of them.

http://www.amazon.com/Singles-Collec.../dp/B000005RQP

Superdaddy

Singles Collected looks pretty cool. Never paid much attention to it frankly, but I now see it alternates the a- and b-sides which is neat.

Here's my suggestion for the Deluxe Edition of Dead Letter Office (which I thoroughly realize will probably never happen):

--all the b-sides from this Singles Collected disc

--the remaining DLO tracks not included in the above

--any bonus tracks from the import reissues of the IRS albums not included in the above two lists

--Chronic Town

That would probably fill two discs with a decent amount of content.

Superdaddy

See above. I thoroughly agree with you.

What other officially released tracks from this era am I missing that could also go onto such a release?

cdollaz

Anyone know anything about this release:

http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Green-Wo.../dp/B0054JFN8Q



1. Pop Song 89
2. Exhuming McCarthy
3. Welcome to the Occupation
4. Disturbance at the Heron House
5. Turn You Inside Out
6. Orange Crush
7. Feeling Gravity s Pull
8. Swan Swan H
9. Begin the Begin
10. Pretty Persuasion
11. I Believe
12. King of Birds
13. Crazy
14. Finest Work Song
15. You are the Everything
16. Academy Fight Song
17. Stand
18. Perfect Circle
19. Get Up


Some type of radio broadcast of a Green-era show, I presume.

cungar

REM's massive 1989 world tour in support of their Green album - released at the end of '88 - took up virtually the entire year. Beginning in Japan in late January and concluding back in the band's hometown of Athens, Georgia eleven months later, it was this tour which allowed REM to explode onto the mainstream, while still retaining their 'indie' credentials. Playing throughout as a five piece for the first time - Peter Holsapple from the dB's was in tow on keyboards - this lengthy tour established the group as first division players - a position they have retained ever since. This CD features the full show played at the Orlando Arena in Florida on 30th April 1989, also the subject of a live FM broadcast. The dynamic set played by the group that night featured 6 of the songs from Green, plus a heady mix of 'oldies' from their previous 5 records, albeit with emphasis on '87's Document and the previous year's Life's Rich Pageant. Completing the set with a couple of covers from fellow Athens collective Pylon, whose 'Crazy' had already been featured as b-side to REM's 'Driver 8' single in '85, plus 'Academy Flight Song' a live favourite for the band taken from the back catalogue of Boston's Mission Of Burma. All told, this legendary broadcast finds REM at the point in their career when huge worldwide success was beckoning, but when the group -always firmly grounded - had full control of exactly where they were and where they were going.

Superdaddy

It says it is an import and I'm not familiar with the label...am I correct that this is probably in the gray area legally?

Since this is from a radio broadcast, I wouldn't be surprised if I have a booted track or two from it already.

auto

It is a boot but I hear the quality is excellent. I pre-ordered it a few weeks ago at $21 so I'm glad to see it is down to $15 and change.

dhmac

If a Deluxe Edition of Dead Letter Office never occurs, you could at least pick up a copy of this CD which is like a companion compilation album to it:

R.E.M. In The Attic - Alternative Recordings 1985-1989

(here's a different Amazon link but it's the same album)

auto

Got this today from Amazon. Sound quality is good and the package looks relatively official. Actually comes with a nice slip cover.

cdollaz

Document Deluxe info:


http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/201...rsary-reissue/

dolphinboy

Phew...I was worried we might not get one this year.

So, are they really going to re-release all these albums but find no way to get us remasters of great songs like Carnival of Sorts, 1,000,000, Wolves, Lower and others?

Also, now that they are no longer even a band, will we possibly see re-issues from the Warner years? There are definitely some stinkers towards the end, but I'd probably buy at least through New Adventures and maybe a couple others depending on the bonus disc.

Guru Askew

Document 25 came out today. I'm listening to it now.

One of them (I think it was Mills) has confirmed that this campaign will continue into the Warner years. It already spanned two (now-merging) record companies so I guess there's no reason why they wouldn't just sic their archivist on the Warner albums.

Only 24 years to go and my collection will be complete. 2036 here we come.