Legendary trio R.E.M. have announced the release of their full catalog of studio albums and rarities in mastered form for iTunes.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, R.E.M. were already legendary seven years ago. When they began in Athens Georgia in 1980, no one forsaw their widespread influence that has continued to inspire musicians today. They recorded 16 full length studio albums that they are pleased to announce are now mixed and mastered in their entirety to more closely replicate what R.E.M. intended to deliver to their listeners.
This exciting news means fans now have access to remastered track by downloading the albums or songs individually, or they can choose from four special bundles: COMPLETE I.R.S. STUDIO ALBUMS, COMPLETE RARITIES – I.R.S. 1982-1987, COMPLETE WARNER BROS. STUDIO ALBUMS, VOL. 1, and COMPLETE RARITIES – WARNER BROS. 1988-2011.
COMPLETE I.R.S. STUDIO ALBUMS is six studio albums, including R.E.M.’s debut EP Chronic Town (1982) and the critically acclaimed albums Murmur (1983), Reckoning (1984), Fables of The Reconstruction (1985), and Lifes Rich Pageant (1986); as well as the group’s double-platinum Document (1987).
The COMPLETE RARITIES – I.R.S. 1982-1987 bundle collects 25 hard-to-find tracks, including several versions of “Gardening At Night;” the b-sides “White Tornado” and “Voice of Harold;” “Windout” from the Bachelor Party soundtrack; and live, in-studio covers of Roger Miller’s “King of the Road,” Andy Williams “Moon River,” and the Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes” and “There She Goes Again.”
COMPLETE WARNER BROS. STUDIO ALBUMS, VOL. 1 covers the height of the band’s commercial success with five albums that were all certified multi-platinum, including Green (1988), Out Of Time (1991), Automatic For The People (1992), Monster (1994) and New Adventures In Hi-Fi (1996). The remaining five studio albums that R.E.M. recorded for Warner Bros. are available individually, including Up (1998), Reveal (2001), Around The Sun (2004), Accelerate (2008) and the group’s final album, Collapse Into Now (2011).
The COMPLETE RARITIES – WARNER BROS. 1988-2011 bundle is massive, with 131 tracks that span more than two decades. Among the countless highlights are: non-album tracks “Memphis Train Blues” and “Redhead Walking”; live performances from Glastonbury (“Everybody Hurts”) and Saturday Night Live (“Bang And Blame”); as well as covers of Syd Barrett’s “Dark Globe” and Leonard Cohen’s “First We Take Manhattan.”
Also available now is UNPLUGGED: THE COMPLETE 1991 AND 2001 SESSIONS. This collection includes-for the first time ever-both of R.E.M.’s stellar performances on MTV’s popular “Unplugged” series. The set includes every performance from the original broadcasts, as well as 11 songs that never aired.
If you missed out on R.E.M. this whole time and were just too embarrassed to admit it, here’s your chance to dive headfirst into a pool of amazing music! All their tracks are available on iTunes now.
Leave a Comment