R.E.M. To Reissue Catalog

[Brad]

R.E.M. To Reissue Catalog

Reissues trace fifteen years at Warner Bros.

By Colin Devenish
Rolling Stone

R.E.M. will reissue their entire Warner Bros. catalog on February 15th, with each two disc set including the original album and a bonus DVD featuring the record remixed in 5.1 surround sound, as well as unreleased documentary and video footage.

The reissues span from R.E.M.'s 1988 Warner debut Green to this fall's Around the Sun, and mark the band's transition from indie favorites to one of the world's biggest bands.

"These days, there are R.E.M. fans who think 'Stand' or even 'Losing My Religion' is the first song the band ever wrote," bassist Mike Mills told Rolling Stone in 1991. "The people who listen to Top Forty are generally not R.E.M. record buyers -- or they weren't until the last year or two. It's kind of surprising to listen to the fourteen-year-old girls call up and go, 'How long have you been together? I like your first record.' And it's like 'No, no. See, the first record came out when you were about one year old.'"

Typical of the bonus material is the extra disc for Out of Time, which includes the unreleased documentary Time Piece, a blend of band member interviews and commentary on songs from the album that made R.E.M. a household name.

R.E.M. finish their U.S. tour Sunday with a show at Albuquerque's Kive Auditorium, before heading to Europe in January.

[dlemond]

I think it is now official that EVERY cd I've ever bought has been rereleased and remastered with various bonus material.

I can't rebuy my entire REM collection.

And I thought London Calling by The Clash was the last straw.

[Brad]

I think R.E.M. needs to worry about remastering their I.R.S. catalog (which is now owned by Capitol) before they work on the WB catalog. Those early albums on CD don't sound very good. They should remaster them so they sound the way they're supposed to - analogue.

[Brad]

R.E.M. Catalog Set For Refurbishing

By Jonathan Cohen
Billboard

R.E.M.'s nine albums for Warner Bros. will be reissued early next year in newly created CD/DVD editions. Due Feb. 15 via Rhino, the initiative encompasses the studio albums Green, Out of Time, Automatic for the People, Monster, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, Up, Reveal and the new Around the Sun, as well as the retrospective In Time: The Best of R.E.M. They have sold 11.2 million copies combined in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In addition to the album in its original form, the new packages will boast a DVD with a 5.1 Surround Sound version remixed by Elliot Schiener, who has a prior remixing credit on R.E.M.'s 1987 album Document. In addition, the albums will include unreleased documentary footage and expanded booklets with new liner notes.

R.E.M.'s 1989 Warner Bros. debut, Green, will be bolstered with a previously unreleased making-of documentary and two live clips from the home video Tour Film. The unreleased documentary Time Piece will be found on the new edition of 1991's Out of Time, while a rarely seen promotional film has been tacked on to Automatic for the People.

The DVD on the new edition of 1994's Monster features live performances of album tracks "I Don't Sleep, I Dream," "Let Me In," "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?," while 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi includes an unreleased video documentary.

The 1998 album "Up," R.E.M.'s first following the exit of drummer Bill Berry, will sport portions of the unreleased film "Uptake," performances of three songs and interview clips. Its follow-up, 2001's "Reveal," is appended with a making-of documentary and a remixed video for album track "I'll Take the Rain."

Last year's In Time will include two versions of the video for the new song "Bad Day," while Around the Sun offers up a photo gallery, behind-the-scenes footage and lyrics.

R.E.M. will close out its touring year this week with a stand in Mexico City on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 3-4). An extensive international swing kicks off Jan. 7 in Lisbon.

[vashti1999]

Automatic For The People will definitely be mine. I'll consider some of the others, but that's the main one I'd want.

[Brad]

Originally posted by vashti1999
Automatic For The People will definitely be mine. I'll consider some of the others, but that's the main one I'd want. Automatic is definitely my favorite R.E.M. album. I think I'll be getting all the reissues, though. The only R.E.M. albums I currently own are Document, Automatic For The People and In Time: The Best Of R.E.M. 1988-2003.

[vashti1999]

Originally posted by AKA
Automatic is definitely my favorite R.E.M. album. I think I'll be getting all the reissues, though. The only R.E.M. albums I currently own are Document, Automatic For The People and In Time: The Best Of R.E.M. 1988-2003.

I'm just as bad. I only own Out of Time and Monster. I've heard Automatic from a friend's copy but never got around to buying my own. I've wanted it for the longest but never bought it, so I guess now I'm glad I waited.