I am making a new post so this bubbles up in newsfeeds again.
There was a problem with the FLAC encoding in the original R.E.M. Strand Cabaret '82 fileset. Songs were weirdly skipping mid-song direct to the next song, and it was completely reproducible on my end with the original files.
I re-encoded to FLAC without errors this time, and re-uploaded the files.
The corrected fileset is now the one accessible in the links in the original post. So, please go to the original post and re-download the set; it's well worth the trouble.
Apologies, again.
Showing posts with label R.E.M.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label R.E.M.. Show all posts
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
R.E.M. 2 July 1982 Marietta GA (2013 analogloyalist master)
ATTENTION: Previous downloaders, there was a problem with the FLACs themselves in the original fileset which I have subsequently corrected and re-uploaded. PLEASE re-download the set; the new URL is down there.
--------
Tap tap, this thing on?
I haven't disappeared. Good thing too, that is.
You know, while I'm still quite bummed about the cease and desist directive issued by a certain bearded bassist, I realized that there is other music I like, and even better, of another favorite band of the blog, one of the musicians involved is a big fan of the proceedings and thinks I got shafted.
.png)
So with that I bring you my favorite, probably, pre-Murmur R.E.M. set - the guys live in Marietta, Georgia in July 1982 shortly before recording Murmur. This is an interesting transitional period for the band, as the songwriting is clearly shifting from the 60s-influenced "That Beat" stylings to the ethereal, un-categorizeable Murmurian structurings. We have "That Beat", probably the best evidence (both in terms of songwriting and catchiness) of their garage band roots, and then we have "Perfect Circle" in its likely debut performance - on a drum machine as Bill Berry's working the keyboards! Other new songs "We Walk", "Pilgrimage" - a song Michael Stipe is still clearly working out the lyrics for, and "West Of The Fields" point strongly to the future.
This is a cool little gig too, in that for an audience recording it really puts you, dear listener, direct into the room right in front of the stage. It's lively, it's got a lot of space, it doesn't sound cavernous or muddy. It's just a really great recording that excels after the mastering treatment I gave it over the past few days. I realize I did some work on this in 2008 and put it on dimeadozen, but that effort was crap (in retrospect) - a simple A/B if you have the 2008 variant will make it clear as day. Many tracks can easily fool even an astute listener into thinking it's a soundboard recording, but it's not.
So anyway, onward. Life after Mediafire begins... now.
R.E.M.
2 July 1982
Strand Cabaret, Marietta, GA
2013 analogloyalist master
01 intro
02 West Of The Fields
03 Shaking Through
04 Pilgrimage
05 Romance
06 We Walk
07 Wolves, Lower
08 That Beat
09 Pretty Persuasion
10 Sitting Still
11 1,000,000
12 Gardening At Night
13 9-9
14 There She Goes Again
15 Catapult
16 Radio Free Europe
17 Perfect Circle
18 Laughing
19 Moral Kiosk
20 Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)
Netkups to the rescue - get the FLAC set here!
Oh... and that fan of the blog I mentioned? None other than P. L. Buck, Esq.
ATTENTION: Previous downloaders, there was a problem with the FLACs themselves in the original fileset which I have subsequently corrected and re-uploaded. PLEASE re-download the set; the new URL for the file set is here (and up there too).
--------
Tap tap, this thing on?
I haven't disappeared. Good thing too, that is.
You know, while I'm still quite bummed about the cease and desist directive issued by a certain bearded bassist, I realized that there is other music I like, and even better, of another favorite band of the blog, one of the musicians involved is a big fan of the proceedings and thinks I got shafted.
.png)
So with that I bring you my favorite, probably, pre-Murmur R.E.M. set - the guys live in Marietta, Georgia in July 1982 shortly before recording Murmur. This is an interesting transitional period for the band, as the songwriting is clearly shifting from the 60s-influenced "That Beat" stylings to the ethereal, un-categorizeable Murmurian structurings. We have "That Beat", probably the best evidence (both in terms of songwriting and catchiness) of their garage band roots, and then we have "Perfect Circle" in its likely debut performance - on a drum machine as Bill Berry's working the keyboards! Other new songs "We Walk", "Pilgrimage" - a song Michael Stipe is still clearly working out the lyrics for, and "West Of The Fields" point strongly to the future.
This is a cool little gig too, in that for an audience recording it really puts you, dear listener, direct into the room right in front of the stage. It's lively, it's got a lot of space, it doesn't sound cavernous or muddy. It's just a really great recording that excels after the mastering treatment I gave it over the past few days. I realize I did some work on this in 2008 and put it on dimeadozen, but that effort was crap (in retrospect) - a simple A/B if you have the 2008 variant will make it clear as day. Many tracks can easily fool even an astute listener into thinking it's a soundboard recording, but it's not.
So anyway, onward. Life after Mediafire begins... now.
R.E.M.
2 July 1982
Strand Cabaret, Marietta, GA
2013 analogloyalist master
01 intro
02 West Of The Fields
03 Shaking Through
04 Pilgrimage
05 Romance
06 We Walk
07 Wolves, Lower
08 That Beat
09 Pretty Persuasion
10 Sitting Still
11 1,000,000
12 Gardening At Night
13 9-9
14 There She Goes Again
15 Catapult
16 Radio Free Europe
17 Perfect Circle
18 Laughing
19 Moral Kiosk
20 Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)
Netkups to the rescue - get the FLAC set here!
Oh... and that fan of the blog I mentioned? None other than P. L. Buck, Esq.
ATTENTION: Previous downloaders, there was a problem with the FLACs themselves in the original fileset which I have subsequently corrected and re-uploaded. PLEASE re-download the set; the new URL for the file set is here (and up there too).
Sunday, February 26, 2012
R.E.M. 9 June 1984 Passaic, NJ SBD - analogloyalist master
Ask me what my favorite live era is for R.E.M. and depending on the day (and my mood) it'll vacillate between their 1984 (Little America) and 1985 (Reconstruction) tours. On the one hand, in 1984 they are, at the base, still the garage band of their pre-I.R.S. days playing garage punk folk. On the other, in 1985 what they lose of that garage sense is made up for by increased mysticism and atmosphere.
I'm not sure if Peter Buck changed his rig between tours, but the 1984 sets feature that signature jangle crunch, perhaps at its finest, while 1985 saw Buck's tone gain a fair bit of range (it sounds like he discovered chorus pedals, that is). The difference is there, though - any of the band's pre-Fables material, when played on the Reconstruction tour, does sound markedly different in terms of guitar sonics.
So depending on my mood and mental place I'll either reach for an '84 soundboard, or one of the many '85 gigs.
Of late I've been studiously evaluating my catalog of '84 soundboard recordings. I guess one would place, from a pure sonic perspective, the July 7, 1984 Aragon Ballroom, Chicago (Brawlroom as we lovingly/hatingly referred to it, my relationship with that venue tends more to the hate side than love, but that's a story for another day) - as released on the Reckoning Deluxe Edition - at the top of the heap, with the others ranked against it as the baseline.
While there are rarer sets than today's feature, or more interesting from a setlist or performance perspective, there are - in my humble opinion - no greater-sounding sets than the band's one-off (for MTV) gig June 9, 1984 at the Capital Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey.
This set was a one-off arranged for MTV, for their "Rock Influences: Folk Rock" episode. As such, and the band still relatively tight from having recently come off an European tour, the band wasn't as sloppily loose as sets from this era could be. It's obvious that the band is intent on delivering a knockout punch, both for the TV audience and for the assorted celebs/heroes that were in attendance, because the last three songs (not included here, as they were not broadcast/on the master reels) featured various Byrds and others guesting. It's a wonderfully tight, smooth, well-executed gig by an amazing rock band.
So as not to be completely professional, the band chose this spotlight to debut not one, but three new tracks: "Hyena", "Old Man Kensey" and "Driver 8". Except "Hyena" which is - moreso than the others - clearly a work-in-progress, the new tracks sound as if they could have been in the set for years.
I'm not sure the provenance of the tape/source used for this post, as I've had it in my collection on CD-R for years, but it's certainly not a recording of the TV broadcast, and not an after-the-fact radio rebroadcast either. I would bet a hundred Bucks (Peter) that this is copied from the actual master or a first-generation dub of it. There's no hallmarks of FM or TV lineage, it's got full frequency range up to 22.5 kHz (FM cuts off at ~17kHz, and TV even lower), and it doesn't have that classic FM compression feel to it. It also is thankfully lacking in that high-frequency "smearing" (usually audible in the cymbals) characteristic of FM broadcast. Nearly all the other circulating soundboard sets of '84 R.E.M. are ultimately broadcast-sourced, or Nth-generation tape dubs of pre-broadcast radio show LPs (such as the Seattle "The Source" gig), and come nowhere close to sounding as good as this.
How does this Passaic set compare to the Chicago set used on the Reckoning Deluxe Edition? I think it's of a piece with it - while I disagree with the mastering on the Chicago set, I have no quibbles with the performance or overall sound. I would just rather listen to this gig than the Chicago set.
I spent a fair bit of time touching up this Passaic set to the point that the band could lift this set from this blog and release it tomorrow, and nobody would know it was mastered by some dork in his bedroom office. It's *that* good. You can put that (put that put that) on your wall.
I don't care if you've grabbed this gig in the past from any other place on the Intarwebs, this version here is the definitive version. I place my reputation on it.
Enjoy!
R.E.M.
9 June 1984
Capital Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey
For MTV's "Rock Influences: Folk Rock" episode
mastered February 2012 by Analog Loyalist
Soundboard reel -> ? -> FLAC -> analogloyalist mastering -> you
Setlist:
01 ...intro...
02 Pale Blue Eyes
03 Second Guessing
04 Hyena *
05 Letter Never Sent
06 Harborcoat
07 Seven Chinese Brothers
08 Pretty Persuasion
09 So. Central Rain
10 Gardening At Night
11 9-9
12 Windout
13 Old Man Kensey *
14 Sitting Still
15 Driver 8 *
16 Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)
17 Radio Free Europe
18 Little America
-- So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star (w/Roger McGuinn)**
-- Do You Believe In Magic (w/John Sebastian) **
-- Gloria (w/Roger McGuinn) **
* - live debut.
** - not broadcast, and not included here. (I've never seen these on any soundboard set from this gig; it appears only an audience recording captured them.)
FLACs to put on your wall, here.
What are your favorite - both in terms of performance, setlist and sound quality - REM soundboard sets from this era? Anybody sitting on an unreleased soundboard from either Pageantry or the Work Tour? Please share!
I'm not sure if Peter Buck changed his rig between tours, but the 1984 sets feature that signature jangle crunch, perhaps at its finest, while 1985 saw Buck's tone gain a fair bit of range (it sounds like he discovered chorus pedals, that is). The difference is there, though - any of the band's pre-Fables material, when played on the Reconstruction tour, does sound markedly different in terms of guitar sonics.
So depending on my mood and mental place I'll either reach for an '84 soundboard, or one of the many '85 gigs.
Of late I've been studiously evaluating my catalog of '84 soundboard recordings. I guess one would place, from a pure sonic perspective, the July 7, 1984 Aragon Ballroom, Chicago (Brawlroom as we lovingly/hatingly referred to it, my relationship with that venue tends more to the hate side than love, but that's a story for another day) - as released on the Reckoning Deluxe Edition - at the top of the heap, with the others ranked against it as the baseline.
While there are rarer sets than today's feature, or more interesting from a setlist or performance perspective, there are - in my humble opinion - no greater-sounding sets than the band's one-off (for MTV) gig June 9, 1984 at the Capital Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey.
This set was a one-off arranged for MTV, for their "Rock Influences: Folk Rock" episode. As such, and the band still relatively tight from having recently come off an European tour, the band wasn't as sloppily loose as sets from this era could be. It's obvious that the band is intent on delivering a knockout punch, both for the TV audience and for the assorted celebs/heroes that were in attendance, because the last three songs (not included here, as they were not broadcast/on the master reels) featured various Byrds and others guesting. It's a wonderfully tight, smooth, well-executed gig by an amazing rock band.
So as not to be completely professional, the band chose this spotlight to debut not one, but three new tracks: "Hyena", "Old Man Kensey" and "Driver 8". Except "Hyena" which is - moreso than the others - clearly a work-in-progress, the new tracks sound as if they could have been in the set for years.
I'm not sure the provenance of the tape/source used for this post, as I've had it in my collection on CD-R for years, but it's certainly not a recording of the TV broadcast, and not an after-the-fact radio rebroadcast either. I would bet a hundred Bucks (Peter) that this is copied from the actual master or a first-generation dub of it. There's no hallmarks of FM or TV lineage, it's got full frequency range up to 22.5 kHz (FM cuts off at ~17kHz, and TV even lower), and it doesn't have that classic FM compression feel to it. It also is thankfully lacking in that high-frequency "smearing" (usually audible in the cymbals) characteristic of FM broadcast. Nearly all the other circulating soundboard sets of '84 R.E.M. are ultimately broadcast-sourced, or Nth-generation tape dubs of pre-broadcast radio show LPs (such as the Seattle "The Source" gig), and come nowhere close to sounding as good as this.
How does this Passaic set compare to the Chicago set used on the Reckoning Deluxe Edition? I think it's of a piece with it - while I disagree with the mastering on the Chicago set, I have no quibbles with the performance or overall sound. I would just rather listen to this gig than the Chicago set.
I spent a fair bit of time touching up this Passaic set to the point that the band could lift this set from this blog and release it tomorrow, and nobody would know it was mastered by some dork in his bedroom office. It's *that* good. You can put that (put that put that) on your wall.
I don't care if you've grabbed this gig in the past from any other place on the Intarwebs, this version here is the definitive version. I place my reputation on it.
Enjoy!
R.E.M.
9 June 1984
Capital Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey
For MTV's "Rock Influences: Folk Rock" episode
mastered February 2012 by Analog Loyalist
Soundboard reel -> ? -> FLAC -> analogloyalist mastering -> you
Setlist:
01 ...intro...
02 Pale Blue Eyes
03 Second Guessing
04 Hyena *
05 Letter Never Sent
06 Harborcoat
07 Seven Chinese Brothers
08 Pretty Persuasion
09 So. Central Rain
10 Gardening At Night
11 9-9
12 Windout
13 Old Man Kensey *
14 Sitting Still
15 Driver 8 *
16 Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)
17 Radio Free Europe
18 Little America
-- So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star (w/Roger McGuinn)**
-- Do You Believe In Magic (w/John Sebastian) **
-- Gloria (w/Roger McGuinn) **
* - live debut.
** - not broadcast, and not included here. (I've never seen these on any soundboard set from this gig; it appears only an audience recording captured them.)
FLACs to put on your wall, here.
What are your favorite - both in terms of performance, setlist and sound quality - REM soundboard sets from this era? Anybody sitting on an unreleased soundboard from either Pageantry or the Work Tour? Please share!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
R.E.M.: "Cassette Set" (1981 demo tape, RARE!!!)
(June 7, 2012 edit: IFPI has DMCA'ed me for the FLACs "linked" below. Screw them. The mp3 set is still available though...)
Unfortunately it took the breakup of the band to start seeing some of these ultra-rare deals come to light.
Unfortunately it took the breakup of the band to start seeing some of these ultra-rare deals come to light.
Thanks to a gracious reader of the blog, it's my honor to present to the R.E.M. community a basically-unheard artifact: the Cassette Set from Spring 1981.
In April 1981 the band began their relationship with Mitch Easter by visiting his Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to record a few songs for a demo. They had done a few demo sessions previously, but were not satisfied with the results (mainly at Joe Perry's Bombay Studio) and eventually hooked up with Easter.
On April 15, 1981 Easter and the band recorded (at least) three tracks: "Sitting Still", "Radio Free Europe" and "White Tornado". On the next day they mixed the tracks, and eventually had a demo cassette run (approx. 400 copies, according to Peter Buck) to send to journalists, clubs and labels ahead of their initial visit to New York City.
On May 24, 1981 the band returned to the Drive-In Studio and laid down some overdubs onto "Radio Free Europe" and then Hib-Tone label owner Johnny Hibbert mixed both "Radio Free Europe" and "Sitting Still" on the 25th. Easter felt the Hibbert mixes were seriously lacking, so he, on his own time, mixed his own versions for consideration. The band, Easter and Hibbert then had a mixing bakeoff of both "Radio Free Europe" and "Sitting Still", and as famously (well, relatively speaking) known, despite everyone but Hibbert liking the Easter mixes better Hibbert pulled rank and used his mixes on the band's debut 7" on Hib-Tone. Something went awry in the process, the record was mastered terribly, and Buck famously smashed his copy and put it on his wall (following the "Radio Free Europe" lyric).
(I place the call out now: I've never heard an original Hib-Tone "Radio Free Europe", so I can't speak for the mastering/pressing quality or Hibbert's mixes, so if anyone cares to feed me with a transfer of their Hib-Tone 7", I'm all ears. I will gladly tart it up for the blog and post it too.)
Easter's proposed mix for the 7" is the only one the band has seen fit to issue since then, on 1988's Eponymous compilation, and then on 2006's compilation of the I.R.S. years And I Feel Fine...The Best Of The I.R.S. Years 1982-1987.
Stepping back a bit: before issuing the 7", the band chose the original, pre-overdubbed, recordings of "Sitting Still" / "Radio Free Europe", with "White Tornado" added in, to make up their demo cassette. Jokingly, "Sitting Still" was prefaced by a few seconds of a *fast* run through of the song done in Polka-style, and "White Tornado" was followed by an aborted "White Tornado" take where Buck lays down a huge stinker of a mistake, the song grinds to a halt, and Buck is heard apologizing before Easter's voice appears. On the final 100 copies the band added a hilarious "Radio Dub" mix of "Radio Free Europe", done by Easter on April 23, 1981 on a lark with instruments/voices/effects dropping in and out of the mix, dub-style.
I don't think the "Sitting Still" or "White Tornado" snippets have ever been collected on bootleg, and if they have, I've never heard them. "Radio Dub" is a bit more known, but still fantastically rare. And of course this Cassette Set is the only place to get the very original Easter mixes of "Sitting Still" and "Radio Free Europe", both of which are far better than any subsequent issue of these tracks.
Blog friend Chris H. is the owner of an original Cassette Set, given by Michael Stipe on June 20, 1981 to a member of the band Bunny Drums when that band supported R.E.M. at Emerald City, in Cherry Hills, New Jersey. Chris obtained it in 2001 and then subsequently transferred it to CD-R, and then offered it to the blog for the public.
The Cassette Set was self-assembled by the band, using photocopied cardstock for the J-card inlays, and handwritten cassette labels by Stipe. Some copies featured color photograph inserts all cut up, but Chris' copy is missing these.
Chris gave me his raw transfer of the tape, I worked my magic on it, and here we are. There are few times when I'm so confident as to say you'll not find something better out there quality-wise, but this is one of them. I expected something that I would need to do a lot of cleanup work on, but barring a bit of EQ, this set came to me in absolutely stunning, beautiful condition. I think the results speak for themselves and I am honored to have the chance to give this to the community, as it's a very unique, special part of the band's history.
The inlays:
The cassette:
The songs:
R.E.M.
Cassette Set
April 15/16/23, 1981 (recording/mixing)
April/May 1981 (assemblage/packaging)
01 Sitting Still (fast "Polka" version, snippet)
02 Sitting Still
03 Radio Free Europe
04 White Tornado
05 White Tornado (take 2, aborted)
06 Radio Free Europe (Radio Dub)
Enjoy! And as always, if anyone has more rarities for me to massage and host, you may email me at analogloyalist at gmail dot com and we'll get on it.
For the readers who prefer to have their rarities in damaged MP3 format, I - this one time only - will help you here. I strongly disagree with sharing these uber-rarities as MP3 as it pollutes the trading pool. There's nothing I dislike more than when I finally find something I've searched years for, only to find it as MP3-only. Let me make my own MP3 listening copy, if I choose, from the FLACs (or other lossless format) you're providing. There are converters everywhere to cross-convert between formats, and one ridiculously easy (and free!) one for Windows is dBpoweramp which I use daily.
Monday, September 26, 2011
R.E.M.: Revealing Murmur
OK crap post title, I get it. Mostly because I buck the common trend and place not Around the Sun in the esteemed "worst R.E.M. album" position, as that rarefied spot is held for Reveal.
Anyway... as referenced the other day, a whole stonking pile of Murmur session mixes, outtakes and the like from Reflection Studios, late 1982/early 1983 recently came to Dime. OK you say, so what.
1) We got the Stephen Hague "Catapult", for starters.
2) There are different mixing/recording sessions for the Murmur tracks here
3) Some of the vocals appear to be different Stipe takes, sometimes with more legibility
4) The mixes are (for the most part) much more experimental than the final album would portend
5) "Romance"!
I'm not going to go out and list out all the differences from track to track, because that's boring, and because it removes the suspense. Each track is different to the final mix, and you know, had the band used these mixes (or a combination thereof) for the final record, I don't think it would have been as strongly received. Not that they're shitty, because they're not, it's just that the band, Mitch Easter and Don Dixon perfected the mystique so damn well on the final thing that anything less seems more pedestrian (for lack of a better word).
OK that made these seem terrible. They're not. They're certainly different, but Murmur mixed like this would be a different record. Some would like it more than the actual LP, some wouldn't.
These are taken from the recent Dime seed and were used to test some new restoration techniques I've been working on, but not used "in production" until now. I think anyone who's pulled the Dime seed, and then this, could vouch for how much better this sounds in comparison, in virtually all areas.
So enjoy.
R.E.M.
Murmur/Reflection Studios sessions/outtakes/mix candidates
(how's that for an album title?)
Fall-Winter 1982 / Winter-Spring 1983
Fall 1982
01 Catapult (Stephen Hague demo)
02 Pilgrimage (Mitch Easter / Don Dixon demo, mix 1)
Feb. 16, 1983 mixing session with Mitch Easter
03 Pilgrimage
04 Catapult
05 Perfect Circle
06 9-9
07 West Of The Fields
Mid-session live to two track
08 studio chatter
09 That Beat
10 All The Right Friends
11 There She Goes Again
In-session basic and rough mixes (probably very early monitor/guide mixes)
12 Talk About The Passion
13 West Of The Fields
14 Moral Kiosk
15 Sitting Still
16 Ages Of You
17 Perfect Circle
18 We Walk
19 9-9
20 Shaking Through
21 Romance
22 Laughing (cuts at end)
Some observations (even though I said I wouldn't...):
Track 2 is, I believe, the exact version submitted by Easter/Dixon as their demo to produce the LP (and that it was batched with the Hague demo supports this). According to most sources, the actual demo was liked so much by all parties it was issued unchanged on the LP. That said, there are minor differences between Track 2 and Track 3 here, but nothing to get excited about.
The 2/16/83 mixing session (tracks 3-7) appear to be near-final mixes. I say this because for the most part the tracks are basically what we get on Murmur. There *are* differences, to be sure (for example: click-ins over the bassline intro to "9-9"), but if you're looking for something truly unique, it's not in this part.
Tracks 8-11 (missing "Moon River" / "Pretty Persuasion" / "Tighten Up" due to official release policy on Dime) were recorded after a few beers live to two-track, and the Dime seeder missed that track 11 is actually the same as the B-side track (on Dead Letter Office), with the re-done ending (preserved here) punched in by Dixon/Easter. The band flubbed the ending, and Dixon had them re-do the final da-da-da-da-da, da da-da-da, da da daaaaa outro, and the entire "do it again" bit is preserved. We get to be flies on the wall... "All The Right Friends" from this set was also officially released on the European I.R.S. Years Dead Letter Office CD in the early 1990s.
Tracks 12-21 are where the fun lies. These are, for the most part, markedly different from the final versions. The true gems here are "Sitting Still" with some very prominent, GORGEOUS harmonies that are buried (or nonexistent) in the LP version and what appears to be a guide Stipe vocal, and "9-9" which features some truly aggressive guitar/mix "wiggles" (for lack of a better term) which really gives it more bite than the final LP version. "Shaking Through" also is a different Stipe vocal and truly shines. "Ages of You" was remixed for B-side release in '84, but the Dead Letter Office version roots from this. "Romance" never has been released from here; I have no idea if it ever was bootlegged in the past. If it has, I don't have it to hand and it's not on my various sets of "IRS demos" / "Chronic Town demos" / etc that all collect various Easter session tracks.
The Dime seed also was quite off-pitch, some tracks more than others; that has been corrected here.
Lastly, the Stephen Hague "Catapult" recording is much, MUCH improved from the last version I posted, which was a "bang it up and blog it STAT!" effort just to get it out there. You need this version though, it's better in all worlds, inclusive.
Grab yer FLACs here, and put that put that put that on your wall...
here's hoping for more stuff to come out of the woodwork! Elliott Mazer Reckoning demos from the master, anyone?
Anyway... as referenced the other day, a whole stonking pile of Murmur session mixes, outtakes and the like from Reflection Studios, late 1982/early 1983 recently came to Dime. OK you say, so what.
1) We got the Stephen Hague "Catapult", for starters.
2) There are different mixing/recording sessions for the Murmur tracks here
3) Some of the vocals appear to be different Stipe takes, sometimes with more legibility
4) The mixes are (for the most part) much more experimental than the final album would portend
5) "Romance"!
 |
| Don Dixon (L) and Mitch Easter (R), Reflection Studios, early 1983 |
OK that made these seem terrible. They're not. They're certainly different, but Murmur mixed like this would be a different record. Some would like it more than the actual LP, some wouldn't.
These are taken from the recent Dime seed and were used to test some new restoration techniques I've been working on, but not used "in production" until now. I think anyone who's pulled the Dime seed, and then this, could vouch for how much better this sounds in comparison, in virtually all areas.
So enjoy.
R.E.M.
Murmur/Reflection Studios sessions/outtakes/mix candidates
(how's that for an album title?)
Fall-Winter 1982 / Winter-Spring 1983
Fall 1982
01 Catapult (Stephen Hague demo)
02 Pilgrimage (Mitch Easter / Don Dixon demo, mix 1)
Feb. 16, 1983 mixing session with Mitch Easter
03 Pilgrimage
04 Catapult
05 Perfect Circle
06 9-9
07 West Of The Fields
Mid-session live to two track
08 studio chatter
09 That Beat
10 All The Right Friends
11 There She Goes Again
In-session basic and rough mixes (probably very early monitor/guide mixes)
12 Talk About The Passion
13 West Of The Fields
14 Moral Kiosk
15 Sitting Still
16 Ages Of You
17 Perfect Circle
18 We Walk
19 9-9
20 Shaking Through
21 Romance
22 Laughing (cuts at end)
Some observations (even though I said I wouldn't...):
Track 2 is, I believe, the exact version submitted by Easter/Dixon as their demo to produce the LP (and that it was batched with the Hague demo supports this). According to most sources, the actual demo was liked so much by all parties it was issued unchanged on the LP. That said, there are minor differences between Track 2 and Track 3 here, but nothing to get excited about.
The 2/16/83 mixing session (tracks 3-7) appear to be near-final mixes. I say this because for the most part the tracks are basically what we get on Murmur. There *are* differences, to be sure (for example: click-ins over the bassline intro to "9-9"), but if you're looking for something truly unique, it's not in this part.
Tracks 8-11 (missing "Moon River" / "Pretty Persuasion" / "Tighten Up" due to official release policy on Dime) were recorded after a few beers live to two-track, and the Dime seeder missed that track 11 is actually the same as the B-side track (on Dead Letter Office), with the re-done ending (preserved here) punched in by Dixon/Easter. The band flubbed the ending, and Dixon had them re-do the final da-da-da-da-da, da da-da-da, da da daaaaa outro, and the entire "do it again" bit is preserved. We get to be flies on the wall... "All The Right Friends" from this set was also officially released on the European I.R.S. Years Dead Letter Office CD in the early 1990s.
Tracks 12-21 are where the fun lies. These are, for the most part, markedly different from the final versions. The true gems here are "Sitting Still" with some very prominent, GORGEOUS harmonies that are buried (or nonexistent) in the LP version and what appears to be a guide Stipe vocal, and "9-9" which features some truly aggressive guitar/mix "wiggles" (for lack of a better term) which really gives it more bite than the final LP version. "Shaking Through" also is a different Stipe vocal and truly shines. "Ages of You" was remixed for B-side release in '84, but the Dead Letter Office version roots from this. "Romance" never has been released from here; I have no idea if it ever was bootlegged in the past. If it has, I don't have it to hand and it's not on my various sets of "IRS demos" / "Chronic Town demos" / etc that all collect various Easter session tracks.
The Dime seed also was quite off-pitch, some tracks more than others; that has been corrected here.
Lastly, the Stephen Hague "Catapult" recording is much, MUCH improved from the last version I posted, which was a "bang it up and blog it STAT!" effort just to get it out there. You need this version though, it's better in all worlds, inclusive.
Grab yer FLACs here, and put that put that put that on your wall...
here's hoping for more stuff to come out of the woodwork! Elliott Mazer Reckoning demos from the master, anyone?
Friday, September 23, 2011
R.E.M.: did we miss anything?
As expected, closets are opening up, drawers dug through, rare tapes transferred and suddenly freed.
A very cool set of '82/'83-era Murmur roughs, including very early Mitch Easter mixes of Murmur tracks-in-progress, and additional tracks from the same Murmur sessions that - to now - hadn't left the clutches of a very select few, have suddenly found their way onto Dime.
I may at some point put up the balance of the set because there are some gems in there. But, the coolest part of the trove has to be the heretofore-unknown *full take* of the Stephen Hague "Catapult" demo. As the story goes, when time came for REM to hit the studio to record that first LP for I.R.S., they wanted to use Mitch Easter (a relative noob, as far as I.R.S. was concerned) after loving what Easter did with them on Chronic Town. I.R.S. wanted something more commercial, so asked the band to use Stephen Hague. Now, knowing what we now know about Hague, nothing could be further away from R.E.M.'s mindset than using that guy - he of numerous Pet Shop Boys / New Order / etc club-type sessions. At the time though he was a fledgling Boston-based producer that was just another guy to consider.
So they set up a deal: the band would record one song with Hague, and one song with Easter. The winner of the demo-off would produce that critical debut LP.
Hague went first, and recorded "Catapult". It was, as legend has it, the worst recording session the band ever had; Bill being forced to re-track the drums innumerable times against a wooden click track, and Hague dropping synths all over the track.
The band then went to Charlotte, North Carolina and did a track with Easter (who had brought in Don Dixon to help): "Pilgrimage". Even I.R.S. had to give up on Hague at that point, hearing both results. The band (and I.R.S.) loved the Easter/Dixon "Pilgrimage" recording so much it essentially was used as-is on the record.
However, the R.E.M. fraternity hated the Hague recording so much it was essentially erased from the collective memory, except in the occasional interview. But it *never* saw release, at all. Only a few years ago, a short snippet was suddenly unleashed, just to give a tasting of the atrocity.
So today we get the whole deal, the full-length Hague "Catapult". It truly is laughable and a very wonderful find; not that anyone's going to drop it in their Murmur playlist as a direct replacement for the version recorded with Easter/Dixon, but it's a nice thing regardless.
*** EDIT *** I've replaced the targets with the final, best-ever mastering which supercedes anything you may have downloaded previously. Download it again for the full Hague-orama!
FLAC / MP3 (LAME 320k)
I took the version from Dime and ran it through my wringer, it's a pretty good (read: tremendous) improvement over the Dime version.
A very cool set of '82/'83-era Murmur roughs, including very early Mitch Easter mixes of Murmur tracks-in-progress, and additional tracks from the same Murmur sessions that - to now - hadn't left the clutches of a very select few, have suddenly found their way onto Dime.
I may at some point put up the balance of the set because there are some gems in there. But, the coolest part of the trove has to be the heretofore-unknown *full take* of the Stephen Hague "Catapult" demo. As the story goes, when time came for REM to hit the studio to record that first LP for I.R.S., they wanted to use Mitch Easter (a relative noob, as far as I.R.S. was concerned) after loving what Easter did with them on Chronic Town. I.R.S. wanted something more commercial, so asked the band to use Stephen Hague. Now, knowing what we now know about Hague, nothing could be further away from R.E.M.'s mindset than using that guy - he of numerous Pet Shop Boys / New Order / etc club-type sessions. At the time though he was a fledgling Boston-based producer that was just another guy to consider.
So they set up a deal: the band would record one song with Hague, and one song with Easter. The winner of the demo-off would produce that critical debut LP.
Hague went first, and recorded "Catapult". It was, as legend has it, the worst recording session the band ever had; Bill being forced to re-track the drums innumerable times against a wooden click track, and Hague dropping synths all over the track.
The band then went to Charlotte, North Carolina and did a track with Easter (who had brought in Don Dixon to help): "Pilgrimage". Even I.R.S. had to give up on Hague at that point, hearing both results. The band (and I.R.S.) loved the Easter/Dixon "Pilgrimage" recording so much it essentially was used as-is on the record.
However, the R.E.M. fraternity hated the Hague recording so much it was essentially erased from the collective memory, except in the occasional interview. But it *never* saw release, at all. Only a few years ago, a short snippet was suddenly unleashed, just to give a tasting of the atrocity.
So today we get the whole deal, the full-length Hague "Catapult". It truly is laughable and a very wonderful find; not that anyone's going to drop it in their Murmur playlist as a direct replacement for the version recorded with Easter/Dixon, but it's a nice thing regardless.
*** EDIT *** I've replaced the targets with the final, best-ever mastering which supercedes anything you may have downloaded previously. Download it again for the full Hague-orama!
FLAC / MP3 (LAME 320k)
I took the version from Dime and ran it through my wringer, it's a pretty good (read: tremendous) improvement over the Dime version.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
R.E.M. found their river.
Today was difficult with the big news of the day.
We knew this was coming - like Joy Division's Closer, R.E.M.'s final LP Collapse Into Now (a record suddenly seeing a critical revisit 'round these parts) telegraphed more than people would like to admit.
I've been carrying the R.E.M. torch since I first fell in love with Lifes Rich Pageant on a crappy Walkman in 1986. They really were my gateway drug into a whole universe of unheard musics, cultures and ideas. While I don't think anyone will disagree that the soul of the band left with Bill Berry in 1997, the band - as a whole - still really meant a lot in this ultra-disposable, profits-or-bust mentality and musical climate of the day. Four (three) dudes from the Southern sticks, against the world, doing it their way? Not only did they do it their way, they showed us how it could be done ethically, without compromise, and with honor to the end.
New Order, for one, certainly could learn a lot by studying R.E.M.'s playbook over history.
I like the finality and the tone of the formal announcement. No "are they or aren't they" nonsense a la the Police, and the announcement speaks volumes for the respect the band has for their fans and peers. I'm sad, and while (to me) they've not had a clear knockout tune in years, the fact that this little band from Athens was still there was some small comfort in my world. On the other hand, I didn't want an R.E.M. playing out the string - if they weren't happy, at the end of the day, if they didn't think they had the motivation or want to keep going, I'm glad they had the sense and honor to know it (and say it).
I will miss the anticipation of "the new R.E.M. record" every few years, even knowing that it probably would never reach the highs of records past. But I still have 15 albums worth of amazing material (even Reveal has a song or two I don't mind), and the memories of some amazing shows, first listens to new records, and lifelong friendships to keep me company as a result of these guys.
I leave you with this post's namesake, perhaps fitting and ending on a positive note...
Find The River (1992)
Hey now, little speedyhead,
The read on the speedometer says
You have to go to task in the city
Where people drown and people serve
Don't be shy. Your just dessert
Is only just light years to go
Me, my thoughts are flower strewn
Ocean storm, bayberry moon
I have got to leave to find my way
Watch the road and memorize
This life that pass before my eyes
Nothing is going my way
The ocean is the river's goal,
A need to leave the water knows
We're closer now than light years to go
I have got to find the river,
Bergamot and vetiver
Run through my head and fall away
Leave the road and memorize
This life that pass before my eyes
Nothing is going my way
There's no one left to take the lead,
But I tell you and you can see
We're closer now than light years to go
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
Fall into the ocean
The river to the ocean goes,
A fortune for the undertow
None of this is going my way
There is nothing left to throw
Of ginger, lemon, indigo,
Coriander stem and rows of hay
Strength and courage overrides
The privileged and weary eyes
Of river poet search naivete
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
All of this is coming your way
We knew this was coming - like Joy Division's Closer, R.E.M.'s final LP Collapse Into Now (a record suddenly seeing a critical revisit 'round these parts) telegraphed more than people would like to admit.
I've been carrying the R.E.M. torch since I first fell in love with Lifes Rich Pageant on a crappy Walkman in 1986. They really were my gateway drug into a whole universe of unheard musics, cultures and ideas. While I don't think anyone will disagree that the soul of the band left with Bill Berry in 1997, the band - as a whole - still really meant a lot in this ultra-disposable, profits-or-bust mentality and musical climate of the day. Four (three) dudes from the Southern sticks, against the world, doing it their way? Not only did they do it their way, they showed us how it could be done ethically, without compromise, and with honor to the end.
New Order, for one, certainly could learn a lot by studying R.E.M.'s playbook over history.
I like the finality and the tone of the formal announcement. No "are they or aren't they" nonsense a la the Police, and the announcement speaks volumes for the respect the band has for their fans and peers. I'm sad, and while (to me) they've not had a clear knockout tune in years, the fact that this little band from Athens was still there was some small comfort in my world. On the other hand, I didn't want an R.E.M. playing out the string - if they weren't happy, at the end of the day, if they didn't think they had the motivation or want to keep going, I'm glad they had the sense and honor to know it (and say it).
I will miss the anticipation of "the new R.E.M. record" every few years, even knowing that it probably would never reach the highs of records past. But I still have 15 albums worth of amazing material (even Reveal has a song or two I don't mind), and the memories of some amazing shows, first listens to new records, and lifelong friendships to keep me company as a result of these guys.
I leave you with this post's namesake, perhaps fitting and ending on a positive note...
Find The River (1992)
Hey now, little speedyhead,
The read on the speedometer says
You have to go to task in the city
Where people drown and people serve
Don't be shy. Your just dessert
Is only just light years to go
Me, my thoughts are flower strewn
Ocean storm, bayberry moon
I have got to leave to find my way
Watch the road and memorize
This life that pass before my eyes
Nothing is going my way
The ocean is the river's goal,
A need to leave the water knows
We're closer now than light years to go
I have got to find the river,
Bergamot and vetiver
Run through my head and fall away
Leave the road and memorize
This life that pass before my eyes
Nothing is going my way
There's no one left to take the lead,
But I tell you and you can see
We're closer now than light years to go
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
Fall into the ocean
The river to the ocean goes,
A fortune for the undertow
None of this is going my way
There is nothing left to throw
Of ginger, lemon, indigo,
Coriander stem and rows of hay
Strength and courage overrides
The privileged and weary eyes
Of river poet search naivete
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
All of this is coming your way
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Battle of 2011 already won...
There is simply zero comparison.
beats the living crap out of
The new Feelies record leaked this week, and with the knowledge that my preorder direct from the band's record label store is going mostly to the band (as opposed to via Amazon), I downloaded. And loved immediately. It's nearly everything the R.E.M. record isn't (though I'm not comparing lyrics; nobody ever placed Glenn Mercer on the esteemed lyricist pantheon like some would with a certain J.M. Stipe).
So hither ye asap to the Bar/None Records online store and buy this!
beats the living crap out of
The new Feelies record leaked this week, and with the knowledge that my preorder direct from the band's record label store is going mostly to the band (as opposed to via Amazon), I downloaded. And loved immediately. It's nearly everything the R.E.M. record isn't (though I'm not comparing lyrics; nobody ever placed Glenn Mercer on the esteemed lyricist pantheon like some would with a certain J.M. Stipe).
So hither ye asap to the Bar/None Records online store and buy this!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
R.E.M. Collapse Into Now - thoughts
So I was all set to post my thoughts on this record - after all, today is release day in the USA.
Having lived with this for a week or so, though, my initial impressions have given way to something else: boredom.
I want to like this record. I want to LOVE it. I want my R.E.M. back, even given that they're only 3/4 of their former self. I thought Accelerate was a promising reawakening of the band's spirit (though it hasn't held up as much as I'd have liked it to three years down the road) and I had high hopes for this record.
The problem with Collapse Into Now, though, is deep. The thing is, I neither like nor dislike it. In fact it's so "meh" that I have a hard time putting my thoughts into words. It's too safe. It's too revisionist. It's too little, and it's too much. Is it possible that the worst thing to say about this record is how inoffensive it is?
There are moments on here that are indeed transcendent: "Oh My Heart", "It Happened Today" and "Blue" come to mind as really good songs and well executed on this record. But will any of them have real lasting power? When discussing R.E.M. on the porch of the old folks home in 2030 will any of these songs come into play?
I used to actively despise "Mine Smell Like Honey" when it was first made available a month or so ago. Now, rather than complete dislike, it's just "there". Mainly what I don't like about it is Stipe - not that the lyrics are retarded (they are), but just that he adds nothing of value to the song. In fact that can be said about most of these songs here: Michael Stipe, formerly an amazing vocalist (nevermind the actual lyrical content of Stipe in years past), is reduced to simply a disposable component. Which is about the worst thing you can say about him. Barring the three tracks mentioned above, and occasional moments on a few other songs, I'd frankly prefer instrumentals.
I know it's a fool's errand to expect another Reckoning / Fables / even Automatic For The People. But what's missing from this record that was a commonality to all previous fantastic R.E.M. records? Bill Berry. He was the emotional heart of the band, the one with the strongest "no bullshit" meter. Would Berry have tolerated recent R.E.M. records? I don't know. For all I know they would have been the same, more or less, even with Berry. But I certainly can't blame former manager Jefferson Holt's sudden forced dismissal immediately prior to the release of 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi for the stunning decline in R.E.M.'s songwriting since, unless he was even more valuable to the band than anyone could imagine.
So there you have it. Frankly while I continue to listen to this boring record, my heart is more set on the upcoming Feelies LP because with them, you know what to expect and anything more is a bonus.
Having lived with this for a week or so, though, my initial impressions have given way to something else: boredom.
I want to like this record. I want to LOVE it. I want my R.E.M. back, even given that they're only 3/4 of their former self. I thought Accelerate was a promising reawakening of the band's spirit (though it hasn't held up as much as I'd have liked it to three years down the road) and I had high hopes for this record.
The problem with Collapse Into Now, though, is deep. The thing is, I neither like nor dislike it. In fact it's so "meh" that I have a hard time putting my thoughts into words. It's too safe. It's too revisionist. It's too little, and it's too much. Is it possible that the worst thing to say about this record is how inoffensive it is?
There are moments on here that are indeed transcendent: "Oh My Heart", "It Happened Today" and "Blue" come to mind as really good songs and well executed on this record. But will any of them have real lasting power? When discussing R.E.M. on the porch of the old folks home in 2030 will any of these songs come into play?
I used to actively despise "Mine Smell Like Honey" when it was first made available a month or so ago. Now, rather than complete dislike, it's just "there". Mainly what I don't like about it is Stipe - not that the lyrics are retarded (they are), but just that he adds nothing of value to the song. In fact that can be said about most of these songs here: Michael Stipe, formerly an amazing vocalist (nevermind the actual lyrical content of Stipe in years past), is reduced to simply a disposable component. Which is about the worst thing you can say about him. Barring the three tracks mentioned above, and occasional moments on a few other songs, I'd frankly prefer instrumentals.
I know it's a fool's errand to expect another Reckoning / Fables / even Automatic For The People. But what's missing from this record that was a commonality to all previous fantastic R.E.M. records? Bill Berry. He was the emotional heart of the band, the one with the strongest "no bullshit" meter. Would Berry have tolerated recent R.E.M. records? I don't know. For all I know they would have been the same, more or less, even with Berry. But I certainly can't blame former manager Jefferson Holt's sudden forced dismissal immediately prior to the release of 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi for the stunning decline in R.E.M.'s songwriting since, unless he was even more valuable to the band than anyone could imagine.
So there you have it. Frankly while I continue to listen to this boring record, my heart is more set on the upcoming Feelies LP because with them, you know what to expect and anything more is a bonus.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
R.E.M. Fables demos, unleashed!
I've probably said it here before, but if not, let me put it out there for once and for all:
My all-time favorite R.E.M. record is 1985's Fables Of The Reconstruction.
Oh, it battled over the years with 1984's Reckoning, 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant, and in more modern times, 1992's Automatic For The People. But unlike those records, something about Fables always drew me back in. Whether it was the oppressively gauzy production, the absolutely beautiful songwriting, the ribbons of melody streaming off the record, it was always there for me. It's a very dark, gloomy record, and it's a stunningly beautiful record. Southern Gothic, yes.
As the band has done over the past two years with 1983's Murmur and the followup Reckoning, the 25th anniversary of this record's release comes this year and with it a deluxe remaster/repackaging of the record. Murmur and Reckoning saw their CD2's filled with live sets, and while there were plenty of good contemporary gig candidates for Fables, the band instead dug deep into the vaults for the recording session arranged in Athens, Georgia just prior to jetting off to London to record with Joe Boyd.
It's been said by the band that Fables was rather underwritten (which I disagree). These demos put lie to this myth - R.E.M. went to London with perhaps their strongest collection of songs to date, needing only minute changes in the studio from what they demoed in Athens, GA prior to leaving.
So while these aren't ripped directly from the record (which isn't released for another week), they are captured from the kcrw.com streaming audio and sound far better than what one would expect from such a thing.
Unlike the final release of these tracks (henceforth called the Athens Demos, as the band has entitled them), this blog's version has them in actual Fables order, with the non-album songs tacked onto the end.
I'll leave it to the listener to decide their favorites, but I will point out a few things that immediately struck me at first listen:
Overall the Athens Demos sound very much like Reckoning in actual sound. The tracks were mostly live in the studio, as was Reckoning. There were minimal overdubs, again like Reckoning. There was little time to mess with the tracks, and the raw recordings really bring out how well written these songs are overall.
FEELING GRAVITYS PULL
I think if you listen really, REALLY carefully to the final album recording, you can hear hints of Bill Berry's manic drum pattern deep in the murk.
MAPS AND LEGENDS
This demo recording puts the emphasis more on melody than the final recording, which emphasizes mood.
DRIVER 8
If Murmur/Reckoning producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon produced the third R.E.M. LP, this is what it would sound like.
LIFE AND HOW TO LIVE IT
The final recording doesn't stray too far from this blueprint, and you still can't completely decipher Michael Stipe.
OLD MAN KENSEY
Nearly interchangeable with the final recording, which makes sense as it had been played live for nearly 8 months before this (along with "Driver 8") and the band had a pretty good handle on where it was going.
CANT GET THERE FROM HERE
Missing the horns that featured on the final recording, still a good blueprint for the album track.
GREEN GROW THE RUSHES
I really like Stipe's "la la la, laaaa" intro melody, I wish he'd kept it for the final recording. Another track which ultimately trades this version's emphasis on melody with the final recording's emphasis on mood.
KOHOUTEK
Perhaps my favorite track of all time on the actual Fables LP, here it sounds strangely denuded. The one case where I prefer the final recording to the demo. I think because Joe Boyd and the band had such terrible times mixing the record, things were tried on this album track that made it work (on the actual record, "Kohoutek"'s drum sound is completely dissimilar to any other song on the record, and is better for it).
AUCTIONEER (ANOTHER ENGINE)
More manic than the final recording. I like the stick clicks continuing during the guitar breaks, which doesn't feature on the final recording.
GOOD ADVICES
A beautiful track either way you shake it, again more of a melodic emphasis here than the moodiness of the final recording. The complete lyric gives lie to the myth that the overall lyrical tone of the final LP, and this song in particular, was influenced by the terrible time the band was having away from home in a miserable London winter (since this recording predates that London trip). Lovely Mike Mills vocal countermelodies that are VERY prominent at 2:38 onwards, missing from the final recording.
WENDELL GEE
One of my favorite tracks ever, this out-beautifuls the final recording (if that's even possible). I suppose they've always been there, but Stipe/Mills/Berry create some absolutely stunning vocal harmonies, and Peter Buck's subdued guitar really keeps the mood throughout the track. Stipe's whistling starting at 1:40 doesn't detract at all, in fact I wish he did this on the final recording!
BANDWAGON
Stipe already sounds bored with the track.
HYENA
Not quite as manic as the 1986 recording with Don Gehman as featured on Lifes Rich Pageant, the extra gestation time gave the band more opportunity to tighten up the track. A better fit on Pageant than would have been on Fables.
THROW THOSE TROLLS AWAY (aka WHEN I WAS YOUNG)
Finally we hear a studio version of the track listed on the inner sleeve tracklisting on Fables, but dropped from the lineup at the last minute and never before heard except at a couple early 1985 gigs (and poorly-bootlegged thereafter). I can see why it was dropped, it's frankly not very good. The lyric was famously recycled and rewritten as the infinitely superior "I Believe" for 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant.
- - - - -
edit: Removed link.
My all-time favorite R.E.M. record is 1985's Fables Of The Reconstruction.
Oh, it battled over the years with 1984's Reckoning, 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant, and in more modern times, 1992's Automatic For The People. But unlike those records, something about Fables always drew me back in. Whether it was the oppressively gauzy production, the absolutely beautiful songwriting, the ribbons of melody streaming off the record, it was always there for me. It's a very dark, gloomy record, and it's a stunningly beautiful record. Southern Gothic, yes.
As the band has done over the past two years with 1983's Murmur and the followup Reckoning, the 25th anniversary of this record's release comes this year and with it a deluxe remaster/repackaging of the record. Murmur and Reckoning saw their CD2's filled with live sets, and while there were plenty of good contemporary gig candidates for Fables, the band instead dug deep into the vaults for the recording session arranged in Athens, Georgia just prior to jetting off to London to record with Joe Boyd.
It's been said by the band that Fables was rather underwritten (which I disagree). These demos put lie to this myth - R.E.M. went to London with perhaps their strongest collection of songs to date, needing only minute changes in the studio from what they demoed in Athens, GA prior to leaving.
So while these aren't ripped directly from the record (which isn't released for another week), they are captured from the kcrw.com streaming audio and sound far better than what one would expect from such a thing.
Unlike the final release of these tracks (henceforth called the Athens Demos, as the band has entitled them), this blog's version has them in actual Fables order, with the non-album songs tacked onto the end.
I'll leave it to the listener to decide their favorites, but I will point out a few things that immediately struck me at first listen:
Overall the Athens Demos sound very much like Reckoning in actual sound. The tracks were mostly live in the studio, as was Reckoning. There were minimal overdubs, again like Reckoning. There was little time to mess with the tracks, and the raw recordings really bring out how well written these songs are overall.
FEELING GRAVITYS PULL
I think if you listen really, REALLY carefully to the final album recording, you can hear hints of Bill Berry's manic drum pattern deep in the murk.
MAPS AND LEGENDS
This demo recording puts the emphasis more on melody than the final recording, which emphasizes mood.
DRIVER 8
If Murmur/Reckoning producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon produced the third R.E.M. LP, this is what it would sound like.
LIFE AND HOW TO LIVE IT
The final recording doesn't stray too far from this blueprint, and you still can't completely decipher Michael Stipe.
OLD MAN KENSEY
Nearly interchangeable with the final recording, which makes sense as it had been played live for nearly 8 months before this (along with "Driver 8") and the band had a pretty good handle on where it was going.
CANT GET THERE FROM HERE
Missing the horns that featured on the final recording, still a good blueprint for the album track.
GREEN GROW THE RUSHES
I really like Stipe's "la la la, laaaa" intro melody, I wish he'd kept it for the final recording. Another track which ultimately trades this version's emphasis on melody with the final recording's emphasis on mood.
KOHOUTEK
Perhaps my favorite track of all time on the actual Fables LP, here it sounds strangely denuded. The one case where I prefer the final recording to the demo. I think because Joe Boyd and the band had such terrible times mixing the record, things were tried on this album track that made it work (on the actual record, "Kohoutek"'s drum sound is completely dissimilar to any other song on the record, and is better for it).
AUCTIONEER (ANOTHER ENGINE)
More manic than the final recording. I like the stick clicks continuing during the guitar breaks, which doesn't feature on the final recording.
GOOD ADVICES
A beautiful track either way you shake it, again more of a melodic emphasis here than the moodiness of the final recording. The complete lyric gives lie to the myth that the overall lyrical tone of the final LP, and this song in particular, was influenced by the terrible time the band was having away from home in a miserable London winter (since this recording predates that London trip). Lovely Mike Mills vocal countermelodies that are VERY prominent at 2:38 onwards, missing from the final recording.
WENDELL GEE
One of my favorite tracks ever, this out-beautifuls the final recording (if that's even possible). I suppose they've always been there, but Stipe/Mills/Berry create some absolutely stunning vocal harmonies, and Peter Buck's subdued guitar really keeps the mood throughout the track. Stipe's whistling starting at 1:40 doesn't detract at all, in fact I wish he did this on the final recording!
BANDWAGON
Stipe already sounds bored with the track.
HYENA
Not quite as manic as the 1986 recording with Don Gehman as featured on Lifes Rich Pageant, the extra gestation time gave the band more opportunity to tighten up the track. A better fit on Pageant than would have been on Fables.
THROW THOSE TROLLS AWAY (aka WHEN I WAS YOUNG)
Finally we hear a studio version of the track listed on the inner sleeve tracklisting on Fables, but dropped from the lineup at the last minute and never before heard except at a couple early 1985 gigs (and poorly-bootlegged thereafter). I can see why it was dropped, it's frankly not very good. The lyric was famously recycled and rewritten as the infinitely superior "I Believe" for 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant.
- - - - -
edit: Removed link.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Like Kohoutek, you were gone.
For various reasons I am compelled to post this track and this lyric today.
"Kohoutek"
from R.E.M.'s 1985 LP Fables Of The Reconstruction
the song is here.
Always one of my favorite R.E.M. tracks, of late - specifically the past 10 days - for various reasons, this track has taken on new meaning to me in all sorts of ways. Some good, some not.
"Kohoutek"
Who will stand alone?
She carried ribbons, she wore them out
Courage built a bridge, jealous tore it down
At least it's something you've left behind
Like Kohoutek, you were gone
We sat in the garden, we stood on the porch
I won't deny myself, we never talked
She wore bangles, she wore bells
On her toes and she jumped like a fish
Like a flyin' fish, you were gone
Like Kohoutek, can't forget that
Fever built a bridge, reason tore it down
If I am one to follow.. who will stand alone?
Maybe you're not the problem
scissors, paper, stone
If you stand and holler, these prayers will talk
She carried ribbons, she wore them out
Michael built a bridge... Michael tore it down
At least it's something you've left behind
Like Kohoutek, you were gone
Michael built a bridge... Michael tore it down
If I stand and holler... will I stand alone?
from R.E.M.'s 1985 LP Fables Of The Reconstruction
the song is here.
Always one of my favorite R.E.M. tracks, of late - specifically the past 10 days - for various reasons, this track has taken on new meaning to me in all sorts of ways. Some good, some not.
Friday, July 3, 2009
R.E.M. "Tourfilm 2.0: The Audio, enhanced"
I just can't help it. The alluring melodies of Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe have been refusing to leave my ears of late. I go through these periods where an artist captivates my entire attention for sometimes weeks on end. I might switch to a different artist for an album or two, just as a mid-session palate cleanser, but I end up coming back to the original artist. And not until the next one dislodges the original artist do I stop.
I happen to be amidst one of these R.E.M. periods - not a bad period to be stuck in, I admit - and keep coming back to their live stuff. Of late I've been watching a lot of their 1990 live video Tourfilm, an exercise in "guerrilla filmmaking" that is so far outside the typical "you saw the gig, now here's the live video" it's an artpiece in itself.
Not only is the video itself great, the performance is spectacular. Coming at the end of 1989's yearlong Green World Tour, the band was as tight as they've ever been, and the songs themselves are fantastic.
Some time back I made my own Enhanced version of the video's audio soundtrack. What was presented on the video aren't all the songs that were released from these same several gigs filmed, there are a couple live tracks that saw release elsewhere but for whatever reason not included on the video. Also, the tracks have been somewhat resequenced on the video - while this video was assembled from five different gigs, the set staples tended to be performed in the same order from night to night, and I was able to resequence the out-of-sequence tracks into what was performed on those particular nights.
Additionally I also tracked separately some of Stipe's intro musical snippets, at least where it made sense to do so. And I also detailed out the two new-at-the-time tracks "Belong" and "Low" - neither of which were listed or mentioned on the video itself, but were indeed filmed and snippets of each included in the video - which would ultimately be recorded the following year for the 1991 album Out Of Time.
So here it is, the Power of Independent Trucking's Tourfilm 2.0 - The Audio, enhanced - enjoy!
As usual, lossless requests will be considered.....
R.E.M.
Tourfilm
Recording dates/locations:
7 November 1989 - Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
8 November 1989 - VA Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia
10 November 1989 - Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
11 November 1989 - Macon County Coliseum, Macon, Georgia
13 November 1989 - L.E.A.F. Benefit, Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
- - -
Original video tracklisting:
Stand / The One I Love / These Days / Turn You Inside-Out / World Leader Pretend / Feeling Gravitys Pull / I Believe / I Remember California / Get Up / It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) / Pop Song 89 / Fall On Me / You Are The Everything / Begin The Begin / King Of Birds / Finest Worksong / Perfect Circle
Not listed on the packaging: Snippets of "Belong" and "Low", the mini intros "We Live As We Dream, Alone" / "Future 40's (String Of Pearls)" / "With The People", and the closing track "Afterhours"
- - -
Tourfilm 2.0 - The Audio, enhanced
01 Stand
02 The One I Love
03 So. Central Rain (detail)
04 Turn You Inside-Out
05 Belong (full version from 10 Nov. 1989)
06 Orange Crush
07 Feeling Gravitys Pull
08 These Days
09 We Live As We Dream, Alone / World Leader Pretend
10 poem ("I'll Believe in Anything When I'm There...")
11 Future 40's (String Of Pearls)
12 I Believe
13 I Remember California
14 Get Up
15 It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
16 Pop Song 89
17 Fall On Me
18 You Are The Everything
19 Begin The Begin
20 With The People
21 King Of Birds
22 Low (detail)
23 Finest Worksong
24 Perfect Circle
25 Afterhours
sources:
Tracks 5 and 6 from the "Radio Song" Collector's Edition CD Single
All the rest from Tourfilm DVD
09 "We Live As We Dream, Alone" intro - Gang of Four
10 "poem" - unknown poet
11 "Future 40's (String Of Pearls)" - Syd Straw and Michael Stipe
20 "With The People" - Kevn Kinney
Sequencing assistance: The R.E.M. Timeline
Oh, you want the music?
Part I
Part II
(two RAR files, as usual, you gotta grab 'em both!)
I happen to be amidst one of these R.E.M. periods - not a bad period to be stuck in, I admit - and keep coming back to their live stuff. Of late I've been watching a lot of their 1990 live video Tourfilm, an exercise in "guerrilla filmmaking" that is so far outside the typical "you saw the gig, now here's the live video" it's an artpiece in itself.
Not only is the video itself great, the performance is spectacular. Coming at the end of 1989's yearlong Green World Tour, the band was as tight as they've ever been, and the songs themselves are fantastic.
Some time back I made my own Enhanced version of the video's audio soundtrack. What was presented on the video aren't all the songs that were released from these same several gigs filmed, there are a couple live tracks that saw release elsewhere but for whatever reason not included on the video. Also, the tracks have been somewhat resequenced on the video - while this video was assembled from five different gigs, the set staples tended to be performed in the same order from night to night, and I was able to resequence the out-of-sequence tracks into what was performed on those particular nights.
Additionally I also tracked separately some of Stipe's intro musical snippets, at least where it made sense to do so. And I also detailed out the two new-at-the-time tracks "Belong" and "Low" - neither of which were listed or mentioned on the video itself, but were indeed filmed and snippets of each included in the video - which would ultimately be recorded the following year for the 1991 album Out Of Time.
So here it is, the Power of Independent Trucking's Tourfilm 2.0 - The Audio, enhanced - enjoy!
As usual, lossless requests will be considered.....
R.E.M.
Tourfilm
Recording dates/locations:
7 November 1989 - Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
8 November 1989 - VA Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia
10 November 1989 - Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
11 November 1989 - Macon County Coliseum, Macon, Georgia
13 November 1989 - L.E.A.F. Benefit, Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
- - -
Original video tracklisting:
Stand / The One I Love / These Days / Turn You Inside-Out / World Leader Pretend / Feeling Gravitys Pull / I Believe / I Remember California / Get Up / It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) / Pop Song 89 / Fall On Me / You Are The Everything / Begin The Begin / King Of Birds / Finest Worksong / Perfect Circle
Not listed on the packaging: Snippets of "Belong" and "Low", the mini intros "We Live As We Dream, Alone" / "Future 40's (String Of Pearls)" / "With The People", and the closing track "Afterhours"
- - -
Tourfilm 2.0 - The Audio, enhanced
01 Stand
02 The One I Love
03 So. Central Rain (detail)
04 Turn You Inside-Out
05 Belong (full version from 10 Nov. 1989)
06 Orange Crush
07 Feeling Gravitys Pull
08 These Days
09 We Live As We Dream, Alone / World Leader Pretend
10 poem ("I'll Believe in Anything When I'm There...")
11 Future 40's (String Of Pearls)
12 I Believe
13 I Remember California
14 Get Up
15 It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
16 Pop Song 89
17 Fall On Me
18 You Are The Everything
19 Begin The Begin
20 With The People
21 King Of Birds
22 Low (detail)
23 Finest Worksong
24 Perfect Circle
25 Afterhours
sources:
Tracks 5 and 6 from the "Radio Song" Collector's Edition CD Single
All the rest from Tourfilm DVD
09 "We Live As We Dream, Alone" intro - Gang of Four
10 "poem" - unknown poet
11 "Future 40's (String Of Pearls)" - Syd Straw and Michael Stipe
20 "With The People" - Kevn Kinney
Sequencing assistance: The R.E.M. Timeline
Oh, you want the music?
Part I
Part II
(two RAR files, as usual, you gotta grab 'em both!)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
time of outtakes: R.E.M. 1990 demos
Apologies, if you're not into it, for the heavy R.E.M. content of late on the PoIT. Try as I might, R.E.M. is one of those bands your humble blogger keeps coming back to, being one of the touchstones of his music history/collection.
Hope everyone enjoyed the 1983 Larry's Hideaway set - it was a great choice for the live set to complement the album itself for the Murmur Deluxe Edition, regardless of how it was presented on the release.
Moving 7 years forward, 1990 saw the band regrouping from an exhausting year's worth of global touring, in support of 1988's Green LP (their Warner Bros. debut). Having planned an extensive rest period following the tour's end in November 1989, instead January 1990 found the three musicians regrouping in their Athens, GA rehearsal space and starting the songwriting cycle up afresh. As Peter Buck said, "it's what we do".
Heartily sick of their traditional instruments after 10 years of almost exclusively playing them night after night, the three musicians decided to try out those instruments they'd be staring at over the top of their own, night after night. So instead of Peter Buck sticking exclusively to guitars, Bill Berry drums, and Mike Mills bass, they'd often end up in odd permutations such as Berry on bass, Mills on organ and Buck on drums. And vice versa. As time wore on, they'd often migrate back to their traditional roles, but in the end, when Mills played bass on the resulting recording sessions for the LP, he would more often than not be playing bass lines originated by Berry (or Buck).
Now and then, the band would enter John Keane's studio in Athens to demo the tracks they'd been working on, with singer Michael Stipe taking this opportunity to try out his planned vocals, or just wordlessly wail along to give a melody idea while he wrote the lyrics. Usually these recordings just stayed demos, but now and then, they'd come up with a recording so good it'd end up on the resulting LP, nearly untouched ("Country Feedback"). Other times, they'd keep the backing tracks as recorded for the demo, and finish it up later in the "real" studio when recording the rest of the LP ("Endgame").
R.E.M. often had a problem with keeping their demos under wraps. Demos for every record between 1981 and 1990, barring 1985's demo session with Joe Boyd prior to recording Fables of the Reconstruction, have leaked out of their clutches. No different is this set of demos, essaying songs written for the 1991 LP Out Of Time.
These songs have been available in various permutations over the years, all unofficially. Some sources are better sound quality than others, and some sources more complete than others. The best source, quality-wise, happens to be a bootleg CD entitled Time of Outtakes, from which I've drawn the majority of the material presented here.
However, rather than just rip the CD, I've decided to reassemble the tracks in the order the resulting LP used, which makes it much more of an interesting listen. You hear mostly (musically) fully-realized tracks, with either Stipe's guide vocals on top, in varying states of completion ("Losing My Religion" is nearly complete, for example, while "Me In Honey" is just wordless wailing to the melody line). Other tracks such as "Texarkana" are unique to this release - in this case, "Texarkana" features Stipe's original lyrics and singing, while the LP version famously is all Mike Mills and entirely different lyrics.
Additionally, there were another eight or so tracks not released on the resulting LP, which I've sequenced to follow the album tracklisting. We have the second, electric version of "Radio Song" which more resembles the final album version than the first-demoed acoustic variant, and we have tracks such as "Forty Second Song" which did end up seeing release - this very recording of it - as B-sides, et cetera. In actuality, "Forty Second Song" presented here is actually taken from the "Shiny Happy People" CD single, hence its quality being crystalline - as opposed to the nearly-crystalline quality of the rest of the tracks.
So enjoy!
- - - - -
R.E.M.
Out Of Time demo recordings / outtakes
John Keane Studios, Athens, GA 1990
01 Radio Song (soft)
02 Losing My Religion
03 Low
04 Near Wild Heaven
05 Endgame
06 Shiny Happy People
07 Belong
08 Half A World Away
09 Texarkana
10 Country Feedback
11 Me In Honey
- - - end LP tracklisting - - -
12 Forty Second Song
13 Radio Song (hard)
14 Fretless (instrumental)
15 It's A Free World, Baby
16 Here I Am Again (Kerouac No. 4)
17 Night Swim
18 Speed Metal
19 Sugar Cane
Of these recordings, three were released officially:
-- "Country Feedback" on the album, with only a single word re-recorded, as far as I can tell
-- "Low" in 2005 as a B-side to "Wanderlust", however the quality is much worse than this!
-- "Forty Second Song" as a B-side to "Shiny Happy People" in 1991
The following tracks saw re-recorded versions released:
-- "Fretless" with lyrics partially drawn from "Here I Am Again", on 1991's Until The End Of The World soundtrack
-- "It's A Free World, Baby" on 1993's Coneheads soundtrack
-- "Here I Am Again" as an instrumental, recorded by Mike Mills in a Minneapolis basilica, retitled "Organ Song" and released as a B-side to "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" in 1993
-- "Sugar Cane" as an instrumental, retitled "Mandolin Strum", released as a B-side to "Everybody Hurts" in 1993
grab 'em below, two RAR files you need to download:
Part I
Part II
Hope everyone enjoyed the 1983 Larry's Hideaway set - it was a great choice for the live set to complement the album itself for the Murmur Deluxe Edition, regardless of how it was presented on the release.
Moving 7 years forward, 1990 saw the band regrouping from an exhausting year's worth of global touring, in support of 1988's Green LP (their Warner Bros. debut). Having planned an extensive rest period following the tour's end in November 1989, instead January 1990 found the three musicians regrouping in their Athens, GA rehearsal space and starting the songwriting cycle up afresh. As Peter Buck said, "it's what we do".
Heartily sick of their traditional instruments after 10 years of almost exclusively playing them night after night, the three musicians decided to try out those instruments they'd be staring at over the top of their own, night after night. So instead of Peter Buck sticking exclusively to guitars, Bill Berry drums, and Mike Mills bass, they'd often end up in odd permutations such as Berry on bass, Mills on organ and Buck on drums. And vice versa. As time wore on, they'd often migrate back to their traditional roles, but in the end, when Mills played bass on the resulting recording sessions for the LP, he would more often than not be playing bass lines originated by Berry (or Buck).
Now and then, the band would enter John Keane's studio in Athens to demo the tracks they'd been working on, with singer Michael Stipe taking this opportunity to try out his planned vocals, or just wordlessly wail along to give a melody idea while he wrote the lyrics. Usually these recordings just stayed demos, but now and then, they'd come up with a recording so good it'd end up on the resulting LP, nearly untouched ("Country Feedback"). Other times, they'd keep the backing tracks as recorded for the demo, and finish it up later in the "real" studio when recording the rest of the LP ("Endgame").
R.E.M. often had a problem with keeping their demos under wraps. Demos for every record between 1981 and 1990, barring 1985's demo session with Joe Boyd prior to recording Fables of the Reconstruction, have leaked out of their clutches. No different is this set of demos, essaying songs written for the 1991 LP Out Of Time.
These songs have been available in various permutations over the years, all unofficially. Some sources are better sound quality than others, and some sources more complete than others. The best source, quality-wise, happens to be a bootleg CD entitled Time of Outtakes, from which I've drawn the majority of the material presented here.
However, rather than just rip the CD, I've decided to reassemble the tracks in the order the resulting LP used, which makes it much more of an interesting listen. You hear mostly (musically) fully-realized tracks, with either Stipe's guide vocals on top, in varying states of completion ("Losing My Religion" is nearly complete, for example, while "Me In Honey" is just wordless wailing to the melody line). Other tracks such as "Texarkana" are unique to this release - in this case, "Texarkana" features Stipe's original lyrics and singing, while the LP version famously is all Mike Mills and entirely different lyrics.
Additionally, there were another eight or so tracks not released on the resulting LP, which I've sequenced to follow the album tracklisting. We have the second, electric version of "Radio Song" which more resembles the final album version than the first-demoed acoustic variant, and we have tracks such as "Forty Second Song" which did end up seeing release - this very recording of it - as B-sides, et cetera. In actuality, "Forty Second Song" presented here is actually taken from the "Shiny Happy People" CD single, hence its quality being crystalline - as opposed to the nearly-crystalline quality of the rest of the tracks.
So enjoy!
- - - - -
R.E.M.
Out Of Time demo recordings / outtakes
John Keane Studios, Athens, GA 1990
01 Radio Song (soft)
02 Losing My Religion
03 Low
04 Near Wild Heaven
05 Endgame
06 Shiny Happy People
07 Belong
08 Half A World Away
09 Texarkana
10 Country Feedback
11 Me In Honey
- - - end LP tracklisting - - -
12 Forty Second Song
13 Radio Song (hard)
14 Fretless (instrumental)
15 It's A Free World, Baby
16 Here I Am Again (Kerouac No. 4)
17 Night Swim
18 Speed Metal
19 Sugar Cane
Of these recordings, three were released officially:
-- "Country Feedback" on the album, with only a single word re-recorded, as far as I can tell
-- "Low" in 2005 as a B-side to "Wanderlust", however the quality is much worse than this!
-- "Forty Second Song" as a B-side to "Shiny Happy People" in 1991
The following tracks saw re-recorded versions released:
-- "Fretless" with lyrics partially drawn from "Here I Am Again", on 1991's Until The End Of The World soundtrack
-- "It's A Free World, Baby" on 1993's Coneheads soundtrack
-- "Here I Am Again" as an instrumental, recorded by Mike Mills in a Minneapolis basilica, retitled "Organ Song" and released as a B-side to "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" in 1993
-- "Sugar Cane" as an instrumental, retitled "Mandolin Strum", released as a B-side to "Everybody Hurts" in 1993
grab 'em below, two RAR files you need to download:
Part I
Part II
Sunday, June 21, 2009
R.E.M. 9 July 1983 Larry's Hideaway - lossless
Nothing "new" this week as people are still enjoying the recent New Order / Joy Division materials and I don't want to overload the teeming millions with legendary, quality stuff (not to say I have anything further of the sort)...
But as promised, here's the complete, remastered R.E.M. 9 July 1983 gig originally discussed here on this very same blog (but as mp3), as lossless FLAC this time.
Are you listening, R.E.M./Athens LLC (and Capitol/EMI)? You can swap out CD2 from the Murmur reissue with this and make everyone happy!
And pigs will fly.
Enjoy....
R.E.M.
9 July 1983
Larry's Hideaway
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DEFINITIVE EDITION - LOSSLESS FLAC FORMAT
(flac.sourceforge.net)
Reassembled and Remastered from two sources:
1) Rising bootleg silver CD
2) 2nd CD in Murmur Deluxe Edition
Includes songs not broadcast on Toronto radio, and not included on the Murmurs reissue!
01 Wolves, Lower
02 Moral Kiosk
03 Laughing
04 Pilgrimage
05 Moon River
06 There She Goes Again
07 Seven Chinese Brothers
08 Talk About The Passion
09 Sitting Still
10 Harborcoat
11 Catapult
12 Pretty Persuasion
13 Gardening At Night
14 9-9
15 Just A Touch
16 West Of The Fields
17 Radio Free Europe
18 We Walk
19 1,000,000
20 Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)
Tracks 1/2/5/12 were not included on the "official" version.
Grab all 5 parts - it's a must!
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
And Track 17 by itself - if you get a message that Track 17 in the above RAR files is corrupt, download this. Should verify just fine with the .md5 signature included in the RAR files....
But as promised, here's the complete, remastered R.E.M. 9 July 1983 gig originally discussed here on this very same blog (but as mp3), as lossless FLAC this time.
Are you listening, R.E.M./Athens LLC (and Capitol/EMI)? You can swap out CD2 from the Murmur reissue with this and make everyone happy!
And pigs will fly.
Enjoy....
R.E.M.
9 July 1983
Larry's Hideaway
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DEFINITIVE EDITION - LOSSLESS FLAC FORMAT
(flac.sourceforge.net)
Reassembled and Remastered from two sources:
1) Rising bootleg silver CD
2) 2nd CD in Murmur Deluxe Edition
Includes songs not broadcast on Toronto radio, and not included on the Murmurs reissue!
01 Wolves, Lower
02 Moral Kiosk
03 Laughing
04 Pilgrimage
05 Moon River
06 There She Goes Again
07 Seven Chinese Brothers
08 Talk About The Passion
09 Sitting Still
10 Harborcoat
11 Catapult
12 Pretty Persuasion
13 Gardening At Night
14 9-9
15 Just A Touch
16 West Of The Fields
17 Radio Free Europe
18 We Walk
19 1,000,000
20 Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)
Tracks 1/2/5/12 were not included on the "official" version.
Grab all 5 parts - it's a must!
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
And Track 17 by itself - if you get a message that Track 17 in the above RAR files is corrupt, download this. Should verify just fine with the .md5 signature included in the RAR files....
Sunday, May 31, 2009
R.E.M. 9 July 1983 Larry's Hideaway, Toronto mp3
It's funny, one of my all-time favorite acts is R.E.M. yet I've done nowt but post one track of theirs, in the second-ever post on this here blog. And it's been removed.
Last year saw their classic debut LP Murmur reissued/repackaged/remastered, as a deluxe 2 CD package with the second CD featuring their 9 July 1983 gig at Larry's Hideaway, Toronto, Ontario. While a good gig, the released variant was missing several tracks and was a Loudness War victim - though not as bad as it could have been.
Funnily enough, this gig existed as a bootleg CD entitled RISING that has as good, if not better, overall sound than the released variant. However, this version was glitchy in places, with skips and dropouts that the "official" variant did not suffer from. So, as a challenge, I used bits and bobs of each source together to make the definitive Larry's Hideaway CD - and I think you'll love it. You'll never spot the patches - I guarantee it. Listen through entirely and you'll never, ever know this is a composite production, and you'll never, ever realize that I patched at least a dozen fairly significant glitches. Now if only Capitol (I.R.S.) would release this - I'd be glad to give 'em my 32-bit work project ;)
So without further ado, please enjoy!
R.E.M.
9 July 1983
Larry's Hideaway
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DEFINITIVE EDITION - MP3 format
Reassembled and Remastered from two sources:
1) Rising bootleg silver CD
2) 2nd CD in Murmur Deluxe Edition
01 Wolves, Lower
02 Moral Kiosk
03 Laughing
04 Pilgrimage
05 Moon River
06 There She Goes Again
07 Seven Chinese Brothers
08 Talk About The Passion
09 Sitting Still
10 Harborcoat
11 Catapult
12 Pretty Persuasion
13 Gardening At Night
14 9-9
15 Just A Touch
16 West Of The Fields
17 Radio Free Europe
18 We Walk
19 1,000,000
20 Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)
Tracks 1/2/5/12 were not included on the "official" version.
IMHO this version stomps all over the released version, kicks it to the curb, and plants a flag on it. It's that good. Just drop a comment if you want this lossless....
(edit: Lossless version posted today - grab it!)
Part I
Part II
(need to grab both parts, as usual)
Last year saw their classic debut LP Murmur reissued/repackaged/remastered, as a deluxe 2 CD package with the second CD featuring their 9 July 1983 gig at Larry's Hideaway, Toronto, Ontario. While a good gig, the released variant was missing several tracks and was a Loudness War victim - though not as bad as it could have been.
Funnily enough, this gig existed as a bootleg CD entitled RISING that has as good, if not better, overall sound than the released variant. However, this version was glitchy in places, with skips and dropouts that the "official" variant did not suffer from. So, as a challenge, I used bits and bobs of each source together to make the definitive Larry's Hideaway CD - and I think you'll love it. You'll never spot the patches - I guarantee it. Listen through entirely and you'll never, ever know this is a composite production, and you'll never, ever realize that I patched at least a dozen fairly significant glitches. Now if only Capitol (I.R.S.) would release this - I'd be glad to give 'em my 32-bit work project ;)
So without further ado, please enjoy!
R.E.M.
9 July 1983
Larry's Hideaway
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DEFINITIVE EDITION - MP3 format
Reassembled and Remastered from two sources:
1) Rising bootleg silver CD
2) 2nd CD in Murmur Deluxe Edition
01 Wolves, Lower
02 Moral Kiosk
03 Laughing
04 Pilgrimage
05 Moon River
06 There She Goes Again
07 Seven Chinese Brothers
08 Talk About The Passion
09 Sitting Still
10 Harborcoat
11 Catapult
12 Pretty Persuasion
13 Gardening At Night
14 9-9
15 Just A Touch
16 West Of The Fields
17 Radio Free Europe
18 We Walk
19 1,000,000
20 Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)
Tracks 1/2/5/12 were not included on the "official" version.
IMHO this version stomps all over the released version, kicks it to the curb, and plants a flag on it. It's that good. Just drop a comment if you want this lossless....
(edit: Lossless version posted today - grab it!)
Part I
Part II
(need to grab both parts, as usual)
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
home, and the idea of missing it...
So it's Christmas Eve, my daughter's playing in her bouncer behind me, and I'm really bummed that I can't be home with my parents (her grandparents), my gram (her great-gram), my sister and brother, and other assorted family creatures and friends etc.... We are spending it with my in-laws, who see my daughter almost weekly as it is. Not fair but that's what we get when my family is 600 miles away in one direction, with another faction of my family 500 miles the other way.
So here's two songs about home, missing it, a sense that I'm not there and it being a long way away.
R.E.M. - Good Advices
(from the classic 1985 IRS LP Fables Of The Reconstruction)
-------------------------------------------------
RIDE - OX4
(edited by me, from the 1992 Creation LP Going Blank Again)
So here's two songs about home, missing it, a sense that I'm not there and it being a long way away.
R.E.M. - Good Advices
(from the classic 1985 IRS LP Fables Of The Reconstruction)
-------------------------------------------------
RIDE - OX4
(edited by me, from the 1992 Creation LP Going Blank Again)
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