On October 27th, R.E.M. will release R.E.M. LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA, a two-CD set featuring 39 songs from the band's acclaimed 2007 working rehearsals in Dublin, Ireland. 

"Live At The Olympia" ventures back to the first week in July 2007, when R.E.M. set up camp at the venerable Olympia Theatre in Ireland's capital city and tested new material over five nights before fired-up, capacity crowds comprised of fan club members, friends, family, and fans from all over the world who were party to R.E.M.'s so-called "experiment in terror."  "We were just trying to do something we hadn't done before," said guitarist Peter Buck, "which meant there was no relaxing during the set. Every second we were playing something we didn't know all that well. Which was kind of good... there were all kinds of terror elements going on during that show."

The music on "Live At The Olympia" was produced by Dublin native Jacknife Lee who, along with R.E.M., co-produced the band's 14th studio album, ACCELERATE, which subsequently shot straight to number one in nine countries.  Many of the eleven songs on ACCELERATE appeared in some form or fashion at the Dublin rehearsals, and R.E.M. LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA is an opportunity for fans to hear and experience those songs at one of the earliest stages in the developmental process.

In addition to the new material, the band also served up twenty-nine other songs, many of them rarely if ever played, culled mainly from the band's storied IRS years, ranging from the 1982 e.p. Chronic Town to 1983's Murmur up through 1988's Document.  

A special edition 2 CD & DVD set will contain a film of the Dublin shows by Vincent Moon and Jeremiah, who previously worked with R.E.M. on Ninetynights, Six Days, and the video for Supernatural Superserious.  For more on the forthcoming release, fans should be sure to visit remdublin.com where audio for "Driver 8" is currently streaming.

For a non-touring/non-recording summer, things are somewhat lively at HQ, with the RECKONING 25th DELUXE EDITION re-issue, the RECKONING SONGS FROM THE OLYMPIA Digital EP and the upcoming LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA Double Live Record coming in October keeping us busy and on our toes.

RECKONING was a wonderful record at the time (yep, 25 years ago says the calendar) and the songs have surely stood the test of time, with the most recent R.E.M. tour including 8 of its tracks at some point or another.  So we decided to put out a little taste of what is to come with the OLYMPIA album by releasing 4 of the 6 RECKONING songs playing the band during the 5 night residency (mainly because they sound so good we wanted people to hear them sooner than later).  We are hearing good reaction from iTunes and other digital services worldwide, and it is cool to hear recent versions of beloved songs like Pretty Persuasion and the rarely-played Letter Never Sent. A recent review that captured it pretty well is from a site called Consequences of Sound, and another on No Ripcord. You might have already seen the stellar reviews the Deluxe Edition garnered in Pitchfork and Pop Matters.

The bonus record comprising the band's 1984 show at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago is receiving a lot of attention-- it has always been one of the most heralded bootlegs among those who know, and thanks to the gracious generosity of the good people at WXRT , we were able to include it in this special package.

We also have streamed Harborcoat on REMHQ and some film footage that has surfaced of several of the RECKONING songs (continuing on the theme). These scenes from Dublin were shot by the estimable Vincent Moon, and his colleague Jeremiah, of Takeaway Shows , Supernatural Superserious, and Ninety Nights fame (not to mention all their other amazing work with everyone from the National to Arcade Fire and the Shins, et al). One other interesting link to pass along on all things Olympia is the little poll on the indespensible Murmurs.com. There are certainly lots of songs to choose from over the course of the five-night stand, and of course like most things, everyone has an opinion-- so weigh in over at Murmurs.  And for further news on LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA, return to REMDublin.com which has been revived for its third incarnation as chronicler of all things R.E.M., Dublin and the Olympia shows (and now record).

This time last year we were in Dresden by the river-- and seeing art and enjoying that city's amazing urban life.  This year, a little slower pace in the world of R.E.M., but with the upcoming record, there will be some good times ahead.  And the demos the guys did a few weeks ago will once again turn into some special songs-- just a guess (but there is precedent).

Happy Summer-- it's going fast!

- Bertis

p.s.  I am not going to be in London this weekend or Minneapolis next week, but if I was I would be going to see these guys:

Robyn Hitchcock and other luminaries coordinated by Joe Boyd in a celebration of English folk music:
and
Christopher O'Riley plays an eclectic program of Radiohead, Elliott Smith and R.E.M.

On July 7th, look for Reckoning Songs From The Olympia, a 4-song digital ep, available for download at iTunes and other online outlets.  The Live release, which comes quickly on the heels of the Reckoning Deluxe Edition (released June 23rd), includes "Harborcoat," "Letter Never Sent," "Second Guessing," and "Pretty Persuasion," from the band's Working Rehearsals at Dublin's Olympia Theatre in July 2007.  "Reckoning Songs From The Olympia," will give fans a preview of R.E.M. LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA, a two CD-set scheduled for a Fall release.

On June 23, 2009, Universal Music will release Reckoning - Deluxe Edition (I.R.S./A&M/UMe), a two-CD set, featuring the original album remastered, plus a bonus disc of a previously unreleased concert recorded during the band’s "Little America" tour at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom on July 7, 1984 (broadcast on WXRT)  (see the clip just below the news from 6-9-84 for a glimpse of R.E.M. Live circa Reckoning).  In addition, Reckoning and R.E.M’s 1983 debut album Murmur will be simultaneously reissued on audiophile quality 180 gram vinyl in their complete original packaging.

On the Deluxe Edition’s bonus disc, the band performs eight of Reckoning’s ten songs at the Aragon as well as “Gardening At Night” from 1982’s Chronic Town EP and “Radio Free Europe,” “9-9” and “Sitting Still” from Murmur.  The band also plays two new songs that had yet to make it onto tape: “Driver 8” which would later appear on Fables of the Reconstruction and “Hyena," later on 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant.

According to the press release for the reissue, "Inclusion of the live concert is particularly appropriate for the Reckoning - Deluxe Edition.  Whereas Murmur had been complex and painstakingly deliberate, the band’s Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, along with producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, saw Reckoning as a "chance to turn up the volume, tear up the rule book, and capture instead R.E.M.’s on-stage mojo."

Liner notes for the Deluxe Edition are by Tony Fletcher, author of Remarks:  The Story of R.E.M.

Reckoning peaked on the charts at #27, nine spots higher than Murmur (Rolling Stone’s 1983 "Album of the Year") and was eventually certified gold.

Stay tuned for information on how you can pre-order your copy of the Deluxe Edition.

On November 25, 2008, the two-CD 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Murmur will be available at Available at Amazon.. The two-CD set features R.E.M.'s debut album, remastered, plus an additional disc with a previously unreleased concert recorded at Larry's Hideaway in Toronto, three months after Murmur's April 1983 release.

The 16-song live performance boasts nine of Murmur's 12 songs, including "Radio Free Europe," three songs from the Chronic Town EP, early renditions of "7 Chinese Bros." and "Harborcoat," as well as "Just A Touch," eventually a track included on R.E.M.'s fourth album, 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant. The live set also features a cover of the Velvet Underground's "There She Goes Again," which R.E.M. recorded in the studio for the b-side of "Radio Free Europe."

Exclusive essays by producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, as well as former I.R.S. executives Jay Boberg, Sig Sigworth, Carlos Grasso round out the deluxe edition.


Murmur (Deluxe Edition) Tracklisting:

Disc 1:

01 Radio Free Europe
02 Pilgrimage
03 Laughing
04 Talk About the Passion
05 Moral Kiosk
06 Perfect Circle
07 Catapult
08 Sitting Still
09 9-9
10 Shaking Through
11 We Walk
12 West of the Fields

Disc 2 (Live at Larry's Hideaway):

01 Laughing
02 Pilgrimage
03 There She Goes Again
04 7 Chinese Bros.
05 Talk About the Passion
06 Sitting Still
07 Harborcoat
08 Catapult
09 Gardening at Night
10 9-9
11 Just a Touch
12 West of the Fields
13 Radio Free Europe
14 We Walk
15 1,000,000
16 Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)