Favorites, Collected
One of my fave groups ever. They got me through the '80s and a good chunk of the '90s. i remember hearing "So. Central Rain" at the Enlisted Club in Stuttgart way back when in '83. It was on the jukebox and my buddy used to play the b-side cover of Roger Miller's "King of the Road" near closing time. Their output since Bill Berry left after that ill-fated European tour (a brain aneurysm will do that to you) has been less than fullfilling, though "Bad Day" off the WB best-of package was a flash of brilliance. Word has it that they are thinking of actually hiring a full-time drummer again. In the meantime, we will always have our memories, meloncholy though they may be...
R.E.M. CD AND DVD RETROSPECTIVE DUE OUT TODAY
"Today is the release date for R.E.M.'s retrospective CD and DVD compilations. And I Feel Fine...The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 will be available in 2 formats: a 21-track single-disc collection of hits and band & fan favorites and a 2-CD Collector's Edition with a second 21-track disc of rarities including alternate takes, demos, previously unreleased songs, mixes, and live recordings of classic R.E.M.
"When the Light Is Mine The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 Video Collection, includes the music videos from Chronic Town through Document, as well as live television performances from the Cutting Edge, The Tube and the Old Grey Whistle Test, and James Herbert's short film, Left of Reckoning. DVD extras feature early interviews and rare acoustic performances.
"R.E.M.'s Manager, Bertis Downs, gave his impression of the CDs and DVD in a recent posting on remhq.com:
' "We're particularly pleased with how the "bonus" disc turned out with various band favorites, live tracks, outtakes, and other rarities, not to mention the DVD with its feast of obscurities and little seen videos from another era..."'
And I Feel Fine...The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 (CD)
1. Begin the Begin
2. Radio Free Europe
3. Pretty Persuasion
4. Talk About the Passion
5. (don't go back to) Rockville
6. Sitting Still
7. Gardening at Night
8. 7 Chinese Bros.
9. So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
10. Driver 8
11. Can't Get There From Here
12. Finest Worksong
13. Feeling Gravitys Pull
14. I Believe
15. Life and How To Live It
16. Cuyahoga
17. The One I Love
18. Welcome To the Occupation
19. Fall On Me
20. Perfect Circle
21. It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Collectors' Edition (2-CDs)
(Contains Disc 1 + Rarities Disc)
1. Pilgrimage (Mike's pick)
2. These Days (Bill's pick)
3. Gardening at Night (slower electric demo; previously unreleased)
4. Radio Free Europe (Hib-tone version)
5. Sitting Still (Hib-tone version)
6. Life and How to Live It (Live at the Muziekcentrum, Utrecht, Holland 9/14/87; previously unreleased)
7. Ages of You (Live at the Paradise, Boston 7/13/83; previously unreleased)
8. We Walk (Live at the Paradise, Boston 7/13/83; previously unreleased)
9. 1,000,000 (Live at the Paradise, Boston 7/13/83; previously unreleased)
10.Finest Worksong (other mix)
11.Hyena (demo; previously unreleased)
12.Theme From Two Steps Onward (previously unreleased)
13.Superman
14.All the Right Friends (previously unreleased)
15.Mystery to Me (demo; previously unreleased)
16.Just A Touch (live in-studio version; previously unreleased)
17.Bad Day (session outtake; previously unreleased)
18.King of Birds (last song cut from the Best Of...)
19.Swan Swan H (live, acoustic from Athens,GA-Inside/Out)
20.Disturbance at the Heron House (Peter's pick)
21.Time After Time (annElise) (Michael's pick)
When The Light Is Mine: The Best Of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 Video Collection (DVD)
1. Wolves, Lower
2. Radio Free Europe
3. Talk About the Passion
4. Radio Free Europe (Live, The Tube, 11/18/83)
5. Talk About the Passion (Live, The Tube, 11/18/83)
6. So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
7. James Herbert's "Left of Reckoning" (20-minute film)
8. Pretty Persuasion (Live, The Old Grey Whistle Test, 11/20/84)
9. Can't Get There From Here
10.Driver 8
11.Life and How To Live It
12.Feeling Gravitys Pull
13.Can't Get There From Here (Live, The Tube, 10/25/85)
14.Fall On Me
15.Swan Swan H (Athens, GA-Inside/Out)
16.The One I Love
17.It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
18.Finest Worksong
DVD extras include rare interview footage and acoustic performances.
"So.Central Rain" still makes me cry.
"Did you never call? i waited for your call...
....i'm sor-ry........i'm sorrr-rrryy......"