R.E.M. - Remastered Warner Brothers collection
It was only a matter of time until R.E.M. would feel the need to update their catalog. The outcome: the band has remastered their entire Warner Brothers catalog. Each album comes with in a handy two disc set, a remastered CD that you can play in your car, and a DVD of the same songs with digital surround sound capability. I was able to get my hands on Green, Up and the Greatest Hits album from 2003.
The remastering is impressive. Green sounds unbelievable and brings out the intricacies in songs like “You Are The Everything” and “World Leader Pretend.” The bonus footage on the DVD includes an interview of the boys discussing the album as well as justifying their decision to move from IRS records. In the interview, Mike Mills seemed uncomfortable about talking about leaving IRS but Bill Berry does his best to guarantee the fans of R.E.M. that WB did indeed have the band’s best intentions at heart. That interview alone should make the cost of the disc worth purchasing. The DVD also includes the video for “Orange Crush” as well as two live performances from “Tour Film” including a great performance of “Inside Out.”
Up also sounds absolutely wonderful. The DVD extras are minimal, with the band performing a few of the album’s songs in what appears to be a rehearsal for their concert tour. However, to hear “Sad Professor” and “At My Most Beautiful” in a remastered format makes this disc a gem. Maybe I’m a bit biased because this is my favorite R.E.M. album right behind Life’s Rich Pageant (now, if we could convince IRS to remaster that album, I’d be extremely giddy).
The Greatest Hits disc is probably the disc I would least recommend to people to purchase. It does not contain the added disc of outtakes such as “It’s a Free World Baby” and “Star Me Kitten” read by William S. Burroughs. But the DVD does contain the video for “Bad Day” which is humorous and classic Stipe shtick. Also included in the DVD is the band rehearsing “Bad Day.” The rehearsal allows the viewer to watch the rehearsal from four different angles. The only angle worth looking at is Michael, since Peter Buck does his best imitation of a mannequin while playing the guitar and Mike Mills also looks a bit uninterested. Michael also brings out the harmonica on the track, a detail not included in the final release of the album.
The DVDs include a few added goodies but I must confess that the said goodies are scant. Based on the press release for the discs I didn’t score for my collection, each DVD contains either some kind of documentary/interview film or some variation of live performances or remixed video. The band couldn’t simply stockpile the DVDs with a ton of material: they already have ample DVDs with all of their indie-art videos and concert footage (all sold separately). However, if you’re an audiophile and an R.E.M. fan, this is a must for your collection.
