Hear R.E.M. Perform ‘Radio Song’ Live at the BBC (EXCLUSIVE)
By Jem Aswad
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – As a group full of music geeks, R.E.M. understood the influence and importance of BBC sessions, and the group recorded many of them over the course of their 31-year career.
After decades of bootleg cassettes and CDs and downloads and streams, the group’s BBC oeuvre will soon be available as a super-deluxe edition 8-CD/1-DVD “R.E.M. at the BBC” box set including dozens of rare and unreleased live and studio recordings, as well as “The Best of R.E.M. at the BBC” in 2-CD, 2-LP and digital formats. The albums are out on Craft Recordings on Oct. 19.
Variety is pleased to present an exclusive preview of the set, a performance of “Radio Song,” fittingly enough, from a 1991 session.
In-studio performances featured on the boxed set include a John Peel Session (1998), “Drivetime” and “Mark and Lard” appearances (2003) and a Radio 1 “Live Lounge” performance (2008). Live broadcasts include a raucous show from Nottingham’s Rock City (1984), the the band’s 1995 set at Milton Keynes Bowl, a 1999 Glastonbury headlining performance and an invitation-only 2004 show at London’s St James’s Church.
The DVD kicks off with an hour-long retrospective on the band’s performances at the BBC, along with interviews with all four band members. It also offers a complete 1998 “Later….With Jools Holland” episode dedicated to the band, plus TV appearances on “Top of the Pops” and more.
The full track listings appear below.
R.E.M. at the BBC (8-CD/1-DVD) Track Listing:
Note, the digital album mirrors discs 1 – 8.
Disc 1 (64:17) – Sessions
Into The Night, BBC Radio 1, 13 March 1991
- World Leader Pretend 4:36
- Fretless 5:16
- Half A World Away 3:33
- Radio Song 4:05
- Losing My Religion 4:42
- Love Is All Around 3:09
John Peel Studio Session, 25 October 1998
- Walk Unafraid 4:04
- Daysleeper 3:18
- Lotus 4:13
- At My Most Beautiful 3:16
Mark and Lard, BBC Radio 1, 15 October 2003
- Bad Day 4:03
- Orange Crush 3:55
Drivetime, BBC Radio 2, 15 October 2003
- Man On The Moon 4:59
- Imitation Of Life 3:41
Radio 1 Live Lounge, 26 March 2008
- Supernatural Superserious 3:23
- Munich 3:18
Disc 2 (62:32) – Sessions
BBC Radio 1 Session, 25 October 1998
- Introduction :26
- Losing My Religion 4:44
- New Test Leper 5:53
- Lotus 4:48
- Parakeet 4:23
- Electrolite 4:23
- Perfect Circle 4:39
- The Apologist 4:40
- Daysleeper 4:44
- Country Feedback 7:23
- At My Most Beautiful 4:14
- Walk Unafraid 4:52
- Man On The Moon 6:11
Disc 3 (58:49) – Live Broadcasts
Rock City, Nottingham, 21 November 1984
- Second Guessing 2:57
- Hyena 2:57
- Talk About The Passion 3:04
- West Of The Fields 3:07
- (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville 4:29
- Auctioneer (Another Engine) 3:01
- So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry) 4:51
- Old Man Kensey 4:24
- Gardening At Night 3:26
- 9-9/Hey Diddle Diddle/Feeling Gravitys Pull 5:39
- Windout 1:49
- Driver 8 3:25
- Pretty Persuasion 3:33
- Radio Free Europe 3:49
- Wendell Gee 3:21
- Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars) 4:47
Disc 4 (51:59) – Live Broadcasts
Milton Keynes, 30 July 1995
- What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? 3:58
- Crush With Eyeliner 4:42
- Drive 3:51
- Turn You Inside Out 4:17
- Try Not To Breathe 3:50
- I Took Your Name 4:15
- Undertow 5:16
- Bang And Blame 4:58
- I Don’t Sleep I Dream 4:14
- Strange Currencies 4:31
- Revolution 3:20
- Tongue 4:38
Disc 5 (56:43) – Live Broadcasts
Milton Keynes, 30 July 1995
- Man On The Moon 5:46
- Country Feedback 6:49
- Half A World Away 4:04
- Losing My Religion 4:54
- Pop Song 89 3:27
- Finest Worksong 3:48
- Get Up 2:54
- Star 69 4:00
- Let Me In 3:59
- Everybody Hurts 7:24
- Fall On Me 3:11
- Departure 3:52
- Its the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) 5:15
Disc 6 (43:05) – Live Broadcasts
Pyramid Stage Glastonbury Festival, 25 June 1999
- Lotus 4:36
- What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? 4:09
- So Fast, So Numb 4:47
- The Apologist 4:36
- Fall On Me 3:26
- Daysleeper 3:29
- The Wake-Up Bomb 5:01
- The One I Love 3:27
- Sweetness Follows 5:50
- At My Most Beautiful 3:37
Disc 7 (53:28) – Live Broadcasts
Pyramid Stage Glastonbury Festival, 25 June 1999
- Losing My Religion 5:24
- Everybody Hurts 6:47
- Walk Unafraid 4:17
- Star 69 3:04
- Finest Worksong 4:22
- Man On The Moon 5:43
- Why Not Smile 2:10
- Crush With Eyeliner 4:40
- Tongue 5:19
- Cuyahoga 4:37
- Its the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) 6:58
Disc 8 (55:24) – Live Broadcasts
- St. James’ Church, London Radio 2, 15 September 2004
- Intro :47
- So Fast, So Numb 5:13
- Boy In The Well 5:20
- I Wanted To Be Wrong 5:19
- E-Bow The Letter (with Thom Yorke) 5:09
- Around The Sun 5:02
- Aftermath 3:58
- Losing My Religion 4:47
- Walk Unafraid 5:10
- Leaving New York 4:48
- Imitation Of Life 4:35
- Man On The Moon 5:34
Disc 9 (DVD) – Television Broadcasts
Accelerating Backwards
Moon River
Pretty Persuasion
Pop Song 89
Orange Crush
Losing My Religion
Half A World Away
Crush With Eyeliner
Man On The Moon
Daysleeper
Imitation Of Life
So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)
All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star)
Leaving New York
Later…with Jools Holland Presents R.E.M.
Intro
Losing My Religion
Lotus
New Test Leper
Daysleeper
Electrolite
At My Most Beautiful
The Apologist
Country Feedback
Parakeet
So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)
Walk Unafraid
Man On The Moon
The Passenger
Bonus Videos
I’ve Been High
Nightswimming
Bad Day
The Best of R.E.M. at the BBC (2-LP) Track Listing:
Disc 1 – Sessions
A1. World Leader Pretend 4:36
A2. Radio Song 4:05
A3. Losing My Religion 4:42
Recorded for Nicky Campbell Session Into The Night on BBC Radio 1
First broadcast on 13 March 1991
A4. Lotus 4:13
A5. At My Most Beautiful 3:16
Recorded for John Peel Session on BBC Radio 1
First broadcast 25 October 1998
B1. Bad Day 4:03
B2. Orange Crush 3:55
Recorded for Mark and Lard on BBC Radio 1
First broadcast on 15 October 2003
B3. Man On The Moon 4:59
B4. Imitation Of Life 3:41
Recorded for Drivetime on BBC Radio 2
First broadcast 15 October 2003
B5. Supernatural Superserious 3:23
Recorded for Radio 1 Live Lounge on BBC Radio 1
First broadcast 26 March 2008
Disc 2 – Broadcasts
C1. Driver 8 3:25
C2. 3:49
First broadcast on 21 November 1984 from Rock City, Nottingham
C3. What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? 3:54
C4. Drive 3:51
C5. Half A World Away 4:04
C6. Pop Song 89 3:27
First broadcast on 30 July 1995 from Milton Keynes
D1. Everybody Hurts 6:47
D2. Its the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) 6:58
First broadcast on 25 June 1999 from Pyramid Stage Glastonbury Festival
D3. Losing My Religion 4:47
D4. Man On The Moon 5:34
First broadcast on 15 September 2004 from St. James’s Church, London
The Best of R.E.M. at the BBC (2-CD), Track Listing:
Disc 1 – Sessions
- World Leader Pretend 4:36
- Half A World Away 3:33
- Radio Song 4:05
- Losing My Religion 4:42
Recorded for Nicky Campbell Session Into The Night on BBC Radio 1
First broadcast on 13 March 1991
- Lotus 4:13
- At My Most Beautiful 3:16
Recorded for John Peel Session on BBC Radio 1
First broadcast on 25 October 1998