R.E.M.’s nine albums for Warner Bros. will be reissued early next year in newly created CD/DVD editions. Due Feb. 15 via Rhino, the initiative encompasses the studio albums “Green,” “Out of Time,” “Automatic for the People,” “Monster,” “New Adventures in Hi-Fi,” “Up,” “Reveal” and the new “Around the Sun,” as well as the retrospective “In Time: The Best of R.E.M.” They have sold 11.2 million copies combined in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
In addition to the album in its original form, the new packages will boast a DVD with a 5.1 Surround Sound version remixed by Elliot Schiener, who has a prior remixing credit on R.E.M.’s 1987 album “Document.” In addition, the albums will include unreleased documentary footage and expanded booklets with new liner notes.
R.E.M.’s 1989 Warner Bros. debut, “Green,” will be bolstered with a previously unreleased making-of documentary and two live clips from the home video “Tour Film.” The unreleased documentary “Time Piece” will be found on the new edition of 1991’s “Out of Time,” while a rarely seen promotional film has been tacked on to “Automatic for the People.”
The DVD on the new edition of 1994’s “Monster” features live performances of album tracks “I Don’t Sleep, I Dream,” “Let Me In,” “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?,” while 1996’s “New Adventures in Hi-Fi” includes an unreleased video documentary.
The 1998 album “Up,” R.E.M.’s first following the exit of drummer Bill Berry, will sport portions of the unreleased film “Uptake,” performances of three songs and interview clips. Its follow-up, 2001’s “Reveal,” is appended with a making-of documentary and a remixed video for album track “I’ll Take the Rain.”
Last year’s “In Time” will include two versions of the video for the new song “Bad Day,” while “Around the Sun” offers up a photo gallery, behind-the-scenes footage and lyrics.
R.E.M. will close out its touring year this week with a stand in Mexico City on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 3-4). An extensive international swing kicks off Jan. 7 in Lisbon.
