R.E.M – REMTV (6DVD Boxset)

Quill

Six-DVD Collection Chronicles The Band’s Special Relationship With MTV Through Live Performances,
Award Show Highlights, And A New Feature-Length Documentary

From the beginning, R.E.M. and MTV have shared a rich history together. In July 1981, the band released its
first single, "Radio Free Europe" while a few weeks later the new Music Television network launched and
premiered its first music video. From that point forward, thirty years in total, MTV documented everything
about R.E.M.: their music, their stories, and ultimately, their decision to disband in 2011.

Now, this entire story, from start to finish, is chronicled in a new six-DVD set, REMTV, that includes live
performances, award show highlights, and television appearances, as well as a new documentary about the
band and network's mutual history. REMTV will be available on November 24th. “The Third Hoorah” promo
footage, and footage from a January 1974 photo session/press conference where the WarChild project was
announced.

An 80-page booklet featuring an extensive article on the preparation and recording of the album, a film
script synopsis, track-by-track annotations by Ian Anderson, plus rare and unseen photographs.

The first disc combines both of the group’s performances on MTV Unplugged (1991 and 2001) and features
the outtakes that debuted earlier this year on the audio release Unplugged: The Complete 1991 And 2001
Sessions, including songs like “Get Up,” “The One I Love” and “World Leader Pretend.” The band’s 1998 appearance on VH1’s Storytellers opens the second disc, and has been expanded with
unaired performances of several songs, including “New Test Leper” and “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville.”
Also featured are performances taken from various MTV award shows through the years, as well as the
band’s 2007 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Longtime fans will certainly delight in two
vintage performances included here. First is a 1983 performance of “So. Central Rain” and “Carnival of Sorts
(Box Cars)” from Livewire. The next clip features five songs the band played in 1984 on The Cutting Edge,
including “Driver 8” and a cover of Brownsville Station’s “Smokin’ in the Boys Room.”

The next three discs present a trove of rare live performances recorded between 1995 and 2008 in
countries around the world. Of the 99 songs that are spread across these three discs, nearly half are unique
song titles, offering a deep exploration of the band’s live legacy. Especially noteworthy are two massive
free concerts filmed for broadcast: Live In Cologne (5/12/01) and R.E.M. Live In Athens, Greece (10/5/08).
More than a dozen songs from those shows did not air during the original broadcasts. Both concerts appear
here in their entirety for the first time.

Undoubtedly, the heart of this superb collection is the new feature-length documentary, R.E.M. By MTV,
included on the final disc. Drawing exclusively on archival events, the film traces R.E.M. and MTV in real
time, which makes it feel as exciting and immediate as it did when it was happening. “All the energy and
momentum of both the band and the network come roaring through,” writes Anthony DeCurtis in the set’s
liner notes.

Leave a Reply