R.E.M. To Release Special Edition of Murmur

Time flies huh? Believe it or not it is 25 years since the release of  R.E.M.’s  debut album, Murmur. Can you recall the first time you heard Radio Free Europe? The first time you heard R.E.M? The first time you wondered what the hell the singer was saying?

For me Murmur was the beginning of a long odyssey that continues today and I’ll be jumping onto Amazon to purchase a special deluxe anniversary edition of the album that is released today in the US.

The deluxe edition of Murmur features two discs: the first, a re-mastered
version of the original 12 songs including Radio Free Europe, Sitting Still, Talk About the Passion, and Pilgrimage, each one important in the early R.E.M. lexicon Disc Two is a live-recording of a 1983 show at a venue called Larry’s Hideaway  in Toronto, long considered a must-have performance in the vast R.E.M. bootleg canon.

The live disc includes at total of sixteen tracks, among which are 9 songs from Murmur, two songs which would eventually be included on 1984′s “Reckoning,” three tracks from the first EP Chronic Town, a Velvet Underground cover, and “Just A Touch,” later released on the band’s fourth album, 1986′s “Lifes Rich Pageant.”

The package’s liner notes are written by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon,
who produced and engineered “Murmur”. I.R.S. employees Michael Plen, Jay Boberg, Carlos Grasso, and Sig Sigworth each contribute their thoughts on and memories of working on the record in the liner notes as well.

There’s no news yet about whether there will be an Australian release of the deluxe Murmur but the R.E.M official website is touting it as a limited edition, so it might be worth getting in quick.