Pelham, AL
Sept. 5, 1986
soundboard recording (quality: EX, check the sample)
NEW to circulation
AUDIO SAMPLE: Driver 8
Saturday, June 7
R. E. M. - 1986-09-05 Pelham, AL (sbd - Buren Fowler source) NEW
Oak Mountain Amphitheatre 
ROB SEZ: The tape source for this recording came from Buren Fowler (R.I.P.), the band’s guitar tech and second guitarist for live performances in 1986 & 1987. (Michael introduces Buren briefly after Driver 8.) Fowler gave the FOH sound guy a C-90 and asked him to record as much of the show as would fit. Apparently, he held onto the tape as a keepsake of his time with R. E. M. If this is not a a digital transfer from the master recording, it sounds darn close. Later, Buren gave it and other live tapes to his friend, T. Patton Biddle (“Pat the Wiz”) for safe keeping. 
Pat, the ace sound tech who recorded many of the band’s shows in and around Athens, GA in the 1980s, digitized the tape and kindly shared it with me. My debt of gratitude lies with these two behind-the-scenes heroes who played their part in the phenomenon that was R. E. M. As for the performance, you can feel the pent-up energy of the band, which hadn't played together for many months after completing Lifes Rich Pageant. After a week of tour rehearsals in Knoxville, TN, the guys clearly were ready to roll. The lucky fans in attendance witnessed the live debut of 9 songs, including 6 from the new album. This recording does not represent the entire performance: it's missing 6 songs played that night, including the first 4. You can hear 5 of the missing songs, in fairly good audience quality, in this recording.
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Greg from Washington DC
ReplyDeleteHoly Crap! This is utter madness the gems you keep coming up with. I've mentioned before that I have what I used to think was the definitive collective of exceptionally high quality shows from the IRS years. Nothing from 1986 had previously made the cut. I've lost count of my beer tab but it's so worth it.
Thanks for doing this!
First ever out in the wild SBD from the Pageantry Tour. Been waiting on this for 30+ years!! Thank you so much for sharing. (and just an FYI for folks, it is missing the first 4 songs played that night).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Greg & Anonymous. Yup, I need to let folks know this isn't the entire performance. But what's here makes up for what's NOT here, if you catch my drift...
DeleteThank you so much for sharing your fantastic collection of rare R.E.M. performances. it's great to hear these rare (and at the same time high-quality) recordings.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you might have a recording of "The One I Love" from this video? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0nklDltyjI) It starts at around 2:15. This performance is likely also from 1987. Thanks in advance for any help!
Greg from Washington DC
ReplyDeleteRainy day here and I clearly have too much time on my hands.
Revisiting your March 11 post about the July 23, 1981 Tyrone's show:
Going through that show and the That Beat in Time CD slowly, it now appears to me that the That Beat in Time CD uses the July 23 show up through Pretty Persuasion and then jumps to the Sep 23, 1981 show for songs 15-21 (That Beat through Gardening at Night) and then jumps back to the July 23 show for White Tornado (song 22).
Because the sound quality between the two shows are very similar, this means there might be a nice soundboard out there somewhere of the Sep 23, 1981 show.
One more of the world's problems solved!
Thoughts? Counterproposals?
Hmmm ... interesting. This much I do know: there absolutely is a spectacular 30-track soundboard recording of the Sept. 23, 1981 show, one I will share later on at the blog, if you will remind me after the next flood of R.E.M. soundboard material is all posted. The rest of your hypothesis I would have to test using time I don't foresee having anytime soon. But maybe one day... 8-)
ReplyDeleteGreg from Washington DC
ReplyDeleteA "flood of R.E.M. soundboard material"? What the what? This is so much fun!
Well, let's just say a "mini flood," but well worth the wait. Next up: a very rare early recording from spring 1981. It's an audie, but it'll be the first time it's circulated beyond an inner circle of fanatics.
ReplyDeleteSuper post Rob, many many thanks for it & all these REM shares.
ReplyDeleteAlso big thanks to all who shared these treasures in the first place.
Makes you wonder what else is out there!!!
Indeed! Huge thanks to Buren and Pat, plus some "accomplices" at REMTimeline for some of the shares.
DeleteAgreed. It's a thrill for me to get to hear these, even decades after the fact.
Deletethank you
ReplyDelete