R. E. M. - Two Big Nights in Athens 1982 (sbd)

i & i

Athens, GA

Oct. 21-22, 1982

  

soundboard recordings (quality: VG+ from low-generation sources)

ROB SEZ: While pestering my secret source for more mid-1980s soundboard recordings, I thought I'd try a little detour with this early '80s twofer from my archive. I've always liked one of these two recordings. The Oct. 22 set sounded very good when I received it, so I left that one alone. But the Oct. 21 set never sounded very good -- almost as if someone took a decent-sounding low-generation soundboard recording, then added a blunt-force, low-tech filter that muffled everything. So I did some work on it, and now it's just about the equal of the Oct. 22 show. As you'll see from the track listings, mostly different songs were preserved from what was most likely a similar set played both nights. Between these two recordings, we get to hear about 20 different songs, which makes up most of the band's live repertoire from this era. I had fun doctoring up an old poster publicizing the band's 2-night stand at the i & i club, but on different dates than these. There was a ghastly image of the band defacing the original poster, so I replaced it with a rare photo from this era. Please enjoy.

Thursday, Oct. 21, 1982

     (revised 2025)

01 Moral Kiosk (fades in)

02 Catapult

03 After Hours - 1,000,000

04 West of the Fields

05 Radio Free Europe

06 White Tornado

07 Ages of You

08 We Walk

09 Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)

10 So You Want to Be a Rock'n'Roll Star

11 Stumble - Skank

12 Neverland (fades out after a minute)

Friday, Oct. 22, 1982 

01 So You Want to Be a

     Rock'n'Roll Star 

02 Moral Kiosk

03 Pilgrimage

04 Shaking Through

05 Wolves, Lower

06 Laughing

07 Romance

08 Sitting Still

09 Pretty Persuasion

10 Catapult 

11 1,000,000

12 Gardening at Night

13 9-9 (fades out)

FLAC

 

MP3@320