R. E. M. - 1986-09-05 Pelham, AL (sbd - Buren Fowler master tape) UPGRADE

UPGRADE - soundboard master

  

Oak Mountain Amphitheatre

Pelham, AL

Sept. 5, 1986

 

soundboard recording (quality: EX, master tape transfer)

artwork, revised from original post, is included

  

AUDIO SAMPLE: Driver 8 - upgraded version

ROB SEZ: UPGRADE - MASTER TAPE SOURCE, REVISED. The source for this recording is 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.) Before the show, Fowler gave the FOH sound guy a C-90 and asked him to record as much as would fit. Apparently, he held onto the tape as a keepsake of his time with R. E. M.  Later, Buren gave this and other live tapes to his friend, T. Patton Biddle (“Pat the Wiz”) for safe keeping. 

A friend of Pat's digitized the master tape, revised it with subtle-but-significant enhancements made with high-end equipment, and kindly shared it with me. My debt of gratitude lies with Mr. Anonymous, Buren, and Pat — all 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 obviously 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.

  

FLAC

 

MP3@320

Stay tuned; more to come.

      

    

R. E. M. - 1987-11-05 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL (sbd - Buren Fowler master) - NEW

The Pavilion

The University of Illinois Chicago

Chicago, IL

Nov. 5, 1987

    

soundboard recording (quality: EX, a pristine recording)

   

  

SAMPLE: Auctioneer (Another Engine) live UIC '87

    

ROB SEZ:  For a good while, there was a rule of thumb in R. E. M. fan circles that went something like this: if you're looking for live soundboard recordings from 1986 and 1987, don't bother. Other than the live bonus disc released for the 25th anniversary of Document (and a rather odd benefit concert in January 1986), said the rule, there just aren't any soundboard recordings from 1986 or '87. Then, earlier this year—like musical manna—T. Patton Biddle (Pat the Wiz) shared with me a good handful of soundboard recordings, a couple of which are pretty much perfect. Recently, I shared a soundboard recording from the 1986 Pageantry Tour launch on Sept. 5th in Pelham, AL. 

Can you tell I LOVE this photo?
Michael onstage, Charleston, WV on 14 Oct. 1987
photo credit: grumpnet

This week, I'm sharing a pristine soundboard recording from the 1987 Work Tour. For my money, the performance and sound quality are second only to the Document anniversary bonus disc. Full credit to Pat and Buren Fowler, the band's guitar tech and supplemental guitarist for live performances in '86 and '87. Buren gave the FOH sound guy a 90-minute tape and asked him to record as much of the show as would fit on it. Pat then digitized the tape, and this is the fabulous result—even though it lacks 6 songs played that night. Later, Buren shared this and other tapes with Pat, who held onto them after Buren's death in 2014. 

Just one request: play this one LOUD! 

FLAC

   

MP3@320

    

More soundboards from the 1987 tour are coming. 

Stay tuned...

R. E. M. - 1981-04-02 Augusta, GA (audience rec. - Pat the Wiz)

New York, New York (venue)

Augusta, GA

April 2, 1981

  

audience recording (quality: VG- from Pat the Wiz)

    

   

SETLIST (via REMTimeline)

     

set 1: Rave On (pre-recorded) / Burning Down / A Girl Like You / Get On Their Way / There She Goes Again / Pretty Persuasion / Body Count / Different Girl / Action / Narrator / Hey Hey Nadine

set 2: Radio Free Europe / Sitting Still / Dangerous Times / All the Right Friends (cuts out) / Little Girl (cuts in) / (Don't Go Back to) Rockville / Windout / Gardening at Night / Wait / Schéhérazade / Lisa Says / Mystery to Me / Gloria

set 3: C'mon Everybody (pre-recorded) / White Tornado / Just a Touch / I Can't Control Myself / 9-9 / Night Time / Pills / Nervous Breakdown / Baby I / Permanent Vacation (cuts out)

SAMPLE: White Tornado -> Just a Touch (live Augusta, GA 1981)

ROB SEZ: Here's an early days rarity for fanatics of the band, and the sound quality is fairly good, especially considering its origins. This comes from a "boom box" recording, according to T. Patton Biddle (Pat the Wiz). When he shared it with me, he explained the band hired him to be their sound tech for this show in Augusta, GA. Apparently there was no other recording equipment available, so a boom box positioned in front of the stage was the only viable option. 

Thanks to Pat, we can now enjoy one of the band's earliest known live recordings, and we have all 32 of the songs played that night. Although I could've chopped out some stretches of audience chatter, I left them in since this recording is so rare and I thought the archivists among you would want to hear everything as I received it. There's a fun little audio bonus to listen for at the very end. (The files Pat shared with me were lossy, so no FLAC this time.) 

MP3@320

   

LINEAGE: T. Patton Biddle master tape from boom box recording --> ? --> lossy digital file share --> Audacity for normalization & DC offset, track splitting, speed & pitch adjustment, fades --> MP3 files  *no eq or compression*

Still more to come...

   

R. E. M. - What the Hell Just Happened? 1987-08-19 Athens, GA (sbd - M1) - NEW

The 40 Watt Club

Athens, GA

Aug. 19, 1987

  

soundboard recording

(Pat the Wiz's digital revision from his master reel)

    

01 Finest Worksong 

02 Welcome to the Occupation

 

03 The One I Love

04 Begin the Begin

05 Orange Crush*

06 Disturbance at the Heron House

07 Title

08 Superman

09 return to the stage

10 It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

   

     *LIVE DEBUT

   

SAMPLE TRACK: "Disturbance at the Heron House" (live Aug. 19, 1987 - sbd)

   

ROB SEZ: This recording prompted my return to blogging after years away. It’s easily one of my top 3 live recordings ever by the band. Michael, Peter, Mike and Bill are firing on all cylinders and sound elated to be playing 5 songs from album number 5, plus a few chestnuts and one brand-new song: Orange Crush, heard here in an early Michael-is-ranting version. Document had been completed by the time of this performance, but hadn't yet been released. I got the idea of compiling an alternative version of Document, and dug out of my archive an old, rare soundboard recording of this performance. That recording had some problems with digi noise, not to mention an unknown lineage. For some time, I’d been aware of the audience recording for this performance that came from the JEMS team. But once I knew there was a soundboard recording out there, possibly in better shape than the one in my archive, I was determined to find it. Eventually, that led me to the guy who recorded it in the first place: the true southern gentleman T. Patton Biddle (Pat the Wiz), who’s still living near Athens, GA after playing his part in the early career of R. E. M. Pat was utterly gracious in agreeing to send me the digital transfer made from the master recording. I am proud to present what I believe is the definitive version of this gob-smacking performance, absent a transfer from the master with no post-transfer digital amendments. Please enjoy.

   

Someone who was there must’ve said:

What the hell just happened?

FLAC

MP3@320

If you want to hear my alternative version of Document, featuring demos and live takes, that's HERE. A generous handful of tracks come from this live recording.

Further details & recording lineage:

REMTimeline says:

Silent Peas show. R. E. M. perform unannounced as a supporting act & the live debut of “Orange Crush” features a totally different vocal arrangement, with Stipe just singing/rambling various army and war statements etc. Mike Mills & Bill Berry's usual backing vocal is not present in this version. Mike Mills thanks the Silent Peas for letting R. E. M. open the show for them.

LINEAGE: T. Patton Biddle's master cassette —> TPB's digital transfer, using unknown equipment —> unknown digital editing, including added compression —> Audacity for tracking, fades, normalization, editing out dead air, and 1 pass of eq to boost bass frequencies and lower treble —> FLAC

Find a link for the original raw, untracked, unprocessed file under Comments. 

That's it (for now) for my R. E. M. special shares.

Plenty more to come from The dB's and other artists.

           

R. E. M. - 'Surprise Guest' at The 40 Watt, Feb. 10 & Sept. 3, 1987 (sbd M1) - NEW

The 40 Watt Club

Athens, GA

Feb. 10, 1987

  

soundboard recording

(Pat the Wiz's digital revision from his master reel)  

00 stage entrance

01 Begin the Begin (fades in) 

02 Oddfellows Local 151

03 Lightnin’ Hopkins

04 Just a Touch (aborted)

     Note: Drew Worsham subbed for Bill Berry on drums

SAMPLE TRACK - Oddfellows Local 151 (live on Feb. 10, 1987)

The 40 Watt Club

Athens, GA

Sept. 3, 1987

  

soundboard recording

(Pat the Wiz's digital revision from his master reel)

00 stage entrance

01 Finest Worksong

02 These Days

03 Title

04 I Believe

05 It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

06 unknown, untitled+

07 Disturbance at the Heron House

08 The One I Love

09 Begin the Begin

      +Michael claims this previously unknown song was written “at 9:20 this evening” — which is quite possible, given how shambolic & unfinished it sounds.

ROB SEZ: I'm calling this one “Surprise Guest” due to the nature of the performances. I like the thought of a few people in & around Athens knowing R. E. M. would be making an appearance these nights, but others only hearing rumors about a surprise guest. The February set is noteworthy because two songs from Document see their live debut: “Oddfellows Local 151” and “Lightnin’ Hopkins.” These recordings are yet more goodness from the sound archives of T. Patton Biddle (Pat the Wiz), who made some of the most historically significant recordings of R. E. M. in the 1980s. Pat was kind enough to share with me digital transfers from his safety tapes. These two opening sets have previously circulated in soundboard quality, but they're not currently available through the usual channels. To my knowledge, this is the first time they've been placed into circulation with a known lineage, so this may be a new source even for those who already have other versions. I don't know if they're an upgrade or not, since I don't own any other versions. Check the comments if you want the untracked, raw files as I received them.

The view from the floor at The 40 Watt
  

FLAC

MP3@320

FURTHER DETAILS & RECORDING LINEAGE

REMTimeline says:

Feb. 10, 1987: Peter Buck, Mike Mills & Michael Stipe along with Drew Worsham on drums, play an impromptu set after Mystery Date. “Just A Touch” is aborted halfway through due to Peter Buck blowing out the [borrowed] guitar amp he was using.

Sept. 3, 1987: Smokin' Dave and the Premo Dopes show. R. E. M. perform unannounced as a supporting act, and according to Michael Stipe during the show, the unknown track was written at 9:20 p.m. that evening.

LINEAGE: T. Patton Biddle's master cassette —> TPB's digital transfer, using unknown equipment —> unknown digital editing, including added compression —> Audacity for tracking, fades, normalization, deleting dead spots, tempo adjustment, and 1 pass of eq to boost bass frequencies and lower treble --> FLAC

Stay tuned; more to come.

       

       

R. E. M. - Two Nights at The 40 Watt - May + July 1988 (sbd)

The 40 Watt Club
Athens, GA
May 20, 1988

  

soundboard recording (Pat the Wiz's digital revision from his master reel)

00 stage entrance

01 Begin the Begin 

02 Stand*

03 Pop Song 89

04 Orange Crush

05 The One I Love (free-jazz version) 

06 I Remember California*

07 stage banter, etc.

08 You Are the Everything*

The 40 Watt Club
Athens, GA
July 8, 1988

  

soundboard recording (Pat the Wiz's digital revision from his master reel)

00 stage entrance

01 Pop Song 89

02 Orange Crush

03 I Remember California

04 talking & tuning

05 Hairshirt*

06 You Are the Everything

07 Stand

08 Finest Worksong

    *live debut of these 4 songs from Green

ROB SEZ: The band's opening sets for other headliners (see info below). I believe the guys always pulled out something special for the home crowd, especially when they had a new album waiting to be released. They seem jazzed to have friends, families, peers, and rivals hear the new songs before the rest of the world. This twofer will be of special interest to fans of Green because four songs from the album receive their live debut. Then there's the band's atonal, jokey, and rather brief take on "The One I Love" — which I'm overly dignifying by calling it the "free-jazz version." Michael introduces it thusly, supposedly with a straight face: "This is a song that was written by Fred Frith in 1974, when he was still with Henry Cow, and was put out on The Residents' record label."

These recordings are yet more goodness from the tape archives of T. Patton Biddle (aka Pat the Wiz), who made some of the most historically significant live recordings of R. E. M. in & around Athens in the 1980s. You can hear Pat invoked multiple times in these two sets, including Mike Mills' departing comment "thanks for taking care of us." Pat was kind enough to share with me digital transfers from his safety tapes. These two opening sets have previously circulated in soundboard quality, but they're not currently available through the usual channels. To my knowledge, this is the first time they've been placed into circulation with a known lineage, so this may be a new source even for those who already have other versions. I don't know if they're an upgrade, since I haven't heard any other versions.

FLAC

MP3@320

Further details & recording lineage: 

REMTimeline says:

May 20, 1988: R. E. M. perform unannounced as a supporting act before Vic Chesnutt, this was a benefit show for The Grit. [The announced support act was Orgusmorgue.] Michael introduces the band as "Toast." The version of "The One I Love" is very different and lasts less than a minute. First performances of "Stand," "I Remember California" and "You Are The Everything."

July 8, 1988: The Primates show. R. E. M. perform unannounced as a supporting act before both bands [The Primates and Lou Siffer]. First live performance of 'Hairshirt'.

LINEAGE: T. Patton Biddle's master cassette —> TPB's digital transfer, using unknown equipment —> unknown digital editing, including added compression —> Audacity for tracking, fades, normalization, editing out long silences, and 1 pass of eq to boost bass frequencies and lower treble —> FLAC

LOOK IN THE COMMENTS section if you want raw, untracked copies of the files Pat shared with me.

.

*STAY TUNED* More to come.