Wow, looks very inviting! My wallet will be so thin by December.
I WANT MY REMTV!R.E.M. and MTV Combine to Release 6-Disc Retrospective Set REMTV on Rhino in November
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.
"It occurred to us that there's all this footage of some of the band's absolute career highlights sitting in some MTV vaults in London and New York-- and thanks to a lot of effort and digging and arranging, this is our chance to share that music with various generations of R.E.M. fans in a pretty unique release," said longtime manager Bertis Downs. "And Alexander Young's documentary is a fine way to tell the story of R.E.M. through its various twists and turns, as captured in real time by MTV's cameras-- it has some great funny bits too!"
"This is the first DVD project to unite material from all across Viacom's networks," said Bill Flanagan, EVP of the Viacom Music Group. "Not only are we drawing from the vaults of MTV - domestic and international - but from VH1, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon. I don't think anyone realized just how much terrific R.E.M. footage we were sitting on. To gather the best of it in one collection is pretty overwhelming. R.E.M. started great, stayed great and ended great - here's the evidence."
Disc one combines R.E.M.'s first and second performances on MTV Unplugged along with the outtakes that debuted earlier this year on the audio release Unplugged: The Complete 1991 And 2001 Sessions . Disc two opens with the band's 1998 VH1 Storytellers performance including two songs--"New Test Leper" and "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville"--previously unaired. Performances from various MTV award shows through the years, as well as the band's 2007 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame round out the second disc. Two vintage performances from 1983 and 1984 are not to be missed: the first one captures the band on Livewire performing "So. Central Rain" and "Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)" from 1983, while the next clip showcases five songs from The Cutting Edge in 1984, including a rare 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.
R.E.M. By MTV will also premiere simultaneously on VH1 Classic and Palladia later in November, marking its first television run in the United States. Additional information about air dates will be announced on REMHQ and R.E.M. social channels, so please stay tuned.
Special bonus: if you pre-order REMTV from the REMHQ.com store you will receive a code that enables you to download a mono version of the 2003 MTV Sonic Show in Milan, Italy - - not included in the REMTV package.
Rick A.
