R.E.M. To Reissue Reckoning

Many R.E.M. purists would pick Murmur, R.E.M.’s storied debut, as the band’s seminal album. Rolling Stone voted it Album of the Year back in 1983. Yet others retain a soft spot for Reckoning, the band’s sophomore effort, pointing to its superior track list and expanded sound. You’ll have another chance to decide for yourself when Warner Bros. reissues Reckoning on June 23.

Dubbed Reckoning – Deluxe Edition, the two-CD set will feature a remastered version of the original LP, plus a live bonus disc featuring a concert recorded during the band’s “Little America” tour at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom on July 7, 1984. That night, R.E.M. performed Reckoning in it’s entirety, as well as “Gardening At Night” from 1982’s Chronic Town EP and “Radio Free Europe,” “9-9” and “Sitting Still” from Murmur. They also play two new songs that had yet to be recorded: Fables of the Reconstruction’s “Driver 8” and Life’s Rich Pageant’s “Hyena.”

According to the press release for the reissue, “inclusion of the live concert is particularly appropriate for the Reckoning – Deluxe Edition. Whereas Murmur had been complex and painstakingly deliberate, the band’s Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, along with producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, saw Reckoning as a “chance to turn up the volume, tear up the rule book, and capture instead R.E.M.’s on-stage mojo.”

Liner notes for the Deluxe Edition are by Tony Fletcher, author of Remarks: The Story of R.E.M.

For vinyl fans, Reckoning and Murmur will be simultaneously reissued on audiophile quality 180 gram vinyl in their complete original packaging on that day.

Original Reckoning Track list: