The probationary period continues and for the second consecutive week, we have a list packed with great new releases heading to stores today.
R.E.M.
Reckoning (Deluxe Edition)
R.E.M. continues their re-issue campaign with this deluxe edition of their second album, Reckoning. They follow the pattern established with the re-issue of Murmur last fall by pairing the remastered album with a live show from the album's corresponding tour. With Murmur, we got a 1983 show from Toronto. For Reckoning, we get a 1984 show from Chicago that was recorded for broadcast. This Chicago set is notable because we get to hear early runs at songs that would later appear on Fables of the Reconstruction and Lifes Rich Pageant.
The live set is the main attraction here. For some fans, this is a chance to hear the band as they remember them from their earliest days. For others, this is a history lesson and a chance to trace the progression of these early days for the old IRS label to the superstardom that was to come. Some listeners will hate the remastering. It's probably a fair bet that if you hated the Murmur remaster, you'll hate the sound for Reckoning as well. I found the Murmur remaster a mixed bag. There are aspects of the music that were unmurked and clarified, but an awful lot of loudness and compression were added.
Some are a little disappointed that bonus tracks that have appeared on import versions of the album haven't been added to either Murmur or Reckoning. There's room to do it, so it's disappointing that they didn't but the vintage live show is attractive enough to make this a must have. Besides, I still haven't found my harborcoat and I can't go outside without it.
Def Leppard
Pyromania (Deluxe Edition)
Adrenalize (Deluxe Edition)
With these twin releases, Def Leppard's three most commercially successful albums have been given the deluxe treatment (Hysteria got the expanded treatment in conjunction with its 25th anniversary). Hear me now, world: I'm excited about the Def Leppard deluxe sets and I'm not afraid to admit it.
The Pyromania deluxe is the better of the two and not just because Pyromania is the superior album. The Pyro deluxe adds a second disc containing a live show at the L.A. Forum from the 1983 tour in support of the album. This is a chance to go back in time and hear the twin guitars of Steve Clark and Phil Collen, to hear Rick Allen before his accident, to hear Joe Elliott back when he could (presumably) hit the high notes. Unlike the R.E.M. recent remasters, I have some hope for Pyromania. For one thing, Robert John "Mutt Lange" was a lot more attentive to sonic detail when the album was recorded the first time. Second, I actually like the Hysteria remaster. I don't know for a fact yet that the same personnel were used for both but I'm hoping so.
![Adrenalize [Deluxe Edition]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JvbuXgvLL._SL120_.jpg)
Article comments
1 - MarkSaleski
oh man, i am totally in on the Reckoning and the Pyromania.
maybe i'll also finally pick up the Murmur reissue too.
2 - Josh Hathaway
I'm listening to Reckoning as we speak. I ordered the Pyromania set. It will be arriving this week.
You're (probably) going to hate the remastering on the two R.E.M. discs but the vintage live shows are worth having.
3 - El Bicho
Here is one reason the music labels are losing business. They don't offer someone who already has the first disc access to the second. I would buy the live shows on their own, but if it's a choice between double the price for half the product or getting it for free, the math is pretty simple
4 - Josh Hathaway
You're not wrong, Bicho. We all know I'm retarded enough to buy shit more than once, but a lot of people are smarter than that. For those who don't mind digital, iTunes Music Store has made this less of a problem although it remains because it's not uncommon for iTunes and bands to designate certain tracks as "album only." It's a lousy music industry tactic and it's costing them because everyone but me refuses to get scammed.
5 - MarkSaleski
don't worry, they'll continue to keep up the bad practices and the lawsuits until they lawyer themselves out of business
6 - Josh Hathaway
On to more important topics: how am I ever going to afford all the shit coming out this week that I want? There are some good selections this week. There are some good titles I didn't even get a chance to chat up.
7 - Tom Johnson
I'm going to be picking up Pyromania soon, holding off on Adrenalize for now, it's just kind of lacking in essential bonus stuff. From what I've been reading and seeing, the Pyro remaster is WAY better than the AWFUL, horribly compressed Hysteria remaster. If you've got to compress/limit, it appears that they've decided to use Pyro as the "good cop" to Hysteria's very "bad cop." It will never measure up the MFSL version, but will do for those who don't own the original CD, which is still going to be superior when volume is equaled out. If you own the originals, buy these only for the bonus material, in other words.
And, Josh, man, you're missing one of the week's greats: Dinosaur Jr's Farm. I can't believe you wouldn't love this.
8 - Robert
Joe Elliot and Def Leppard are back! Billboard.com has an exclusive interview with Joe talking about performing with Taylor Swift at the CMT awards and his take on 90's music. You can only see it there so check it out.