Photos: R.E.M. Shares Live 'The Great Beyond' Ahead of REVEAL Anniversary
The track was recorded for Radio France in Paris and spans songs from REVEAL and R.E.M. classics.
R.E.M. is sharing a previously unreleased live performance of 'The Great Beyond,' previewing The Black Sessions Revealed, a 17-song live recording arriving November 20 as part of the band's Reveal (25th Anniversary Edition). Recorded for Radio France in Paris on May 7, 2001, the performance revisits one of R.E.M.'s biggest international hits, originally released on the soundtrack to the 1999 film Man on the Moon.
Written for the Miloš Forman-directed film starring Jim Carrey as comedian Andy Kaufman, 'The Great Beyond' reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming R.E.M.'s highest-charting single in the country. The song also revisited the subject of Kaufman, whom the band had referenced in their 1992 hit 'Man on the Moon.' In a 1999 MTV interview, Michael Stipe recalled that Forman had requested a companion to the earlier song. ''The Great Beyond,' in a way, is about someone who's trying to achieve the impossible,' he explained.
Unlike most R.E.M. albums, Reveal was not followed by a traditional tour. Instead, the band played a handful of promotional performances, making The Black Sessions a rare live document of the era. Joined by guitarist Scott McCaughey, keyboardist Ken Stringfellow and drummer Joey Waronker, Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills performed songs from Reveal alongside classics including 'Losing My Religion,' 'What's the Frequency, Kenneth?,' 'The One I Love' and 'Man on the Moon.'
'The Great Beyond' follows the previously released live performance of 'Imitation of Life,' which launched the anniversary campaign in September.
Arriving November 20 via Craft Recordings, Reveal (25th Anniversary Edition) celebrates 25 years of R.E.M.'s 12th studio album. Originally released in May 2001, Reveal blended expansive pop melodies with layered guitars, keyboards and electronic textures. Featuring 'Imitation of Life,' 'All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)' and 'I'll Take the Rain,' the album reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
Available as a deluxe 2-CD/Blu-ray set and expanded digital edition, the release pairs the original 12-track album with the previously unreleased Black Sessions performance. The collection features new liner notes by journalist Birgit Fuss, including reflections from Stipe, Buck and Mills. The Blu-ray includes high-resolution audio and 5.1 surround sound, the album's three official music videos and original EPK. The Black Sessions Revealed also arrives as a standalone 2-LP set, bringing the performance to vinyl for the first time.
Exclusive Neon Orange vinyl of the original Reveal album and Neon Pink vinyl of The Black Sessions Revealed are available at REMHQ.com, alongside new anniversary merchandise.
In other R.E.M. news, the band recently debuted a new video for 'Supernatural Superserious,' the lead single from their 2008 album Accelerate. The video was created in collaboration with MUBI and the filmmakers behind Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, featuring footage from the film, written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow) and starring Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder.
R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe said about the film, 'With Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Schoenbrun has somehow made the funniest, deepest and most transgressive film of the year. On par with Being John Malkovich.'
Produced by Plan B Entertainment and released by MUBI, the film is bookended by R.E.M.'s music, opening with a cover of 'Nightswimming' and closing with 'Supernatural Superserious.' The film's soundtrack will also be released by Waxwork Records.
Writer/director Jane Schoenbrun says, 'R.E.M.'s music is simply one of the most beautiful gifts out there, and the two songs I'm so honored to feature in Camp Miasma mean so much to me, and are so influential to the DNA of this movie. 'They cannot see me naked…''
About Craft Recordings
Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Celia Cruz, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Isaac Hayes, John Coltrane, John Lee Hooker, Joan Baez, Joan Sebastian, Little Richard, Miles Davis, and R.E.M. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Alison Krauss, Daddy Yankee, Evanescence, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday, and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, HITCO, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation, ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness, and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers. Craft Recordings is part of BMG.
Reveal (25th Anniversary Edition) 2-CD/Blu-ray Tracklist
Disc 1: Reveal
The Lifting
I've Been High
All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star)
She Just Wants To Be
Disappear
Saturn Return
Beat A Drum
Summer Turns To High
Chorus And The Ring
I'll Take The Rain
Beachball
Disc 2: The Black Sessions Revealed — Recording made by RADIO FRANCE for The Black Sessions, May 7, 2001
The Great Beyond
What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star)
Daysleeper
I've Been High
Electrolite
The Lifting
At My Most Beautiful
I'll Take The Rain
The One I Love
She Just Wants To Be
Walk Unafraid
Losing My Religion
Man On The Moon
So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
It's the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Disc 3 - Blu-ray: Hi-Resolution Audio, 5.1 Surround Sound
Imitation Of Life (music video)
All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star) (music video)
I'll Take The Rain (music video)
Reveal EPK
Reveal (25th Anniversary Edition) Digital Tracklist
Disc 1
The Lifting
I've Been High
All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star)
She Just Wants To Be
Disappear
Saturn Return
Beat A Drum
Summer Turns To High
Chorus And The Ring
I'll Take The Rain
Beachball
Disc 2
Imitation Of Life — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
The Great Beyond — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
What's The Frequency, Kenneth? — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star) — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
Daysleeper — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
I've Been High — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
Electrolite — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
The Lifting — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
At My Most Beautiful — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
I'll Take The Rain — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
The One I Love — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
She Just Wants To Be — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
Walk Unafraid — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
Losing My Religion — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
Man On The Moon — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry) — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
It's the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
The Black Sessions Revealed 2-LP Vinyl Tracklist
Side A: Imitation Of Life
Side A: The Great Beyond
Side A: What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
Side A: All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star)
Side B: Daysleeper
Side B: I've Been High
Side B: Electrolite
Side B: The Lifting
Side B: At My Most Beautiful
Side C: I'll Take The Rain
Side C: The One I Love
Side C: She Just Wants To Be
Side C: Walk Unafraid
Side D: Losing My Religion
Side D: Man On The Moon
Side D: So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
Side D: It's the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)





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