R.E.M. next month will give fans a preview of its forthcoming 2CD Live at the Olympia with a digital EP called Reckoning Songs From the Olympia that collects four songs from the just-reissued Reckoning that the band performed during its 2007 “Dublin Working Rehearsals.”
To be released on iTunes and other digital services July 7, the EP will include live takes of “Harborcoat,” “Letter Never Sent,” “Second Guessing” and “Pretty Persuasion” recorded during R.E.M.’s five-night stint at the Dublin’s Olympia Theatre during June and July of 2007. The concerts game R.E.M. a chance to road-test the then-new material being recorded for Accelerate, as well as trot out old songs — such as the Reckoning cuts on the new EP — and some rarities.
The band in March announced plans to release a live album from the Olympia shows, but hasn’t said much more, other than this week’s revelation of the title, the fact that it’ll be a 2CD set and that it’s “scheduled for a fall release.”
Tracklist: R.E.M., Reckoning Songs From the Olympia
1. “Harborcoat”
2. “Letter Never Sent”
3. “Second Guessing”
4. “Pretty Persuasion”
Video: R.E.M., “Harborcoat,” Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 7/4/07
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