R.E.M. Shares “The Great Beyond” from The Black Sessions

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.

Click here to pre-order/pre-save Reveal (25th Anniversary Edition) and The Black Sessions Revealed.

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…’”

Click here to watch the new R.E.M. X Camp Miasma “Supernatural Superserious” video.

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.

For more, visit CraftRecordings.com.

Reveal (25th Anniversary Edition) — 2-CD/Blu-ray

Disc 1: Reveal

1. The Lifting
2. I’ve Been High
3. All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star)
4. She Just Wants To Be
5. Disappear
6. Saturn Return
7. Beat A Drum
8. Imitation Of Life
9. Summer Turns To High
10. Chorus And The Ring
11. I’ll Take The Rain
12. Beachball

Disc 2: The Black Sessions Revealed
Recording made by RADIO FRANCE for The Black Sessions, May 7, 2001

1. Imitation Of Life
2. The Great Beyond
3. What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?
4. All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star)
5. Daysleeper
6. I’ve Been High
7. Electrolite
8. The Lifting
9. At My Most Beautiful
10. I’ll Take The Rain
11. The One I Love
12. She Just Wants To Be
13. Walk Unafraid
14. Losing My Religion
15. Man On The Moon
16. So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)
17. It's the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Disc 3: Blu-ray

1. Hi-Resolution Audio
2. 5.1 Surround Sound
3. Imitation Of Life (music video)
4. All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star) (music video)
5. I’ll Take The Rain (music video)
6. Reveal EPK

Reveal (25th Anniversary Edition) — Digital

Disc 1

1. The Lifting
2. I’ve Been High
3. All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star)
4. She Just Wants To Be
5. Disappear
6. Saturn Return
7. Beat A Drum
8. Imitation Of Life
9. Summer Turns To High
10. Chorus And The Ring
11. I’ll Take The Rain
12. Beachball

Disc 2

1. Imitation Of Life — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
2. The Great Beyond — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
3. What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
4. All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star) — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
5. Daysleeper — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
6. I’ve Been High — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
7. Electrolite — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
8. The Lifting — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
9. At My Most Beautiful — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
10. I’ll Take The Rain — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
11. The One I Love — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
12. She Just Wants To Be — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
13. Walk Unafraid — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
14. Losing My Religion — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
15. Man On The Moon — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
16. So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry) — Live at the Black Sessions / 2001
17. 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

Side A

1. Imitation Of Life
2. The Great Beyond
3. What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?
4. All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star)

Side B

1. Daysleeper
2. I’ve Been High
3. Electrolite
4. The Lifting
5. At My Most Beautiful

Side C

1. I’ll Take The Rain
2. The One I Love
3. She Just Wants To Be
4. Walk Unafraid

Side D

1. Losing My Religion
2. Man On The Moon
3. So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)
4. It's the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)