The Magic of Boney M. is a greatest hits album of recordings by Boney M. released by Sony BMG in October 2006. The compilation which is an updated version of 1993's Gold - 20 Super Hits and 2001's The Greatest Hits includes eighteen of Boney M's best known hits from the 1970s and 1980s, a new remix of 1976 single "Sunny" by German DJ and record producer Mousse T. as well as one new recording featuring original Boney M. lead vocalist Liz Mitchell. While this compilation is digitally remastered it contains both original recordings and overdubbed or remixed versions dating from Gold - 20 Super Hits.
REM Singles Collection (1991 Japanese 16-track promotional sample 4-CD set issued to radio stations and reviewers ahead of the actual release date. Including Losing My Religion, Radio Song, Shiny Happy People & Near Wild Heaven plus 12 live tracks from the single releases. Custom stamped inner rim on each disc, housed in a fat double case with a promo stickered back insert, complete with Japanese booklet and fold-out lyric insert plus obi-strip.
Fables of the Reconstruction was intentionally murky, and Lifes Rich Pageant was constructed as its polar opposite. Teaming with producer Don Gehman, who previously worked with John Mellencamp, R.E.M. developed their most forceful record to date. Where previous records kept the rhythm section in the background, Pageant emphasizes the beat, and the band turns in its hardest rockers to date, including the anthemic "Begin the Begin" and the punky "Just a Touch." But the cleaner production also benefits the ballads and the mid-tempo janglers, particularly since it helps reveal Michael Stipe's growing political obsessions, especially on the environmental anthems "Fall on Me" and "Cuyahoga." The group hasn't entirely left myths behind – witness the Civil War ballad "Swan Swan H" – but the band sound more contemporary both musically and lyrically than they did on either Fables or Murmur, which helps give the record an extra kick. And even with excellent songs like "I Believe," "Flowers of Guatemala," "These Days," and "What if We Give It Away," it's ironic that the most memorable moment comes from the garage rock obscurity "Superman," which is sung with glee by Mike Mills.
R.E.M. began to move toward mainstream record production on Lifes Rich Pageant, but they didn't have a commercial breakthrough until the following year's Document. Ironically, Document is a stranger, more varied album than its predecessor, but co-producer Scott Litt – who would go on to produce every R.E.M. album in the following decade – is a better conduit for the band than Don Gehman, giving the group a clean sound without sacrificing their enigmatic tendencies. "Finest Worksong," the stream-of-conscious rant "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," and the surprise Top Ten single "The One I Love" all crackle with muscular rhythms and guitar riffs, but the real surprise is how political the mid-tempo jangle pop of "Welcome to the Occupation," "Disturbance at the Heron House," and "King of Birds" is. Where Lifes Rich Pageant sounded a bit like a party record, Document is a fiery statement, and its memorable melodies and riffs are made all the more indelible by its righteous anger.
R.E.M.‘s 1996 album New Adventures In Hi-Fi will be reissued for its 25th anniversary in October across three physical formats. This was the band’s final album with drummer Bill Berry and was mostly written and recorded on the road, during their 1995 Monster tour. Bassist Mike Mills recalls: “We wanted to make a record about being on the road without singing about being on the road. The idea was that the feeling of being on the road would come through in the sound and feel of the record itself.”
R.E.M. abandoned the enigmatic post-punk experiments of Murmur for their second album, Reckoning, returning to their garage pop origins instead. Opening with the ringing "Harborcoat," Reckoning runs through a set of ten jangle pop songs that are different not only in sound but in style from the debut. Where Murmur was enigmatic in its sound, Reckoning is clear, which doesn't necessarily mean that the songs themselves are straightforward. Michael Stipe continues to sing powerful melodies without enunciating, but the band has a propulsive kick that makes the music vital and alive. And, if anything, the songwriting is more direct and memorable than before – the interweaving melodies of "Pretty Persuasion" and the country rocker "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" are as affecting as the melancholic dirges of "Camera" and "Time After Time," while the ringing minor-key arpeggios of "So. Central Rain," the pulsating riffs of "7 Chinese Bros.," and the hard-rocking rhythms of "Little America" make the songs into classics. On the surface, Reckoning may not be as distinctive as Murmur, but the record's influence on underground American rock in the '80s was just as strong.