R.E.M. - Reckoning (2009)

Like the deluxe edition of Murmur, the 2009 expansion of Reckoning contains none of the scattered B-sides and outtakes rounded up the 1992 U.K. reissue. Most of these stray songs wound up on Dead Letter Office or the bonus disc of And I Feel Fine anyway, so this no great loss, and the live show from the Aragon Ballroom in 1984 that takes up the second disc is a great gain, particularly as it contains early versions of "Driver 8" and "Hyena," the latter performed two years prior to its appearance on Lifes Rich Pageant. As a whole, this concert doesn't crackle like the Toronto show added to the 25th Anniversary edition of Murmur: the band is a bit tighter and the sound is bit more open, so it winds up lacking the furious rush of that highly adrenalized Toronto concert. Nevertheless, the Aragon show shares much of the same ragged spirit, the band playing with a joyful abandon, a spirit that straightens out the ethereal elements of their earliest work and provides one hell of a good time.- allmusic.com