REM - Wolves, Lower rare fast version (Chronic Town outtake)

[@Shikta-poobah67]

I personally think this is a better version than the ‘official’ one that was re-recorded for Chronic Town. The story goes that it was Miles Copeland who demanded that they do a slower version, and had them re-record it after they had completely finished mixing down Chronic Town. Apparently Copeland was a bit obsessed with the song. However it was Mitch Easter who demanded that it opened the EP, instead of “Ages Of You”.

[@ClueSign]

I completely agree with you on Mills, he was flawless from the get-go, and clearly a trained musician. His harmonic bass playing, and high-harmony singing, have been a huge contribution to the band's sound.

[@panamafloyd1469]

Wow! Thanks for this. Never knew they actually recorded a version this way. Sounds like how they used to play it in clubs when I was young. 688!

[@Stuwe418]

I feel like the mix of the faster version and the slower version would create the best version of the song. However, both versions of the song are beautiful and are fun to listen to depending on the mood.

[@ConvincingPeople]

Odd to realise how obvious R.E.M.'s post-punk influences were early on, even though they still sound very much like themselves. It's especially upfront on this version of this song, with the treblier guitar lines, bouncier bass and sharper drum mixing.

[@preziosestelle7368]

It's just the orginal version of the song and spead Up

[@Chronic_Town]

@@preziosestelle7368 What are you talking about? It's a different recording take altogether.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

Well, at the time this just *WAS* basically considered post punk, albeit a very Southern-fried version of it. Whatever influences REM had were culminating in a sound that fit right in alongside other new bands of the time like The Cure, The Sound, and yes… in the context of 1982… U2. The big difference (from those bands) being that REM were from the Deep South of America, while most of their peers were from the British Isles. This definitely didn’t sound like any of the American bands being played on FM radio at the time. In ‘82 the FM airwaves were dominated by (American) stuff like Billy Squier, Journey, Toto, 38 Special, and Pat Benatar. REM was a very far cry from all that.

[@eboethrasher]

@@preziosestelle7368 different vocals, etc. I thought so at first too but then immediately started to hear all of the small differences once they became obvious, and if nothing else, the breakdown is 100% obvious.

[@eboethrasher]

@@Shikta-poobah67 I mean this might have fit in with The Cure's Seventeen Seconds or perhaps Primary, but certainly not Pornography. But I get the drift of the comparison, trust me, I do. And anyone who says that 1980, 81, 82 U2 isn't post punk is out of... control.

[@ClueSign]

Mike Mills!!! His vocals and bass just...make this whole record.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

Yep. What “Whooa-ooh-ooh” meant to Misfits, “Aah-ah-aah” meant to REM, and that was all Mills.

[@williambullock4077]

Man, do I love Peter Buck's arpeggio playing in this. He really created the classic REM sound. Though he was not into wailing guitar like Jimmy Page, he really was instrumental in the REM sound, such as The Edge with U2.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

Obvious Byrds influence (not to mention his choice of gear).

[@AUS10TEX]

4 kids from UGA with little music expertise turned into one of greatest bands ever.

[@eloyhbermudez]

incredible these kids where able to pull this off , is pure talent , effort , inspiration , genius

[@lordofyoutube6305]

coolest.. band. ever. wish they never had to change

[@griffinhan-lalime4357]

​@dTom Stamps Every album from Document through Monster has its flaws but New Adventures in Hi-Fi counts as another perfect REM album, imo

[@sexobscura]

even fault lines change

[@1000mg.]

Even a window pane changes if you gaze at it long enough.

[@psngusaneoustascia4753]

This is the best REM SONG

[@Slingertronic]

This is the absolute best of REM Man this brings back some memories

[@Rainhands22]

This is a beautiful song. I can't believe I only found it today. I've been playing it all morning. :)

[@tonybates7870]

Superb song from superb songwriters - even back then they were capable of this.

[@MatticusX22Guitar]

Even though the released was already great, this is an even better version of this song. I love the energy.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

Agreed. I love the ‘official’ version, but this is even better.

[@gulfmarine8857]

Mr Buck definitely has another gear unavailable to mere mortals.

[@REMchout]

I used to trade tapes alot...collecting bootlegs and stuff...glad I kept all of it!

[@joycehall4866]

My all time favorite song. It's just the best!!

[@a1950hotrodcat]

I'd love to see or hear "Kohoutek" live if you have it in your files. This is freakin' excellent.

[@chrismoff17]

Thanks for posting - one of my fave REM songs - jangletastic!

[@reduct101]

I think that Bill Berry 32 beat drumming on this track demonstrates more than a "little musical expertise". I agree with the last part of what you said though :P

[@ptmacp]

Just a gorgeous melody

[@NationandState]

@ILoveMikeyStipey Nice one! I'd say: 1. Life's Rich Pagaent 2. Fables 3. Chronic Town 4. Murmur 5. Reckoning 6. Dead Letter Office!

[@TheTetrarch]

Don't forget Reckoning! REM's first four albums are absolute genius.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

I wouldn’t call Fables Of The Reconstruction “genius”. That one was a pretty big drop-off from everything that preceded it. Some really great songs on it, but as a whole it was a bit of a disjointed mess.

[@MsSirAndy]

@@Shikta-poobah67 No, Fables of Reconstruction is their best album

[@Shikta-poobah67]

@@MsSirAndy Welcome to the internet, where both objectivity and subjectivity come to die.

[@remnrone]

Agreed! All that has not heard Harborcoat, please, you all have a record to buy!!

[@markhaslem2518]

Bill Berry on the tubs at all tempos … sublime. And perfect.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

One of my personal top 5 favorite REM tracks.

[@aginghipster]

I think Mike Mills was pretty proficient as a bassist from the start having played various instruments since grade school. Peter Buck was the one initially a little rough around the edges. Stipe, even though primarily a singer has learned to play a little over the years.

[@romerlapina]

love the old rem music coz it's very raw music.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

They couldn’t be topped in their early days. Every single song they recorded, released, and performed from 1981 to 1984 was perfect.

[@tailendcharlie]

love this tune..great version that i've never heard before

[@steverok67]

Wow. Can't believe it can be played even faster !

[@MsSirAndy]

IMHO it's the best version of the song

[@Shikta-poobah67]

@@MsSirAndyAgreed. This is the superior version, and it’s the way the band intended it to sound. I absolutely love the slower ‘official’ version, and for many years it was the only version I knew, but after hearing this one and learning the story behind it, it won me over. It wasn’t the band’s idea to re-record it at a slower tempo. That was all at the insistence of Miles Copeland (head of IRS Records). They were actually completely done mixing the EP when Copeland insisted that they re-record it.

[@yaggayaggaya9918]

I love this song too much.

[@REMchout]

I just sped up the wolves, lower video and made it look different...

[@preziosestelle7368]

I knew it!

[@v-town1980]

Too fu*king awesome!!! You can take your hip-hop and divas and any other act today, combine 'em and they still can't touch the coolness REM had in the early days. Just a fantastic band!

[@stevets01]

Now that I listen to it more, it sounds like both at different points in the song.

[@meesalikeu]

i always wondered about this fast version - its pretty much the same - thx for putting it up. very cool video clip too. forever i really like yr rankings, but i would put chronic town at #1 and move the rest down a notch. rem invented college music with that ep. otherwise obvs i agree with you n i think most early and long time older rem fans would as well.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

“College music” lol. It’s just good ol’ post punk - Southern fried.

[@bozack7]

JUST AMAZING CLASSIC

[@MarkCzelus]

By far, the better version

[@lifemusic1980]

this is their best song in my opinion

[@joycehall4866]

Absolutely Agree!

[@Shikta-poobah67]

I don’t know about that. It’s definitely one of them, at least. They were very consistent with their songwriting in the early days (‘81-‘84). Every song they recorded during that period was “blow your hair back” amazing. The Chronic Town EP, Murmur, and Reckoning are pure magic. Flawless in my opinion. It’s impossible for me to choose just one song as being my favorite.

[@stevets01]

Don't forget- June 23rd, the Deluxe Edition of Reckoning comes out!!

[@Sabiqoon-w8y]

you guys should see how my golden retriever dances to this tune

[@dumimic]

somehow this sounds very modern even though it's from 1980 something. funny how music evolves in loops.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

That’s because it’s timeless music. It ages gracefully because it’s not written or recorded within the context of the times it was created in. There’s no fancy studio gimmickry going on here. Mitch Easter did try a few experiments on the recording of Chronic Town, like incorporating tape loops and recording some of Stipe’s vocals outdoors, but what little experimentation he did was only done to enhance the raw tracks. The result is an EP that sounded perfect upon it’s release, and still sounds perfect today in 2023.

[@OneTimWhatley]

Funny how timeless R.E.M is.

[@MsSirAndy]

This sounds at least 10-20 years ahead of the year it was made. Truly ahead of its time

[@dustinbuhro2753]

Wolves out the door :)

[@REMchout]

I have lots of bootlegs I'm tempted to put up like this...

[@FNTM3rd]

Some say the 'chorus' is 'house in order', but I prefer to think it's: "I won't say it in order...aaahaahaaha" because the song is wolves, lower, but he says lower wolves in song

[@Shikta-poobah67]

It’s definitely “house in order”. That has been made extremely clear by R.E.M. themselves throughout the years.

[@racingfan2k10]

i salute you!

[@REMchout]

I just posted it...should be up soon.

[@arthurbludgeon]

Hey REMchout!!! Thanks for uploading this great outtake! Could you please tell me what bootleg this is from??? Thanks!

[@stevets01]

I always heard wolves at the door.

[@acercade439]

🎵💥😍🔥🎶

[@moka8267]

Daaayum

[@Homolka215]

lol! from 48-52 secs in the video looks like a kid on sugar playing the drums!

[@MarkCzelus]

By far the superior version of this song. No idea why they didn’t record this at this tempo

[@MsSirAndy]

Probably because it was too good, especially for a kid's 20yrs old debut band 🤣🤣🤣

[@ThreadBomb]

They recorded this first, but IRS asked them to do a slower version.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

Because of Miles Copeland being obsessed with the song is why. Originally they were going to have “Ages Of You” be the lead-off song on Chronic Town, but Copeland insisted that they not only use Wolves Lower, but re-record it entirely at a slower tempo. When this decision was made they had already finished mixing down the EP. They recorded the ‘official’ version only 2 months before Chronic Town’s release. I personally like both versions, and I agree that it was the right choice for opening the EP, but I definitely prefer this faster version.

[@REMchout]

@arthurbludgeon I ripped it from my Chronic Murmurings bootleg lp.

[@REMchout]

Ill check my tapes for ya on a live version of it!

[@fanniterrette]

That is surely a Rick. There's no mistaking the sound for a Telecaster here.

[@MaRiAnOrEm]

Majestuosa version se oye muy potente....sobre todo el bajo de mike mills....un hit.

[@jontv7350]

This is a great song and it's cool to hear a different version. I can see why they redid it, though. They slow down quite a bit, more than once. It's hard to keep that kind of pace up for so long. Where did the video come from?

[@Shikta-poobah67]

When you’re as young and hungry as REM were at the time, keeping up that kind of pace just comes naturally. It was only at the insistence of the head of their record label (Miles Copeland - a then middle aged man) that they re-recorded it and slowed the tempo.

[@northamericanemperor]

does anyone know how to get the MP3 of this? I lost my original Chronic Town tape I bought in the 80s :-((((((((( Amazon has the Dead Letter Office version which is clearly the wrong one for any purest from back in the day

[@kgillum]

This is on the "When the light is mine" DVD. Lot's of good "Cutting Edge" footage too.

[@MAMRetro]

1980, to be exact. Their stuff hardly ages.

[@gulfmarine8857]

Fast version!!!?? I can barely keep up with Mr Bucks picking pattern on regular speed😅

[@stevets01]

Come to think of it, we can't even listen to live versions, because Michael liked to change lyrics.

[@jerrymerritt5698]

murmur or chronic town? lrs ? I believe chronic town was released in 1983 shortly after reckoningbut chronic town was recorded in 1982 and actually released on ep before reckoning or murmur

[@tonybates7870]

Chronic Town came out in 1980 - it's superb as fuck...

[@jerrymerritt5698]

+Antony Bates I think Chronic town was recorded in 1982, not released until 1983 but reckoning also came out in late 1983, early 1984, 1983 was the copyright I think. chronic town and the following murmur both released before reckoning did not sell until REM gained popularity in the mid-1980s. I had chronic town and murmur well before I knew reckoning had been released. REM,s earlier work is probably the best.

[@tonybates7870]

Jerry Merritt I could have sworn it came out in '80 - I discovered it after Murmur, though. Not sure where I got that date from.

[@recorderchoir]

Chronic Town released 1982. Murmur 1983, Reckoning 1984

[@Shikta-poobah67]

@@recorderchoirDiscogs must not have been up and running 7 years ago. 😁

[@tidepoolbay]

Original. Did your Mother teach you that one?

[@racingfan2k10]

like your thinking there! i personally think its 'i wont sing it in order aaaahaahaahaa', does sound something like that!

[@joycehall4866]

House in order!

[@fiascorhymes]

where is the real video?

[@tarstarkascarthoris]

Wolves at the door!

[@XanatharEye]

UGA?

[@mattwilliam4803]

yeah, I know

[@kgillum]

yep, I went back an listened and it's the slow version. My bad.

[@madwithpower62]

...everyone's in such a rush these days.....

[@truthandlove971]

Bill Berry was great from the start.

[@dynjarren7523]

Wolves, lower? I’m writing the opposite song! Hyenas, Higher! It’s all about the pecking order!

[@tidepoolbay]

This is playing at a faster speed.

[@tonybates7870]

No shit, Sherlock...

[@Shikta-poobah67]

Not much gets past you, huh?

[@bobhermes4830]

Loved these guys! So fucking good! They lost me at Green.

[@Anglovox]

Sounds not too unlike the version on Chronic Town EP.

[@gtjacobs3994]

One clear difference - the first "wolves at the door", on this version he just sings, "wolves....".

[@REMchout]

university of georgia

[@eloyhbermudez]

this is post punk

[@Shikta-poobah67]

It’s commonly labeled as such today, and for roughly the last 25 years or so, but back in the early 80’s no one was calling it that. Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever heard anyone utter the words “college rock” until the very end of the 80’s. Occasionally the term “alternative” got thrown in, but as funny as it sounds today, most people were just calling this stuff “new wave” at the time.

[@the-baze]

This is the same speed for the song on Dead Letter Office...

[@jstall20]

is this just sped up? weird.

[@TomTirabasso]

@DTOM, ¿eStamos? It's different. The backing vocals are different as well as some of Stipes. The music sounds the same but just sped up. Somehow it works.

[@Shikta-poobah67]

It’s a completely different recording. This was how they originally intended it to sound. They only re-recorded it because the head of their record label insisted that they had to.

[@GVike]

Trolling. But good trolling ahahahahaha...

[@Dudewhostartsargumentsandloses]

Much better faster imo. Sick ass song. Stands the test of time