Earlier this month, R.E.M. announced the remastered version of “Fables of the Reconstruction,” the third of the band’s early albums to get this treatment. Like the first two, this July 13 release will include a bonus CD. But they are mixing it up.

Instead of a concert like we got with “Murmur” and “Reckoning,” the extra CD will feature 14 demo tracks from the sessions preceding the Fables sessions. Eleven of the songs ended up on the album, one (“Hyena”) ended up on the next album, another (“Bandwagon) was a B-side and also made the cut for “Dead Letter Office” while the last track was never released.

I have seen some fans complaining – and to be honest I haven’t poked around that much so I don’t know how pervasive the sentiment is – that these bootlegs are already available so releasing them does not help the hardcore R.E.M. fan

First off, I don’t think this is true. The “Throw the Trolls Away” track was not easily accessible in the many sharing formats that fans of the band have used for years. They didn’t just demo these songs once so maybe the other 13 are entirely new versions.

Secondly, even if those of us who go crazy over downloading old stuff already have the other 13, we also have many of the concerts from the era so it’s not like a live show would have mitigated any whining. I saw people kvetching about the selection of shows for the two earlier bonus CDs because they were already available.

Face it – if you are like me and already have bootlegs and demos and all other assorted “rare” stuff, this notion of adding something to the remastered releases will always have the potential to rub you the wrong way. But there are people out there who might buy the album with no knowledge of the previously existing demos or without a cache of bootlegs who might really enjoy the extra look into the band’s process.

For goodness sake, the “Throw the Trolls Away” track I heard online has Michael Stipe briefly talking to the recording engineer during an instrumental break. I totally dig that kind of stuff and appreciate that the band lets us look in that window even if I might have already heard some of it in a crappy MP3 format downloaded from some sketchy connection eight years ago.

If you already have the stuff, just deal with it. Some of us are happy for any little extra we can get.