I didn’t realize until now that I hadn’t posted at all about the upcoming re-release of “Lifes Rich Pageant.” The new version comes out on July 12 with a bonus disc of demos from March 1986. The “Athens Demos” are previously unreleased, but let’s hope they are also previously unheard, just like the demos from the Fables re-release last year.

R.E.M. has allowed so much stuff to reach fans via bootleg, I am always skeptical that I will pop in one of these bonus discs and find something I had never heard before. They managed to surprise me last year so I will withhold judgment now.

I really liked seeing this release highlighted in Entertainment Weekly” this week. They noted that the demos featured a version of “Wait,” a savvy move by the magazine. This song has banged around bootlegs for years with only one studio version I know of ever existing. That one was pretty rough so I hope this is a more polished mix.

“Wait” ranks as one of those moments I kind of wish the band had embraced earlier. When they played the song live, it had an infectious beat with  Michael Stipe’s sister Cindy and Magnapop singer Linda Hopper singing background vocals in this version, which rounds out a manic second set of a 1981 show at Tyrone’s in Athens.  This is the fun side of R.E.M. which needs more exposure. Hopefully they captured that in these demos.