Hear R.E.M.’s Stunning 2001 ‘Unplugged’ Version of ‘The One I Love’
Earlier this month, Michael Stipe stood in front of a packed Barclays Center in Brooklyn and talked about a band from the Nineties that changed the world when he inducted Nirvana into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But the hunger for music from his own group — R.E.M., which officially disbanded in 2011 — is also still powerfully strong, as evidenced by a full sell-out of the limited-edition Record Store Day vinyl collection of the act’s 1991 and 2001 MTV Unplugged appearances. So the band is doing the only logical thing: releasing the set on CD and digitally on May 19th. And Rolling Stone is premiering “The One I Love” (from the ’01 appearance) here today.
Read Rob Sheffield’s tribute to R.E.M.
The ’91 disc includes five previously-unreleased versions that didn’t air, including “World Leader Pretend” and “Swan Swan H,” while the ’01 set features six songs that have never before seen the light of day, including this version of “The One I Love” and “I’ve Been High.” Drummer Bill Berry appears on the ’91 appearance, but had left the band by the time it returned to the show a decade later, at the time Reveal was released.
The albums will be available for pre-sale on the iTunes store next Tuesday, and the version of “The One I Love” you’re hearing here will be up for grabs then as a single-track download and as an instant download for those who pre-order the set.
Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions Track List:
1991 Unplugged
“Half a World Away”
“Disturbance at the Heron House”
“Radio Song”
“Low”
“Perfect Circle”
“Fall on Me”
“Belong”
“Love Is All Around”
“It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)”
“Losing My Religion”
“Pop Song 89”
“Endgame”
“Fretless”
“Swan Swan H”
“Rotary 11”
“Get Up”
“World Leader Pretend”
2001 Unplugged
“All the Way to Reno (You’re Gonna Be a Star)”
“Electrolite”
“At My Most Beautiful”
“Daysleeper”
“So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)”
“Losing My Religion”
“Country Feedback”
“Cuyahoga”
“Imitation of Life”
“Find the River”
“The One I Love”
“Disappear”
“Beat a Drum”
“I’ve Been High”
“I’ll Take the Rain”
“Sad Professor”