R.E.M.

November 16, 1982
Opera House, 
Lawrence KS

Lineage: SBD recording -> ? -> Listen Harder (silver disc bootleg CD) -> secure EAC rip -> FLAC -> Dime

01. Gardening At Night
02. 9-9
03. Moral Kiosk
04. Pilgrimage
05. Shaking Through
06. 7 Chinese Brothers
07. Wolves, Lower
08. Romance
09. Sitting Still
10. Pretty Persuasion
11. Catapult
12. 1,000,000
13. Radio Free Europe

This is a fantastically clean and clear soundboard recording of a young R.E.M., right before they were going into the studio to lay down the tracks on "Murmur". The audience was treated to seven of the tracks that would end up on the album, along with both sides of the first single, three tracks off "Chronic Town", two songs that would end up on Reckoning (!) and one that was a perennial live favourite of the band but was still a few years away from its final studio version (yes, I know, that adds up to 15 tracks. You do the math!).
What's extra special about this recording is that the guitar and bass are mixed hard left, and all vocals and the drums hard right. That may not be ideal, but it's very revealing when listening through headphones.

I just got the "Listen Harder" bootleg in the mail today. I don't think this particular gig has ever been on Dime before. Enjoy!