Sunday 9 January 2011

Live @ MTV Unplugged 1991

The cover I made, rather crappily, with Photoshop. Give me credit if you want to use it.
What with all my talk of bootlegs and all, it's about time I started uploading them! This is an old R.E.M. classic, and a real hard one to get hold of - the band's performance on MTV Unplugged, in 1991.

I guess I should tell you about bootleg policy. Back in the old days, Murmurs.com had a torrent section, called "Give It Away", which allowed users to get a hold of their favourite live concerts for free. Sadly, GIA is no longer available, but it kickstarted a whole host of bootlegging sites. R.E.M. supposedly had a verbal agreement with Murmurs about allowing bootlegs to be traded, as long as they weren't sold for money. I can neither confirm nor deny this, but I read an interview with Peter and Mike once which seems to support this fact.

I admit, I'm a little uneasy about uploading this one. R.E.M. shows that are bootlegged belong to R.E.M., which means although they're not strictly legal, we users can trade freely without hassle. However, MTV shows, even if they feature R.E.M., belong to MTV. As a result, these unplugged shows are incredibly hard to find, as most links are now dead due to MTV taking them off. Now, as I don't want to get sued, this bootleg will only be up for one more week, then after that you will need to contact me if you want this.

The whole situation is rather unfair. This was recorded twenty years ago, and so it's fairly obvious that MTV have no plans to release this, ever. But anyway, enough introduction. Here's the link:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z9SDXPUW

Even small files on this site take ages to download, so I suggest you visit during 'happy hour' (don't know what it is for U.S. folks, but in Britain it's 5 a.m. onwards!) to get the fastest speed.

Remember, one week is all you get. If you reach this page and find a dead link, e-mail me and I can send you the files directly. Enjoy this classic show!

Bootleg details:
Tracks:
1 - Half a World Away
2 - Disturbance at the Heron House
3 - Radio Song
4 - Low
5 - Perfect Circle
6 - Fall On Me
7 - Belong
8 - Love is All Around
9 - It's the End of the World as We Know It
10 - Losing My Religion
11 - Pop Song 89

Quality: A+
Rating: ◊◊◊◊◊ - One of the best bootlegs out there. If I was stranded on desert island and could only have one R.E.M. show, it'd be this one.

Yours truly,
Auctioneer

21 comments:

  1. Thanks a billion, I've been looking for this for AGES!! This is a very special concert to me, not only because it's a stellar performance, but also because it reminds me so much of great times of my childhood. This was on MTV at these times, back in 1991 when I was only 8 years old - and I DEVOURED this concert. Many times. Imagine that, I was already a huge fan even at the age of 8.
    This takes me back like on a time travel to the great old times, and I cannot be thankful enough that you posted this.

    I wouldn't worry too much about the copyright police doing a raid here, but if you feel uneasy with it then I guess it's better to take it down. I'll just be very sorry for all the guys out there who weren't able to snag this while it was up.

    BTW, great blog, keep it up!

    Kirsten

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not a problem - I'm glad you like it! I just wish I was there to have seen the original broadcast... :(

    The files will still be available, but I'm going to e-mail them to those who request it, instead of uploading them onto file sharing sites. MTV are sticklers for upholding copyright. I'd be great if they officially released this show, but seeing as it's been a decade it's not looking likely! :P

    Yours truly,
    Auctioneer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To anyone who reads this, I'm afraid I'm too busy to e-mail the files directly to individuals. I wrote this a year ago when my life WASN'T crazy, so I have to retract this statement.

      Delete
  3. Oh sorry, I must've skipped the line where you say that you would send the files directly when the link is down... :(

    I also don't think there will ever be an official release of this concert, not after these many years.

    Only those tiny excerpts are or were available on compilations, though, e.g. Losing My Religion @ Unplugged 1991 was on "The Very Best of MTV Unplugged", and Love Is All Around was on their own This Film Is On video compilation.
    I just can't understand why, cause speaking money-wise, at least *I* feel it would've sold very well, but it seems they (MTV or Viacom or whoever) were of a different opinion.
    And this is not the only great MTV Unplugged concert that has never seen an official release, e.g. think of The Cure and the like.

    And our R.E.M.'s sublime 2001 MTV Unplugged version also didn't make it - unbelievable and very very sad.
    I still only have a very bad quality video of the uncut 2001 Unplugged concert, and on top of that it has a very nasty audio delay of like 4 seconds :((
    - Also a very hard to get concert, and as for a decent quality uncut video version, even like impossible to come by.

    Besides, I still bemoan the loss of an official DVD release of R.E.M.'s 2001 concert in Cologne - R.I.P!!
    I've never been able to get more than 4 or 5 videos of the whole concert, which is considered as one of the best they ever gave. The announcement of the release that never took place obviously led to the removal from trackers and other bootleg sites... ;_;

    ReplyDelete
  4. Actually, I do happen to have the audio from the Cologne 2001 show, in really high quality. Would you like me upload it for you?

    Yours truly,
    Auctioneer

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've been looking for ages for this concert. In my opinion it's one of the greatest ever, at least in the unplugged series. I once had it in mp4. But after a crash I lost it and I'm looking in every corner of the internet to get it. Can you help me? I would very much appreciate it!

    Kind Regards
    Robert
    Netherlands

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Robert,

      I've reposted the files! Check the bottom comment on this post.

      Yours truly,
      Auctioneer

      Delete
  6. Auctioneer,

    Can you please email this to me at Danakid@sbcglobal.net? I think this performance is one of their best, and the music absolutely beautiful. I've also been looking for ages for this, and Megaupload going down makes my search even harder. Thank you so, so much--I'd really appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Robert and DA,

      This is Auctioneer here! Google made an error somewhere and my account has somehow detached itself from my blog, meaning I can't post anything. :(

      What I intend to do with this bootleg, seeing as it is extremely popular, is re-upload it to another file sharing site that is still running, so you can all get a copy of it. I still have all the original tracks.

      If this doesn't work, then I shall e-mail you both the tracks personally - however, to anyone else reading this, this is only a one-off. I can't spend hours sending every track to every person.

      So yes, stay tuned! Your bootleg is on its way.

      Yours truly,
      Auctioneer

      Delete
    2. Sorry for the double post, but I'm just letting you know the bootleg has been re-posted! Check the bottom comment.

      Delete
  7. http://www.mediafire.com/?q9rcyq5snm4py5n

    Ladies and gents, here it is - a working link to this brilliant 1991 show! Don't be put off my the title of the zip file - this was just to help the file to avoid detection by whatever potential crawler programs scout the sites. I hope you enjoy this bootleg as much as I have!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dear Auctioneer,
    You're probably aware that the new link is 'invalid'.
    I taped this back in 1992 when it was on BBC2 but lent it to a friend whose machine chewed it up. All I've been able to find is a miserable 174MB .avi file which is rather poor quality. I loved this show and if you can help please e-mail me...
    pmould007@googlemail.com
    Some prick is asking £15 for it on ioffer but that's a last resort. Kind Regards

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Peter,

      I'll try and find another file sharing site to upload this bootleg to. I would love to be able to e-mail you the tracks directly, but life has been crazy as of late and I just don't have time to send e-mails of all the individual tracks (which I would have to do due to attachment size limitations). Additionally, if I was to e-mail one person the tracks, I would have to do it for everyone who asked for fairness, and like I say, time is a luxury I don't have. :(

      Check back in a couple of days' time if I haven't sent another reply to this comment - I'll do my best to find another host!

      Yours truly,
      Auctioneer

      P.S. Whatever you do, don't pay for this bootleg! Good as it is, it's not worth £15, and I'm a firm believer in making sure these boots are kept free. ^^

      Delete
    2. Check the comment at the bottom of the thread. :)

      Delete
  9. http://www.4shared.com/rar/SR32h7mF/Remember_Every_Moment.html?

    New upload. Let's hope this one works!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Auctioneer,

    I have a better quality version of this in M4A audio. Happy to share this if someone can "chop" it up into individual tracks (the M4A is a single file for the whole show)?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been looking for a lossless unplugged 1991 for a long time and I'd love to split it up. :)

      Delete
    2. http://www.megafileupload.com/en/file/382201/R-E-M--Unplugged-1991-m4a.html

      Delete
  11. Sorry - I forgot.

    However, check this link out. He seems to have uploaded the songs, split, I YouTube and the audio quality sounds pretty good.

    http://youtu.be/7AL8nUDM4c8

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ill post the M4A tomorrow. Please send me a copy once split.

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Here you go....

    http://www.megafileupload.com/en/file/382201/R-E-M--Unplugged-1991-m4a.html

    Please link me the split files.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete