R.E.M. Add an Unreleased Paris Set to Reveal’s Expanded Edition
R.E.M.’s expanded Reveal edition pairs the 2001 album with a previously unreleased 17-song Paris session. The set is due November 20, 2026.
R.E.M.’s Reveal is returning with a substantial piece of its live history. The band has announced a 25th-anniversary edition for November 20, 2026, pairing the 2001 album with The Black Sessions Revealed, a previously unreleased 17-song performance recorded for Radio France in Paris.
The announcement appeared on R.E.M.’s official website on September 30. A live version of “Imitation of Life” from the session is already available to stream, ahead of the full collection’s release through Craft Recordings.
Paris, May 7, 2001
The session was recorded on May 7, 2001, shortly before Reveal arrived. Its setlist puts then-new songs such as “The Lifting,” “I’ve Been High” and “She Just Wants to Be” alongside “The One I Love,” “Losing My Religion” and “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry).”
Craft’s account identifies Scott McCaughey on guitar, Ken Stringfellow on keyboards and Joey Waronker on drums as the musicians joining R.E.M. for the performance. For guitar listeners, that expanded lineup provides a useful reason to revisit the material: the release offers a chance to compare the studio arrangements with their live presentation at the time.
That context matters because Reveal did not lead to a conventional tour. According to Craft, the band instead played a limited series of promotional performances around the album’s release. The Paris recording documents that shorter live chapter.
What the editions include
The deluxe edition combines two CDs with a Blu-ray featuring high-resolution and 5.1 surround audio of Reveal, three music videos and the original electronic press kit. It comes in a 32-page hardcover book with archival photographs and new liner notes by Birgit Fuss, including reflections from Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills.
An expanded digital edition is also announced. The Black Sessions Revealed will be available separately as a two-LP set, allowing listeners to choose the live recording on its own.
Start with the newly available Black Sessions version of “Imitation of Life” while waiting for the complete set.
Image: Editorial illustration of Michael Stipe and Peter Buck, based on public-domain 2008 photographs by Roberto De Martino (Dr.Conati). This is not a photograph of the 2001 Radio France session.