Exclusive Track: Hear R.E.M.'s Unreleased 'Fables' Demo for "Driver 8"

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R.E.M. will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their third album Fables of the Reconstruction with a double-disc reissue that pairs the complete digitally remastered original record with a second disc of demos and unreleased tracks from the era titled "The Athens Demos." Rolling Stone has an exclusive first listen to the demo for "Driver 8" now, two weeks before the disc hits stores on July 13th. R.E.M. ultimately recorded Fables in London, but the "Driver 8" demo shows the band already had a firm grip on the sound of their third album while working on early versions of the tracks in their native Athens, Georgia.

Hear It Now: click to listen to R.E.M.'s "Driver 8."

As Rolling Stone previously reported, the Fables reissue will also feature the unreleased song "Throw Those Troll Aways" and fledgling versions of the B side "Bandwagon" and Lifes Rich Pageant's "Hyena." Guitarist Peter Buck wrote the liner notes for the disc, which comes with a lift-top box, a poster and four postcards. "It's a personal favorite, and I'm really proud of how strange it is," he writes. "Nobody but R.E.M. could have made that record."

Look back at R.E.M.'s history in photos.

R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction (25th Anniversary Edition)
Disc One: digitally remastered original album
1. "Feeling Gravity's Pull"
2. "Maps and Legends"
3. "Driver 8"
4. "Life and How To Live It"
5. "Old Man Kensey"
6. "Can't Get There From Here"
7. "Green Grow The Rushes"
8. "Kohoutek"
9. "Auctioneer (Another Engine)"
10. "Good Advices"
11. "Wendell Gee"

Disc Two: "The Athens Demos"
1. "Auctioneer (Another Engine) [demo version]"
2. "Bandwagon [demo version]" [final version was B side to "Can't Get There From Here"]
3. "Can't Get There From Here [demo version]"
4. "Driver 8 [demo version]"
5. "Feeling Gravity's Pull [demo version]"
6. "Good Advices [demo version]"
7. "Green Grow The Rushes [demo version]"
8. "Hyena [demo version]" [album version appeared on Lifes Rich Pageant]
9. "Kohoutek [demo version]"
10. "Life and How To Live It [demo version]"
11. "Maps and Legends [demo version]"
12. "Old Man Kensey [demo version]"
13. "Throw Those Trolls Away [demo version]" [previously unreleased]
14. "Wendell Gee [demo version]"

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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