Craft Recordings this summer will reissue two of R.E.M.’s out-of-print latter-era albums on heavyweight audiophile vinyl in both black and color pressings.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the release of R.E.M.’s iconic first album Murmur, a record that’s widely considered among the best rock debuts.

The story of of one of college rock’s most foundational bands is told anew in John Hunter’s hefty biography “Maps and Legends: The Story of R.E.M.”

R.E.M. will continue its deluxe album reissue series this fall with an expanded 25th anniversary edition of New Adventures in Hi-Fi, the record the band made while touring 1995’s Monster and the final LP recorded before co-founder Bill Berry left the band. Full details and tracklists right here.

This is a round-up of the week’s new albums, expanded reissues and/or box sets, appearing each Monday on Slicing Up Eyeballs. All releases due out this Friday unless noted. May also include some other titles released in recent weeks but not previously featured. Titles from Simple Minds, The Cure, Visage and more.

R.E.M. is offering the first taste of Scott Litt’s new remix of Monster — part of the upcoming 6-disc box set marking the 25th anniversary of that album — via a worked-over version of the record’s first single, the Dan Rather-paraphrasing “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” Hear it right here.

R.E.M. will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its grunge-era return-to-rock Monster this fall with a 6-disc box set that will include previously unheard demos, an unreleased live concert, the “Road Movie” film and a newly remixed version of the album by original producer Scott Litt. See full details, including tracklist, right here.

Record Rack: A round-up of the week’s new albums, expanded reissues and/or box sets, appearing each Monday on Slicing Up Eyeballs. All releases due out this Friday unless noted. This week’s releases include titles from Johnny Marr, Peter Buck, The English Beat, The Sisters of Mercy and King Blank.

Three-quarters of R.E.M. — Peter Buck, Mike Mills and drummer-turned-farmer Bill Berry — reunited onstage tonight in Portland, Ore., at the second of two benefit concerts for Scott McCaughey, the longtime R.E.M. sideman who suffered a stroke in November. See video from the reunion performances here.

Scott McCaughey, leader of the Young Fresh Fellows and the Minus 5, and who spent 17 years as a touring guitarist and multi-instrumentalist for R.E.M., suffered a stroke while on a tour of the West Coast with Alejandro Escovedo, his wife announced today. He is in stable condition, but a long recovery is expected.

A second previously unreleased demo of an unheard song from R.E.M.’s sessions for its 1992 classic Automatic for the People has been released ahead of that album’s reissue next month, a song called “Devil Rides Backwards” that’s being billed as the album’s “great lost track.”

Record Rack: A round-up of the week’s new albums, expanded reissues and/or box sets, appearing each Monday on Slicing Up Eyeballs. All releases due out this Friday unless noted. This week’s releases include titles from R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, The Fall, Alex Chilton, Devo, Sex Pistols and more.

Back in June, R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and Peter Buck traveled to Norway for the Sun Station Vadsø festival, featuring performances by a series of intertwined bands including The Dream Syndicate, Filthy Friends, The Minus 5 and The Baseball Project. Watch footage of them playing R.E.M. songs.