"99X Live X Volume 6 - Walk Unafraid" - Various Artists
Compilation Album
U2 Related Content:
- "Walk Unafraid" (Live, Acoustic) - R.E.M. (05:01)
Full Track Listing:
- Walk Unafraid (Live Acoustic) – R.E.M.
- Everything You Want – Vertical Horizon
- Is Anybody Home? – Our Lady Peace
- Spaceship – Angie Aparo
- My Hero – Foo Fighters
- If You Could Only See Me – Tonic
- Can’t Change Me – Chris Cornell
- Meet Virginia – Train
- Age of Innocence – Billy Corgan
- Yeah, Whatever – Splender
- Heavy – Collective Soul
- Atlanta – Stone Temple Pilots
Background Information
“Live X” refers to a concert held by the Atlanta Georgia based radio station 99X where the performers generally perform in an unplugged acoustic style. Each year a CD is compiled from the various Live X concerts held that year as well as other notable performances in the same style. The CDs were released yearly between 1993 and 2007. The 2005 album included a live version of “One” being performed by Automatic Baby, a super group made up of two members of U2 with two members of R.E.M. The sixth volume of this compilation, titled “Walk Unafraid” also contained some U2 content alongside an R.E.M. appearance.
The song “Walk Unafraid” was originally recorded by R.E.M. for their 1998 album “Up”. The version here is a live acoustic performance of the song. The song itself is credited as having been written by Michael Stipe and R.E.M. inside the lyrics booklet and on all other releases of the song, but Stipe himself revealed he had some writing assistance on the song. Bono assisted Stipe with the lyrics, and helped him come to a major breakthrough on the writing of the song. In a 1998 interview Stipe was asked who else could be considered as helping out with the album and answered, “Bono should be added to that list, too. He was definitely there. He helped me write the second verse of ‘Walk Unafraid’ which is my favorite song on the record. I told him what I wanted it to be, and I’m like, ‘I think I’m making these proclamations & I don’t want that.’ And he was like, ‘turn it into a question’ and it was like a light bulb went off. I would’ve never thought of that in the three more months of tearing whatever hair I have left, trying to get the lyrics finished.”
The song was also released in 2007 by R.E.M. on their live album “Live”.