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R.E.M. Live

R.E.M.

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Album Review

Cynics may dismiss R.E.M.'s first-ever live CD as a way to run out their contract, and they may not be wrong. Despite the lack of a full-fledged live album in their catalog — and some could call R.E.M. Live not quite an album, since it is a two-CD/one-DVD package that documents a concert the group gave at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, on February 27, 2006, so it's as much a video as an album — there hasn't exactly been a paucity of official live releases, not with all the home videos, DVDs, and B-sides issued over the years (and this isn't even counting the numerous bootlegs). If there wasn't necessarily a need for a live album, it also is true that R.E.M.'s stock never was lower than it was in 2007, as the band was limping along after Around the Sun, which was not so much a flop as it was merely ignored. So, the band could have conceivably been running down their contract or they could have been in a slump, needing the time that a live set bought them, or perhaps they just wanted to offer a reminder of why everybody cared in the first place, something that R.E.M. Live almost provides. At the very least, R.E.M. Live proves that the group packs a stronger punch live than they do in the studio, as the band gives songs from recent albums muscle they sorely missed on record. They also can sound vital on classic material, such as "Cuyahoga," which retains a fragile beauty here, and they give "I Took Your Name" a mean, menacing vibe. Not that everything clicks here — as they go to the encore, they get a bit too strident and overblown, while Mike Mills' lead vocal on "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" turns the song into something a little too slight — but the band sounds tight and enormous, a perfect example of old pros comfortable in their skin. Now, this won't necessarily be everybody's cup of tea — in particular, fans of the frenzied early R.E.M. rock & roll will find this too anthemic — but this big, big sound on R.E.M. Live speaks to the band's core strengths in a way no post-Bill Berry studio album does.

Customer Reviews

Lamest Worksong

This live set comes from R.E.M.'s tour supporting Around the Sun, inarguably R.E.M.'s worst studio album to date. Around the Sun suffered from poor songwriting drenched under layer upon layer of superfluous and fussy production. Even Peter Buck has admitted that he was unhappy with it. Why R.E.M. -- one of the best live bands ever -- would choose to release this live set for its first live record is perplexing. The Around the Sun selections fare only marginally better than the album versions, and the back catalog selections are uninspired. How many more times does the ardent R.E.M. fan (probably the only person who will actually purchase this record) need to hear live versions of The One I Love or Losing My Religion? I would hate to think that R.E.M. is releasing this record merely because it hasn't released an album in over three years. On the good news front, R.E.M.'s live performances of new material in Dublin earlier this year were spectacular. That new material should provide the basis for what will hopefully be R.E.M.'s best record in over a decade, provided that the studio tweaking is kept to a minimum. If you have an R.E.M. craving, wait for that record and pass on this tepid live set.

Sing Along With Stipe??

Is there anything more annoying than paying $40-50 for a ticket to a show and having the crowd sing along with every tune? Yes...A live album where you can hear them clearly singing along. I buy an album to hear the group; not that familiar buzz of 15,000 fans playing group karaoke.

Ehhh...

To be honest, I would rather have not had them do the live album if I knew this would be the result. This set has it's highlights, 'Electron Blue' unexpectedly being one of them. The tracks from Around The Sun where below standard on vinyl and don't really translate here, either. 'Final Straw' was topical at the time of the performance, but years late not so much. As for anyone who doesn't appreciate 'Losing My Religion' appearing here, I'm curious how you could justify it's absence. It would be like Billy Joel skipping 'Piano Man' or Alicia Keys dissing 'Fallin''. What is ultra-disappointing is that Murmurs.com was regularly posting set-lists during this tour, so there is proof that more scintillating performances than this exist. 'Life and How To Live It' was a firestorm most nights, and the boys trotted out tunes from Chronic Town fairly often - where are those moments? To be fair, there are rivetting moments here, but not enough to package the also-rans around. I'm still a big, big fan. What's encouraging is that most of the five Dublin rehearsal gigs are available on-line somewhere - you just have to dig hard enough. Here's to the new album in 2008!

Biography

Formed: 1980 in Athens, GA

Genre: Rock

Years Active: '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

R.E.M. marked the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock. When their first single, "Radio Free Europe," was released in 1981, it sparked a back-to-the-garage movement in the American underground. While there were a number of hardcore and punk bands in the U.S. during the early '80s, R.E.M. brought guitar pop back into the underground lexicon. Combining ringing guitar hooks with mumbled, cryptic lyrics and a D.I.Y. aesthetic borrowed from post-punk, the band simultaneously sounded traditional...
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