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.
Live albums are almost always disappointing because they boil a multi-sensory experience down to one sense. Something that seemed great with the bass pummeling your chest and the scent of spilled beer in your nose and the lead singer doing cartwheels often doesn't sound great when you're only getting the audio input.Concert movies fare a little better because they at least engage one other se...
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I was first introduced to R.E.M. by my middle school buddy Joe. We were accompanying my mom to the grocery store when we heard We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel. Joe bemoaned that song as a cheap rip off of It's The End of The World As We Know It, a song I had never heard by a band of which I was vaguely aware.That simple car ride began a long love affair with that little college-radio b...
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Here's a track off the new R.E.M. live CD/DVD set, R.E.M. Live.
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Here's another track off the new R.E.M. live album/DVD, R.E.M. Live. Check it out.
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Live albums are almost always disappointing because they boil a multi-sensory experience down to one sense. Something that seemed great with the bass pummeling your chest and the scent of spilled beer in your nose and the lead singer doing cartwheels often doesn't sound great when you're only getting the audio input.Concert movies fare a little better because they at least engage one other se...
More >
I was first introduced to R.E.M. by my middle school buddy Joe. We were accompanying my mom to the grocery store when we heard We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel. Joe bemoaned that song as a cheap rip off of It's The End of The World As We Know It, a song I had never heard by a band of which I was vaguely aware.That simple car ride began a long love affair with that little college-radio b...
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I originally wanted to title this post "Does R.E.M. Suck?", but I thought better of it. Listening to the recently released R.E.M. Live had me questioning their relevance. I'm calling on all my fellow moggers to help me decide who is/was a better band? I’ve pitted R.E.M against a band that I considered a formidable opponent. So here goes nothing…… In the first corner we have......The oppon
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Filmed by director Blue Leach, ??R.E.M. LIVE?? documents the band's performance at Dublin's Point Theater on February 27, 2005 as part of a 116-date world tour that year.The two-CD, one-DVD set is slated for release on October 16Th.The DVD portion was directed by Blue Leach (Depeche Mode, Snow Patrol). A trailer for the project can be found on the R.E.M. fan site: http://www.Murmurs.com.Also,Th...
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R.E.M. will release a brand-new double live album, entitled R.E.M. Live At The Olympia on October 27th, 2009 via Warner Bros. Records. The two-CD set, produced by Jacknife Lee, features 39 songs that capture the best moments from the band’s 2007 “working rehearsals” at Dublin’s fabled Olympia club where singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter [...]
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 "R.E.M. Live")
