Review Summary: R.E.M are still rocking after all these years. And here's the proof. Not the best evidence, but proof nonetheless.
The latest installment in R.E.M’s extensive discography is both a special and interesting one. It is special in the fact that in the band’s 20-plus-years career, this is the first ever official live album of the band. It is interesting, however, that the band has decided to release this double-disc/DVD package at this time, two years after the concert was actually recorded. Despite its odd timing and occasional flaws,
R.E.M Live is still an excellent showcase of the powerhouse live performances the band still puts on after all these years.
The star of this show is, undeniably, vocalist Michael Stipe. Decked out in a snazzy as hell suit and his trademark blue stripe, he has the crowd in the palm of his hands. Practically everything he does sparks cheers from the crowd- yelling, raising his fists, clapping, even taking his jacket off. He is a hugely eccentric, mysterious frontman (herein where a lot of his appeal lies), and is very entertaining to watch. His vocal performance here is great too, only occasionally hitting off-notes after running around just a little too much.
The five musicians backing him are a tight machine; faithfully recreating the bands’ already excellent songs for the live audience. Multi-instrumentalists Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow both add depth and dimension to the songs, tightly following guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills’ lead. Drummer Bill Rieflin does not have the character of his predecessor (namesake Berry), but is nevertheless a solid performer, not missing a beat.
As a matter of fact, if there is one complaint to be made about the band, it is that they are rather dull to watch. Peter Buck is guilty of this especially, always focusing more on nailing the riffs than interacting with the crowd. It is fortunate that Stipe is so engaging, otherwise the DVD would be the most pointless part of this package.
Technically, the performance is hard to fault. There isn’t a bad song featured in the show, despite some rather odd inclusions. The setlist opts away from many of the better known singles and chooses to lean towards the latest record (2004’s Around The Sun) and rarely-performed numbers. The opening tracks “I Took Your Name” (from 1994’s
Monster, here rocking much harder than its recorded version) and “So Fast, So Numb” (from 1996’s
New Adventures In Hi-Fi) are prime examples of this.
The move on behalf of the band is an interesting choice, but in the long run it lacks a lot the balance (and subsequent excellence) of previous live video setlists such as 1990’s superb
Tourfilm and 1995’s
Road Movie. Surely some of the less interesting tracks such as “Boy In The Well” could have been replaced with “Turn You Inside Out” or “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It”?
To be fair, though, the unusual setlist does have some gems- in the most unexpected of places.
A powerful highlight, for example, comes in the two songs Stipe introduces as the band’s “State of the Union address”. The songs are “I Wanted To Be Wrong” and “Final Straw”, both from
Around The Sun. The true poetry of Stipe’s lyrics is accentuated in these songs, whereas on the record the over-production of the songs tended to take away focus on them. The never-before-performed track “The Ascent Of Man” and the single “Leaving New York” (also from ATS) are also triumphs- the chorus of “The Ascent Of Man”, in particular, is absolutely nailed by Stipe, Mills and Stringfellow. Listening to these recordings, you get the impression that if the songs sounded as good here on
Around, perhaps it wouldn’t have been such an overlooked record.
Other standout songs in the set include a rocked out “Bad Day”, featuring a hugely odd suck-blow-suck harmonica solo from Stipe, the exciting encore of “What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?” and the timeless hits that are “Losing My Religion” and “Everybody Hurts” . All these songs get a great reaction from the sold out Dublin crowd, who are quite obviously very happy to be there.
The sound quality is well produced, a good mix of all the instruments with Stipe’s vocals washing over it. The DVD is often well-shot and features some very cool effects; however, too much screen time is given to Michael. Admittedly, he’s the only really interesting one on stage, but it seems only fair to give the other members their time in the sun.
In some songs, as well, there is constant movement of camera shots and angles. The intention here is to represent the pace of the songs, but ultimately it comes off as being both distracting and annoying. Thankfully, this is not a consistent feature throughout the DVD.
This isn’t a perfect live album or DVD, but
R.E.M Live is most certainly worthy of a look into for the devoted fanatics and anyone who is more than just a passing fan of the group.
