Search - R.E.M. :: Live At The Olympia (2CD)

4.5 Stars... outstanding live album

Paul Allaer | Cincinnati | 10/27/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Almost to the day 2 years ago, REM released its first official live album in its illustrious career ("REM Live"), but unfortunately that live album pretty much collapsed under the weight of far too many weak recent songs (6 no less from the dud that is "Around The Sun"). Thankfully we didn't have to wait too long for this to be corrected.



"Live At the Olympia" (2 CDs; 39 tracks; 149 min.) is as astonishingly strong and fresh as "REM Live" felt forced and unnatural. (Interestingly, both these live albums were recorded in Dublin, albeit at different venues.) From the opening chords of "Living Well Is the Best Revenge" (also the opening track from the equally excellent "Accelerate" studio album released last year), the band plays with vigor and an extra kick not heard since.... well, probably since Barry left the band. Sprinkled throughout this opulence of 39 tracks are 8 of the 11 tracks from "Accelerate", which is actually a good thing (strangely, the single "Supernatural Superserious" is not on here). Thankfully missing on here are tried songs like "Everybody Hurts" and "Losing My Religion", which I simply can't stand hearing any more, ever. Instead we are treated to a boatload of old nuggets: half the track from the "Reckoning" album ("Second Guessing", "So. Central Rain", "Little America", "Harborcoat" and "Pretty Persuasion", all one better than the next), 4 tracks from "Fables of the Reconstruction" ("Maps and Legends", "Drive 8", "Auctioneer" and "Kohoutek"), and even the band's first EP "Chronic Town (1982) is covered by 3 tracks here: "1,000,000", "Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)", and the last track on this album (and also closing track on the EP), a beautiful "Gardening At Night".



There is minimal (only 3 songs) overlap between the 2007 live album and the new one, so you can make a clear choice. Whereas the 2007 live album felt tired and tiresome, "Live at the Olympia" features a band that is completely on top of its game, playing tight and rocking hard. I had the good fortune of seeing REM in concert last year on the "Accelerate" tour, and was shocked how good they sounded, and how much fun they seemed to be having. Meanwhile, "Live At the Olympia" is a momentous and fantastic live album. Highly recommended!"

The set list I would have written for R.E.M.

Bryan Gilmer | Durham, NC USA | 10/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I discovered REM as a young high schooler in Georgia. There was this great band over in Athens, a buddy of mine told me, played at the 40 Watt Club all the time. He gave me a bootleg cassette of Life's Rich Pageant and Fables of the Reconstruction. I wore out the tape over that summer and fall, and then added Document to the rotation when it came out. I quickly bought all the previous albums. My favorite was the quirky Dead Letter Office of odd tracks that had never made it onto any album.



I was in my early 20s when R.E.M. lost me. It wasn't when they got internationally huge or when they moved to Warner -- I thought Green, Out of Time and Automatic for the People were excellent albums; I was right there with them. But I remember only kind of liking Monster (and feeling irritated when I paid huge money to see the band live in Charlotte only to have Stipe show up grumpy and unpleasant) and then feeling totally lost listening to New Adventures in Hi Fi. I didn't buy the next several.



Until Accelerate. This was a return to the R.E.M. sound I knew: the bass track driving the songs and Mike Mills' backing vocals turned up to set off that one-of-a-kind Stipe vocal sound, the guitar snarling as well as jangling. Joyful or urgent, not mopey.



The release of this live set makes it pretty explicit that R.E.M. intentionally returned to its essence for Accelerate. They heavily revisit the great deep tracks of the IRS albums alongside much of the Accelerate material. The energy they bring to these songs is incredible, and Stipe's clearly in a better mood now. The handful of mistakes that make it onto the album give it a humanity, and the band handles them with humor. The between-song banter at the mic by Stipe is so much fun. A couple of these speeches make it apparent that Stipe had to Google the lyrics to many of his own early songs. It's a shame they've been out of the rotation that long.



Anyway, R.E.M., welcome back to the 40 Watt. This album makes me feel like I've stumbled into one of your gigs under a pseudonym in a small club. Well done.



"

Excellent disk and love the band

Michael Gertz | 01/31/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an oustanding disk. Call me a throwback guy, but owning this on CD was a great idea. The songs are a great mix of early stuff and the latest stuff from REM. I like the interaction between the band and the crowd and the songs are great. This band has stood the test of time and still are great. Buy it."