Album Review

For all but their ardent fans, the 39 songs and 2 ½ hours worth of R.E.M. on Live At The Olympia would seem to be far more than anyone could ever want, especially considering that the album is mostly devoid of the group’s big hits that still show up on both classic rock and alternative stations.

However, the diehards, and there are a lot of them, will be in their glory when they listen to this 2-disc monster. But the funny thing is that, if they sampled it, the casual fans would probably find a lot to like in here as well. R.E.M. were never really about the radio hits anyway; they were, and are, all about consistency and, because they arrived on their debut with a fully-formed sound, even their earliest records have the spark and integrity of their more popular later efforts, sometimes more so.

The occasion of the performances from which this album was formed was a five-night 2007 residency at the Olympia Theater in Dublin to try out the new material that would form the band’s 2008 album, Accelerate. And what this live document quickly demonstrates is how sharp that latest studio release was. The new songs stand toe-to-toe with all of the warhorses and often outshine them. Tracks like “Living Well Is The Best Revenge” and “Mr. Richards” marry the grungy punch the band brought to the table in the ’90s with the melodic flair of their ’80s material in truly powerful fashion. And slower fare like “Until The Day Is Done” show off the focus Michael Stipe has brought to his most recent lyrics.

Speaking of Stipe, he comes across as an amiable frontman here, jokingly pointing out the way his lyrics are often misunderstood because even he himself can’t understand them. Although the whole “please don’t call this a show” thing gets a little overdone, the band definitely seems both relaxed by the occasion and energized by the mix of new material and the classics that they haven’t performed in ages. Even with all of their self-deprecating stage-patter apologies, the band is tight. All of the elements that made them great are still in place: Peter Buck’s chiming and driving lead guitar, Mike Mills melodic bass and acrobatic backing vocals, and Stipe’s distinct voice, which can go from harrowing to haranguing to heartbreaking with just the subtlest change in inflection. Bill Rieflin, the band’s latest drummer, captures the forward momentum of former skinsman Bill Berry perfectly on the older stuff.

As for the set list, it skews heavily toward the band’s first three or four albums, and goes even deeper to include four of the five songs from Chronic Town, the band’s debut EP from 1981. Interestingly enough though, the band skips all of both Green and Out Of Time, the two records released when they were at the peak of their popularity. I wonder if that’s more of a nod to the diehard fans or a testament to what the band thinks of that material. It’s certainly intriguing to note.

Personally, I would have liked to see more of the band’s underrated output from the last decade. The few songs we do get, like 2004’s “Worst Joke Ever” and 2001’s “I’ve Been High,” really stand out as exotic beauties next to the straight-line early material. As energetic as those old songs are, when stacked together they all start to sound like not-very-distant cousins of “Radio Free Europe.” Not that that’s a bad thing, but it does make you long for a bit more diversity.

Early in Disc 1, the band throws a one-two punch that really captures their essence. “Cuyahoga” is moody and brilliant, an environmental lament from Lifes Rich Pageant that still stings. Next up is “Electrolite,” a playful and buoyant gem from New Adventures In Hi-Fi that practically shimmers. No matter how deeply you’ve gotten into R.E.M., any fan of good music should be able to appreciate stuff that good. And Live At The Olympia is full of stuff that good.

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