R.E.M.
Live

It has been more than twenty years since R.E.M. appeared on the rock scene, thus marking three different decades with their sound.

The extensive discography of the Athens-based band lacked a live album. In truth, Stipe and the others have often placed live tracks on the B-sides of singles; however, a complete work representing an entire concert was missing. To fill this gap, "R.E.M. Live" has been released, a double live album recorded during concerts held in 2005 in Dublin as part of the tour following the release of the 2004 album "Around The Sun."

Upon listening, the album gives an immediate sense of "authenticity": the sound is very "rock," with guitars in the foreground, not overshadowed by keyboards. It's somewhat of a return to the roots for the three Athens guys (who have been without the fourth founding member, drummer Bill Berry, for nearly a decade), who recently seemed to have converted to a more electronic and less immediate sound compared to that of the earlier albums.

The tracks played on the album cover all phases of R.E.M.'s production: indeed, there is a range from songs from the early albums (for example, "Don't Go Back To Rockville", sung by bassist Mike Mills, "The One I Love..."), those from albums of global success ("Orange Crush", "Losing My Religion", "Drive"...) and those included in the latest works ("Electron Blue", "Imitation Of Life"...).

The album is very enjoyable and, as mentioned, genuine: one gets the impression of actually listening to a live concert, the songs do not seem "glossy," and there is no impression they were edited on a computer as happens with other live albums.

Included with the double CD is also a DVD, useful for completing the sound dimension with the visual one.