A time long, long ago; before the gripping age of nu-metal and even before Nirvana turned the 90s into a teenage, plaid wearing mud pit. When everything we thought we knew about rock music was being strangled and defaced by an era of hair metal and spandex. A time toiled in the prospects of pre-grunge rage and a mid-music meltdown.There came about the most refreshing, and persevered band we are still fortunate to have today, R.E.M.
R.E.M. is in a lot of ways as influential to alternative music as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones were to Rock and Roll as a whole. In 2007 R.E.M. was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; this was a molding and a solidification that has been worked on, and well deserved by these guys for many, many years. Over the years they have done what not many other artists are capable of doing; first off they successfully stuck around, and second they never ceased to produce phenomenal grid-locking music.Throughout the years music has taken proverbial nose dive into a pile of steaming shit. Let’s face it, turn on your local Top 40 station and try not gagging through the pop repetitive, hip-hop relentless and screaming rock junk,bullshit we are all being exposed too. In a time when America is given the opportunity to choose its next musical icon on television shows, is it surprising we have no real new musical indulgences to praise as suggestively as R.E.M.?
So is it really an unforseen amazement that this band can put out a 2 disc live album of 39 songs quoted to be a so-called “experiment in terror”? As proven on their project album Live At The Olympia set to be released October 26, 2009. The album recorded and tested live over a 5-day camp-out in 2007. To a venue of fan club members, family, friends and R.E.M. fans from all over the world made up entirely of “working rehearsals” in the capitol city of Dublin, Ireland. A fearing concept not to be taken lightly by any fan, or musical enthusiast in the least. The music heard on Live At The Olympia was produced by Dublin native Jacknife Lee, who along with R.E.M. co-produced the album Accelerate in 2008. Many of songs off of Accelerate can be heard in different fashions within the rehearsal type workings of this two-CD set, which gives fans a pretty amazing glimpse into the beginning stages of development of that album.
Article comments
1 - Eagle_flh
Great Review . . of one of my best groups . . old school, when music was fun
2 - anon
Review copies of this haven't gone out yet, so you reviewed a track listing and what is up on remdublin.com? Obvious that you haven't heard it yet.
3 - cindal lee heart
Actually they have. Take your dispute up with Warner Bros. If they haven't released your promo copy yet. I received mine last week. :)
4 - box the box
Great review! But it's very disappointing that there won't be "Starring Down The Barrel..." on the DVD!
5 - Triniman
It's finally out today, but I am really not into it. There's simply not enough material that I like. But I would see them in a heartbeat if they came through my town again.
6 - Cindal Lee Heart
Yeah I feel they could have put a few more of the 'popular' stuff on it. But all-in-all R.E.M does not really have to sell it with the singles (If you know what I mean). The one thing that really stuck out to me, was the mastering. The clarity of the albums is just amazing, for a live disc-set. Just Awesome!