R.E.M. - Live (2007)

CD1: 1) I Took Your Name; 2) So Fast, So Numb; 3) Boy in the Well; 4) Cuyahoga; 5) Everybody Hurts; 6) Electron Blue; 7) Bad Day; 8) The Ascent of Man; 9) The Great Beyond; 10) Leaving New York; 11) Orange Crush; 12) I Wanted to Be Wrong; 13) Final Straw; 14) Imitation of Life; 15) The One I Love; 16) Walk Unafraid; 17) Losing My Religion 
CD2: 1) What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?; 2) Drive; 3) (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville; 4) I’m Gonna DJ; 5) Man on the Moon

R.E.M. in full stadium veteran mode for their first proper live album - a little too professionally so.

Key tracks: "I Took Your Name", "Leaving New York", "Walk Unafraid"

R.E.M. had released a number of concert videos before, but you had to wait until 2007 for their first full concert audio recording. Much like the super-processed Around the Sun was a strange decision for the band given their increasing energy in the 00s, releasing the band’s debut live album out of the tour for such a studio-chained album is similarly odd. There is a hint of a point to prove perhaps: to signal that the album’s songs could form a natural part of the band’s live set, or perhaps even a retrospective attempt to give the songs a chance to breathe that the stifled studio versions didn’t get. Or perhaps it just felt like the right time, with R.E.M. now having fully become a veteran stadium act with the career professionalism and mannerisms of one. Each R.E.M. live release has always taken a snapshot of a specific side or moment in the band’s life: with Live, it’s capturing the band at their most stadium rocking, armed with a catalogue of hits big enough to reach every single person in those giant halls.

Live is, in good and bad, a highly professional live recording. The band perform flawlessly, Stipe has full control of the audience, all the big hits you’d expect to be here are featured and they’re accompanied by a number of fan favourites - you can’t really fault the tracklist. Songs from Around the Sun feature heavily understandably, and there’s even a then-unreleased preview of things to come with the future Accelerate cut “I’m Gonna DJ”. The sound is as pristine as you can get with a live album, and the audience mix is in the exact right balance. Befittingly for its parent album, Live feels just as polished, even overtly so. With live albums, you ideally want to feel like you’re part of the experience, sharing the moment with the band in the same room. It sounds too clean, too sharp for any of that. If a successful live album makes you feel you’re at the gig, Live is more like watching a recording of the concert from your computer.

The actual music is, of course, great. The big hits like "Losing My Religion" or "Man in the Moon" are performed with gusto, R.E.M. being very aware of the status the songs have and honouring them by giving them their all. The non-hits are among the album’s best: “I Took Your Name” is a brilliant opener that kicks the album into gear with a bang, and particularly the Up highlight “Walk Unafraid” has somehow transformed from the neurotic and loopy form we know into a real anthem with a backbone of steel and irontight grip on the listener. The main weak link are the Around the Sun songs, and I say this as a semi-defender of that album. If there was any hope of the songs gaining any extra traction outside the studio it’s brushed off fairly quickly, with every backing loop track and overly heavy synth string sample removing the flashes of life the band kick into them on stage. Though, still, there are good eggs: “Final Straw” is a little more raw which works so well for the song, and while “Leaving New York” was a late-period R.E.M. classic from day one, the vocal harmony arrangement the band have opted for its layered second half works wonders and is a joy to hear.

The songs make Live a good listen, but in the grand scheme of R.E.M. live recordings it’s easily the least essential. There’s no real divergences from the studio versions of the songs to go back to, the regular favourites are presented with more gusto on other albums and the only unique material featured here are the somewhat underwhelming Around the Sun songs. The aspect the release highlights - the almost bloated stadium rock experience - isn’t a particularly exciting one in contrast to other recordings. It’s hard to really fault Live per se (the biggest criticism I have is the baffling decision not to even out the disc lengths, leaving you with a scrap-like 5-song EP as the second disc), but there’s never a point you’d be compelled to return to instead of just listening to the studio albums. This wasn’t a particularly adventurous phase for the band, and what you get is a very safe if unthrilling live album.

The album also comes with a DVD version of the gig. Seeing the visuals does not really add anything to the songs, and this tour in general was a lull point where the band were reliably good but not particularly interesting when on stage: veteran musicians doing their day jobs, nothing more. It doesn’t add to or subtract from the score - I forget it’s there half the time - but it’s a decent enough bonus. They have far better, more exciting live DVDs.

Rating: 6/10