Live at the Olympia

Band/artist: R.E.M.
Label: Warner Music
Website: remhq.com

Dublin crush

After taking a listen to Live At The Olympia, you may completely forget about the band’s first live record R.E.M. Live [2007] because this two disc set truly captures the essence of the group in concert.

Compared to the more produced 2007 live album, Live At The Olympia was recorded over a five-night stay at Dublin's Olympia in the summer of 2007 and presents a much more concert live vibe. The set list does cover many of the groups classics and more recent material but also presents versions of songs that later found themselves on Accelerate [2008].

The song selection on Live At The Olympia is really what makes it a winner. Many of the obvious choices are not here and have been replaced with solid songs, but earlier tracks that R.E.M. hadn't preformed live in years. This is only half of the fun here because the band absolutely sounds vibrant and excited throughout the double album’s two and half hour running time.

This might sound somewhat cumbersome or merely a label commitment but that is where Live At The Olympia shines again. If you are into R.E.M. the band, then this is a pleasure to listen to regardless of which era the song comes from and the album does a superb job of capturing their blended folk-rock vibe live, that does not necessarily come through on newer albums. It is this cohesion that brings their span of work together and has no divide of early vs current.

For R.E.M. fans, this is the live album to pick up; and for the casual listener, Live At The Olympia represents why the band is so highly regarded.

Reece Michael

For more of Reece Michael's music reviews, check out The Fire Note