R.E.M. Live is a live album from R.E.M., recorded at the Point Theatre, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on February 26 and 27, 2005, the closing nights of the winter European leg of the Around the World Tour in support of their thirteenth studio album Around the Sun, released in late 2004. It was released in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2007 and in the United States a day later as a two-CD audio set and a DVD, then released in February 2008 as a triple vinyl set. The performance was filmed by Blue Leach, who also directed Depeche Mode's Touring the Angel: Live in Milan.
R.E.M. Live features rare performances of "I Took Your Name" from 1994's Monster and "Ascent of Man" from Around The Sun, as well as the previously unreleased "I'm Gonna DJ." A studio version of that song appeared on the band's 2008 release, Accelerate.
On September 26, 2007, the band launched R.E.M. Live Zine to solicit reviews from fans and promote the album.[1]
The DVD has the option for stereo or digital 5.1 surround sound.
Album coveredit
The album cover features an image of Michael Stipe with his stage makeup running when R.E.M. performed in Durban, South Africa, on March 8, 2005. According to Stipe, "It's such an intense picture. It was the hottest recorded stage we ever performed on, in Durban, South Africa. It was 130 degrees recorded on stage. I think that's like an oven. It was insanely hot, and the makeup was dripping off my face. But we used it for a live album cover, and it looked good. I think it was the only time I put my face on an R.E.M. record cover."[2]
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, R.E.M. Live received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 from 13 critic scores.[3]
Daniel Ryan of The Thrills – guitar and background vocals on "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville"
Release historyedit
The two-CD/DVD version was first released in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2007 and the United States the following day. A triple vinyl LP was released in the UK on January 21, 2008, with the US release on February 19, 2008.
^"R.E.M. :Home". R.E.M. Internet Archive: Warner Bros. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"Michael Stipe Reviews His 35 Greatest Fits: "This Was the F***ing Coolest Jacket on Earth"". GQ. 2024-01-24. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
^ ab"Critics Reviews for R.E.M. Live - Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
^"R.E.M. Live - R.E.M. : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards: Allmusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corp. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
^Stevens, Darcie (28 December 2007). "Review: R.E.M. - Music - The Austin Chronicle". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
^Letkemann, Jessica (2007). "R.E.M. Live". Billboard. Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2013.