Live At The Olympia (2CD/1DVD)

R.E.M. | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 27, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Warner Bros.
• ASIN: B002NVTBUY
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,810 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Living Well Is The Best Revenge

2. Second Guessing

3. Letter Never Sent

4. Staring Down The Barrel Of The

5. Disturbance At The Heron House

6. Mr. Richards

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Drive

2. Feeling Gravity's Pull

3. Until The Day Is Done

4. Accelerate

5. Auctioneer

6. Little America

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. This Is Not A Show, A Film By Vincent Moon and Jeremiah (DVD)

Editorial Reviews

Live At The Olympia the two-CD/1 DVD/4-LP set includes 4 LPS, 3 gatefold sleeves, 2 CDS, 1 DVD, a 16 page booklet, liner notes by Peter Buck, 6 postcards and a 24x36 poster. Produced by Jacknife Lee, the album features 39 songs that capture the best moments from the band's 'working rehearsals' at Dublin's fabled Olympia club during which singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, and bassist Mike Mills tested out new songs for R.E.M.'s 2008 studio album Accelerate. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars R.E.M. gives the fans a perfect CD, October 27, 2009

By 

Larry Larry - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live At The Olympia (2CD/1DVD) (Audio CD)

This is one of the best R.E.M. packages in their very long & very great career. This IS rock & roll.

R.E.M. has assembled a great collection of some of their most under utilized songs and polished them up with spectacular production and some new twists. Long-time fans from the IRS years will love the jewels from Reckoning, Chronic Town and Fables. Songs like "Harborcoat", "Feeling Gravity's Pull" and "Maps and Legends" still sound fresh and relevant. Middle period R.E.M. doesn't get the same emphasis, but "Circus Envy" and "Electrolite" fit in perfectly. I have a whole new appreciation for them. The newest material from Accelerate is killer. Nearly all of Accelerate is here. Some of these songs sound different than their final versions, and that makes it even more interesting. "Until the Day is Done" is nearly perfect. "Living Well is the Best Revenge" will peel the paint of the walls. Turn this up loud!

Production credits are top notch. Mike Mills amazes. His bass playing is so unique and creative. I'm in awe. Stipe & Buck are in top form too. And I can't say enough about the packaging. It is very classy. Each song gets a write-up from Peter Buck. Extensive liner notes & great photography too. The entire package design is very classy. I've often wondered why R.E.M. didn't spruce up their CDs with better packaging, but this time they really did it right. Don't get this one on digital. Buy the physical product. And get the DVD version too.

Thanks R.E.M.!! One of the best live albums I've ever listened to.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Crown Jewel, October 31, 2009

By 

T. Korol "music lover" (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live At The Olympia (2CD/1DVD) (Audio CD)

If you are a long time REM lover you remember how Chronic Town and Murmur sounded so different from anything at the time. Then a string of consistently great output. Then... well some bumps along the way, but Accelerate (for me) restored much of their past glory. I enjoy their live release of 2 or so years ago (REM Live). But this is the crown jewel.

Do you love this band? Like them? Did you look at the track list? Then I assume you have bought this. If not I can only offer a few comments to urge you to do so.

Rehearsals or whatever, this comes across as a concert. Another review noted the compression of the recording, but it is to my ears not that bad (at least compared to the majority of other live releases of late). For the most part, the instruments are quite clear and the overall sound very good. Here and there it does seem too loud. But I 100% forgive this for the quality of this performance and the songs.

The band is inspired. Michael is in fine form and is fairly chatty. He has a couple of hilarious moments ("Thank you search engine..." made me laugh out loud). The lyrics are clear. Buck is fantastic as always. Mills is his usual demon on bass but what this recording reminded me is how great his backing vocals are. He kind of circles around Stipe which really fills out the songs. The drumming is fine, and the second guitarist (who I cannot always find in the mix) does fill things out when present.

The band seems very relaxed and is clearly having fun (listen to the on stage banter) despite all Stipe's claims that they are terrified. There is an urgency in the performance. If these were rehearsals, they seem intent to bring their "A game" and just nail the songs. These are a good balance of the muscle of their later period with the intricate jangle of their earlier stuff, with a few ballads interspersed. You see the set list. It leans heavily towards the early 80's. Most of Accelerate is here. And then a song from every release (I think?) except Out of Time, Green and Up. As I lean towards the earlier material I am thrilled with this set. Most of Chronic Town is here (yay), and a lot of my personal faves. I would think that any of us could bemoan a missing favorite or two, but given what is here that would be pointless. And finishing with Gardening at Night? How unexpected and cool is that? (Given all the early material, I half expected them to jump into 20th Century Boys, Crazy or even Jacques Cousteau!!!)

REM seems to have a had a lot of "periods". There were the early releases with their jangly sound and great lyrics. Then the arena friendly, heavier releases such as Green, Monster and Document. Lots of hits and misses after that; I felt Automatic for the People was their last cover to cover masterpiece. But given their (almost) 30 year history, a lot of us became fans of a certain period. What I like about this performance is that they are so amped up and enjoying themselves, no matter which phase of REM you prefer, you will really like this.

So... the boys really are on fire here, they are playing with passion and purpose, the sound is very good (A-), you get a heavy dose of early songs which got pushed from their set lists a long time ago, and a video as well (not my cup of tea). 5 stars is a no-brainer on this one for me.

ps - the dvd is just OK - I might watch it again - i.e. twice; but I am not a huge video fan when it comes to music. The dvd has 12 songs - 1 not on cd (Olive Branch) and some other footage. It is b&w, very jumpy and herky-jerky style, might appeal more the "video generation" but does not do much for me - aging baby boomer that I am. I thought it would mirror the cd's 39 songs which it does not. The 2 cd set might be a better choice. Here is the dvd track list: DJ; On the Fly; Accelerate; Until Day is Done; Houston; Mr Richards; Man Size Wreath; Drive; Horse to H2O; Olive Branches; Box Cars; Living Well is the Best Revenge.

pps - I wonder if the prominently displayed "39 songs" is an assurance we are not getting an EP for the 2nd disc a la their previous live release??

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 Stars... outstanding live album, October 27, 2009

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Live At The Olympia (2CD) (Audio CD)

Almost to the day 2 years ago, REM released its first official live album in its illustrious career ("REM Live"), but unfortunately that live album pretty much collapsed under the weight of far too many weak recent songs (6 no less from the dud that is "Around The Sun"). Thankfully we didn't have to wait too long for this to be corrected.

"Live At the Olympia" (2 CDs; 39 tracks; 149 min.) is as astonishingly strong and fresh as "REM Live" felt forced and unnatural. (Interestingly, both these live albums were recorded in Dublin, albeit at different venues.) From the opening chords of "Living Well Is the Best Revenge" (also the opening track from the equally excellent "Accelerate" studio album released last year), the band plays with vigor and an extra kick not heard since.... well, probably since Barry left the band. Sprinkled throughout this opulence of 39 tracks are 8 of the 11 tracks from "Accelerate", which is actually a good thing (strangely, the single "Supernatural Superserious" is not on here). Thankfully missing on here are tried songs like "Everybody Hurts" and "Losing My Religion", which I simply can't stand hearing any more, ever. Instead we are treated to a boatload of old nuggets: half the track from the "Reckoning" album ("Second Guessing", "So. Central Rain", "Little America", "Harborcoat" and "Pretty Persuasion", all one better than the next), 4 tracks from "Fables of the Reconstruction" ("Maps and Legends", "Drive 8", "Auctioneer" and "Kohoutek"), and even the band's first EP "Chronic Town (1982) is covered by 3 tracks here: "1,000,000", "Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars)", and the last track on this album (and also closing track on the EP), a beautiful "Gardening At Night".

There is minimal (only 3 songs) overlap between the 2007 live album and the new one, so you can make a clear choice. Whereas the 2007 live album felt tired and tiresome, "Live at the Olympia" features a band that is completely on top of its game, playing tight and rocking hard. I had the good fortune of seeing REM in concert last year on the "Accelerate" tour, and was shocked how good they sounded, and how much fun they seemed to be having. Meanwhile, "Live At the Olympia" is a momentous and fantastic live album. Highly recommended!