Rem unplugged7/23/2023 ![]() ![]() Aside from a few words from Stipe to the assembled audience, the 2001 performance is more subdued, the work of master craftsmen executing with precision. Buck, Mills and Stipe had morphed from loose, ragged road warriors to deliberate studio musicians, and their measured approach is quite apparent in their performance. Bill Berry had left, and the band reached its commercial peak and downfall in the mid-‘90s. that returned to the Unplugged stage 10 years later was a far different beast entirely. Their nervous energy-fitting for a band that had somehow stumbled into superstar status-serves to loosen up what could have been a staid, measured performance, making their go-round at going Unplugged truly unforgettable. The inclusion of “Fretless”-hands down one the band’s best B-sides-and “Rotary 11” serve as a bit of a paean to collectors, but the real draw here is the general performance. Some, like “Losing My Religion,” end up sounding exactly as you’d expect them to, but then there’s the more low-key rendition of “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” and the subtler, more rhythmic version of “Radio Song,” which reveals a fairly strong song underneath the band’s ill-advised stab at hip-hop. ![]() What’s really interesting is how they play around with the Out of Time songs, most of which were likely recorded without any intent of performing them live. (The famed road warriors were in the middle of a long break from touring after the grueling arena trek behind Green.) Even with the self-imposed limitations of the unplugged format, the band doesn’t appear to have missed a step here, and their performances are lively and vigorous throughout. The 1991 session, recorded around when Out of Time was released, might be the real rarity of the set, as it’s one of only a handful of live performances done in support of the album. Still, Unplugged is an interesting little item, a time capsule presenting the band at two very different stages of their career. Of course, that’s not what these sessions are: this is a major-label reissue of two concerts recorded for MTV, which is just about as official as you can get. fan, its fuzzy screen-cap of a video image conveying notions of antiquity and scarcity. The cover of Unplugged 1991/2001 seems designed to appeal to this rabid sort of R.E.M. Hell, the band themselves have gotten in on this, padding their lone odds & ends collection Dead Letter Office with an Aerosmith cover and a jingle for their favorite rib joint. Head on to eBay right now, and you’ll find more than a handful of bootleg tapes and records of live shows and obscure B-sides going for higher and higher prices.
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