REM - Unplugged 1991-2001: The Complete Sessions (Album Review)
Friday, 23 May 2014
Written by Matt Williams
This collection, which pulls together REM’s appearances on MTV’s Unplugged, paints a picture of a band at two extremes. In 1991, they were the indie darlings gone rogue, blinking in the glare of a smash hit album, ‘Out Of Time’, and the contempt of their college radio devotees.
A decade later, their quartet had become a trio with the retirement of Bill Berry and they were seemingly out of step. ‘Up’ and ‘Reveal’ were square pegs after a majestic trio of releases - ‘Automatic For The People’, ‘Monster’ and ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi’ - had moved the band further from their indie roots while creating arena-sized anthems that never dispensed with head or heart.
Still, when they settled in for a second bite at the ‘Unplugged’ cherry - the only band to get such an invitation - there was no doubting that in this setting, one that caters to chameleon in Michael Stipe and shines a spotlight on the interplay between Peter Buck and Mike Mills, REM were almost without peer.
Their ‘91 session has a playful quality to it, a sense that they are still fish out of water but enjoying the experience. A decade later, Stipe is still witty, but his performance has a quiet authority attained over time. Losing My Religion is the only song to feature in both performances, in similar arrangements, and the difference is purely one of delivery. The song means something different the second time around.
Early highlights include The End Of The World As We Know It recast as a Subterranean Homesick Blues-style folk marathon, a beautiful rendition of Perfect Circle from ‘Murmur’ and a new set of clothes for Disturbance at the Heron House, lifted from ‘Document’.
Reappraisal is one of the important considerations for ‘Unplugged’, and the second set here does a fine job in that regard. Duly, All The Way To Reno and Daysleeper, in particular, become low key gems, while Find The River and Imitation of Life are quite majestic. Amid the cascade of archive material that REM have released in the last few days, this double header is worth placing at the top of the list.
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