3 comments about Electric Folklore: Live.

1. This is the most incredible live album I have ever heard. Rescue me still gets me jumping up and down many years later. Skip the studio versions and get the passion that only comes out in the live album. TEN STARS.



2. Most bands will have a year of touring and recording in their careers where they will be at their peak! The Electric folklore came slap bang in the middle of the "Eye of the Huricane" album touring year. In was around then that musically the Alarm really started to gell! Twist, Dave, and Eddie really sound tight on this album, whilst Mike's voice has a fantastic grit like sound to it that only comes after hundreds of gigs and "many" bottles of beer and ciggys! Songs such as Strengh and Knife Edge sound raw and loose, whilst Rain in the Summertime is driven by grinding bass and Dave's Sharps slick guitars! A top album that really captures the eighties live sound! Order yourself a copy, infact f**k it, order two!



3. This album was recorded to support Eye Of The Hurricane, probably their most successful album. By 1986, The Alarm had a dedicated following despite that U2 was peaking with Rattle & Hum and The Joshua Tree. Many people considered The Alarm just a weak U2, which is a shame as this collection shows they were much more than that. They had the passion of Springsteen, the soul of Dire Straits, and yes, the electricity of U2. You'll find many of their hits here like Spirit Of 76, Rain In The Summertime, Rescue Me, and Blaze Of Glory. When the album first came out on vinyl, it had 6 songs. Now expanded to 14 tracks and clocking in at nearly a full 80 minutes, it includes other gems like One Step Closer To Home and Knife's Edge. The album does has a few flaws like the traditional Bound For Glory (This Train) and Newtown Jericho which is not one of their better songs. But this is a band that has always valued pride, honor, and simply great blues and rock and roll. If they were to go out in a Blaze Of Glory, this album is a testiment to a band that knew how to play live with intensity that few other bands ever matched.

5 comments about Live at the Budokan.

1. My conciousness of blur is a fairly recent development, having started sometime in the winter of 2005. Since then, I've done as I do with new loves, and hastily gathered together all of their studio albums. My hunger for blur has proven insatiable, however, and so now I'm turning my attention to b-sides collections and this, blur's only live album (That I know of). It's an excellent one, with blur at the top of their pop game. It starts like every Budokan album, with a fleet of screaming Japanese school girls, and then the music starts. The set list is as close to a greatest-hits as you're going to find, so you won't be dissapointed with the choices. Blur live is a tough proposition, only because their records are so ornately detailed and meticulously crafted that the live venue will inevitably cause some of the ear-catching sheen to vanish. Also, at the time, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon were not the most consistent of live singers, but the music is still wonderful. I don't reccomend it as a introduction to blur, but if you're already familiar, it's a fantastic addition to the collection.



2. Reminds you of how great Blur used to be. The recording quality isn't perfect, but it'll do--one thing I have to wonder, though: what exactly was the motivation behind putting the first nineteen tracks on the first CD and the second six on the second? A more even distribution, maybe? After "Intermission" would've been the perfect place to end CD1...I don't get it. I'd say "if you only buy one Blur album...", but that's not really the case since for what you'd pay for this you could buy Modern Life..., Parklife, and The Great Escape. For committed fans, though, Live... is well worth the money.



3. these 2 cds contain the storming Popscene which is a good enough reason to by this, but the other tracks make this release a must have, and here the band are in top form.Alex James rocks!



4. This is another record that Blur fans must have. You can hear all the action in a special two cd pack. Damon Albarn splendidly sings my favorite version of "The Universal". This is a cd you can take and pack away with you and all of Blur's good songs will be included in it. Very worth it.



5. A typical live performane from blur, full of the usual energetic sounding music which so often elevates this band above the rest. Recorded at a time when blur's music was happy and made you smile no matter what mood you was in!. A total contrast to the recent effort of "13". This is a must for all blur fan's who appreciate their live sound, especially those who have followed the band from the start. I guarantee this will bring the memories of the brit pop era flooding back.

5 comments about Lost Chance.

1. I think it's unfair that James Chance is getting such a bad rap for scratchy vocals and twangy, snapping sax solos. Everyone seems to be looking at this from a prospective that he's some kind of lounge act, or wannabe jazz band. Truth is he's a part of the earliest forms of punk rock music. James Chance encompasses the entire attitude of the adolescent New York street dwellers. He's a symbol of teenage lust, hate, confusion, and jealousy. The idea that his music is horrible makes it so much better, the fact that he can't play sax gives it that flair that seperates it from others. He's bad, he knows it, and guess what? He doesn't care. James Chance is a peek at what the kids of New York were thinking, doing, and loving. He encapsulates a generation that we have long forgotten about.



2. james chance is very very schticky. his pose as an ultra funky jazzbo with violent tendencies works sometimes. it works on about half of this. first off, his vocals and sax are VERY offputting: if you're not into a certain amount of shrill annoyance in your music, stop right here. his bands have never been the new JB's as he thinks they are. and his disgust and contempt for everything around him isn't very effectively put across. he comes off more often sounding like a very crabby 4 year old...uh..singing from heroin's point of view. all that said, this is okay but not a legendary lost recording by any means. to experience this fiend at his "best", check out the "no new york" album or "live in new york".



3. Having seen in actual club dates this character with the Elvis-like conk, the band which sounded as though it wanted to be the JBs the minute it figured out a way to quit their bad imitations of those who were trying to figure out the better way to mimick artsy-fartsy loungelizard grist like Roxy Music or ABC, and an alto saxophone style which sounded like a berserk chipmunk whose throat had a mind of its own, I had figured that at minimum he was close to being too unbelievable to get on records. But he'd actually by God done it, as part of a legendary sampler of New York's psychotic-reaction No Wave antimovement of the late 1970s called "No New York"; and, on an album (approximately 1980-81) for the semi-indie JVC label, on which one side he billed it "James White and the Blacks" and let the pseudo-JB backbeats run the show and, on the other side, calling it James Black and the Contortions and letting the pseudo-JB backbeats get beaten to within an inch of their lives by amphetamine-crazed sewer rats in a Bowery back alley, and the whole thing was a classic horrible enough to love on the sneak workout, anyway. This live set doesn't exactly diminish Chance's reputation as a 70s-80s New York white noise supremacist, but neither does it exactly elevate whatever it was that made him and his gang such an underground draw in the first place. Add a star for chutzpah, but that's about it.

   On the other hand, trying to figure out what's missing is almost impossible, considering how many screws were loose to begin with. (As a saxophonist, he seems to have caught all the distortion and the nuance of Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler, arguably the kings of what Lester Bangs would have called jazz skronk, and none of the roots feeling that animated them in the first place.) Best, probably, to listen to this as sort of an idea of what it might have been like to overdose on codeine while hearing Coleman fronting the guitars of the JBs linked to the Stooges' original rhythm section after they'd finally figured out how to nail "Cold Sweat". And if you think that's stretching absurdity, be reminded (or forewarned, as the case may be) that Ornette Coleman himself actually had the audacity to play on the first Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band album.




4. I have always liked James Chance, Contortions, and whatever other name he went by. This CD starts out fast and typically funky good. The sax is up to par and never lets you down. My big complaint is the vocals (especially the background) should have been mixed down a little, especially on White Cannibal-it hurt my ears! And then there's the gratuitous "Heroin" that has been on almost all of his recordings in one version or another, or so it seems. So here we are with a decent recording and then it gets blown away by including a horribly taped "My Infatuation" that was ripped out of an old "Live in NY" tape and tacked on to this CD as a (filler?). Doesn't matter though, I wish he was still out there doing it.



5. is the blackest white man alive. And he's barely alive at that. The only thing inflating this man's loungesting suits and crying sax is the HooDooism of jazz incarnate. James Chance should become a theme park for Japanese and German tourists. If you like John Zorn and are tired of John Lurie, get this CD before it's out-of-print again.

1 comments about Live From the Masque, Vol. 3: Dicks Fight Banks Hate.

1. If you're looking of the original riot grrl head straight for this compilation and The Eyes. Screaming "She's Dead" and thumping her bass (clad in a baby doll, torn fishnets and stilleto's) while singing about Quaaludes is Charlotte Caffey of Go-Go's fame. Caffey and her band The Eyes (drummer DJ Bonebrake left the band after this show to join X and Caffey departed for the Go-Go's) had incredible fun with punk. Imagine Hole meets the Barenaked Ladies and you'll come close. This is what LA punk is all about.

5 comments about Live at Brixton Academy.

1. A must have album for every FNM Fan out there, this album captures FNM at their peak. Live at the Brixton Academy finds the guys supporting "The Real Thing" album. Plus you get a treat, a WAR PIGS cover (originally from Black Sabbath) it is played so raw and aggressive that I use it while working out. A classic from Faith No More.



2. But that doesn't make it any less good. The Real Thing is one of my favorite albums of all time, so these live tracks certainly are enjoyable. The dvd is even better, they put on a sick show, it also includes "As the Worm Turns" and "Underwater Love". What really got me on this cd was "The Cowboy Song". I was hungry for more Real Thing-era FNM and this song is definately in the same vein, it should have been on the Real Thing. It's catchy and epic at the same time. One of my favorite FNM songs. I spent $12 and it was all worth it for "The Cowboy Song", the live stuff just added.



3. I can't even remember where I got this CD, or when exactly (early twenties kinda a blur),probally when I was hungry for anything FNM. There's plenty of energy here, M.P. let's it all out the bag. Anybody looking for live FNM (pre-Angel Dust)would'nt be disappointed. Some really sweet tracks. You would think the Brits would be critical of any Sabbath cover, but M.P. gets them in a sing along. Live version of "We Care A Lot"(Discovery Channels Dirty Jobs theme song) with a new kid spoof(does anybody remember them?) FNM always satisfied fans with on stage antics (like on SNL)and it comes through on this live release. But wait there's more, "The Cowboy Song" studio track has a guitar solo that'll blow your mind.



4. Hearing Billy Gould talk about Live at Brixton it makes sound this was a heavily overdubbed, over produced "live album" typical of most of the live albums put out by arena rock bands like KISS where the live elements like audience noise are generally mixed in after wards.

   Still does this mean this is a substandard CD? No. It's basically the Real Thing live with one song, "We Care a Lot" from the band's first and second records. This CD showcases the greatness of the Real Thing / Rock mode FNM very well and also gives at hint at the weirdness that was to come for the band. The ever bizarre Mike Patton dropping in bits of the New Kids on the Block "Right Stuff" and Teknotronic's "Pump up the Jam" is a perfect example of this. Of course anyone who was lucky enough to catch the band live would know that they regularly included covers from guys like Take That (Back for Good), the Bee Gees (I Started A Joke), Portishead (Glory Box) in the sets as well as renditions of standards like Green Sleeves and Spanish Eyes.

   But for me the real gem on this disc is the bonus studio track "The Cowboy Song" which along with "The Perfect Crime" from the Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey CD are great missing tracks for the Real Thing era of FNM. It really showcases the talents of the band a great keyboard hook by Roddy, Billy's masterful bass thumping and the grinding geetars of Jim Martin (founder of the Faith No More spiritual and religious sect). It's another one of those tracks that really makes you wish Faith No More would release a real B-Sides collection of these tracks and stuff like Das Schutzenfest or the Patton version of As the Worm Turns.

   In short if you like the Real Thing or a Faith No More completist, you really should make an effort to find this album.




5. Altough it never was released in the US, I am very glad that the record company decided to capitalize on FNM's success at the time and put out this live record. There is never a dull moment with this band, and their live show is no different. Each song gets the "Patton touch", and although difficult to digest at first, you will find yourself liking these versions of songs off 'The Real Thing' just as much as the originals, and liking the fact that this isn't just the 1989 release with a bit of crowd noise. The songs are completely different, with Patton also giving his version of the FNM staple, 'We Care A Lot'. And if the 8 songs weren't enough for anyone drooling for an FNM live show, we are treated to two rarities, 'The Grade' and 'The Cowboy Song', the latter being one of the best songs the band wrote in that era. Definitely worth the import price, this live show rocks.

5 comments about Columbia: Live at Missouri University.

1. ...and so was I. Last encore number is not included on the disc ("Duke of Earl"). There was a ferris wheel....even Chilton eventually cracked a smile



2. Of the many live shows I've seen and heard over the years, this is one of the best. Every song crackles with energy. Alex Chilton and Jon Auer's guitar sounds are a gorgeous mixture of Rickenbacker shimmer and Gibson crunch.
   
   Many of the classic Big Star songs are well represented here: In The Street, Ballad of El Goodo, Back of a Car and September Gurls all sound fantastic and not at all dated. The band even gives a fitting tribute to the late Chris Bell, covering I Am The Cosmos, a song that fits seamlessly with the others. Covers of T. Rex's "Baby Strange" and Todd Rundgren's "Slut" in particular highlight the band's considerable live chops.
   
   Don't get me wrong, I fully respect the original Big Star lineup with Bell and Andy Hummel, but without a doubt the addition of Posies Auer and Ken Stringfellow adds sufficient muscle to the performance. Alex Chilton's vocals are as good now as they were then and Jody Stephens is a highly underrated drummer.
   
   Don't hesitate to buy this album. Almost any fan of rock music - from Neil Young to Teenage Fanclub will love this album.



3. I was pretty disappointed with this CD. The band sounded really sloppy and much of the show drags. However, that could be blamed on lack of preparation because this was a reunion concert. They seem to be striving for a Badfinger/Wings sound but fall far short of their lofty goals. The two most memorable songs here are both covers...Marc Bolan's "Baby Strange" and Todd Rundgren's "Slut". That's a pretty good indicator of how weak their own material is.
   
   I have yet to get the whole Big Star mystique. I saw them last year at Little Steven's Garage Fest and they were one of the very few low points. My son felt exactly the same way.



4. On _Columbia live at missouri university_, Big Star rocks out!

   The band features original members Alex Chilton on guitar and vocals, and Jody Stephens on drums and vocals. Original guitarist vocalist and group founder Chris Bell had died in 1978, and bassist Andy Hummel has left the music world behind for a day job. So the band is rounded out by Jon Auer on guitar and vocals and Ken Stringfellow on bass and vocals. Jon and Ken are normally members of the very excellent power pop band the Posies.

   The songs come out a little harder rocking live than they do on the original Big Star studio albums. Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow sing most of the songs that Chris Bell originally sang though Alex Chilton does sing Bell's _In The Street_. Possibly because his voice has deepened with age, Chilton also allows the Posies to sing two songs that he originally sang, _Daisy Glaze_, and _Feel_.

   The highlights are: the rocking intro, _In The Street_; the almost Van Halenesque reworking of _Don't Lie To Me_; Jon Auer's excellent rendition of Chris Bell's _I Am The Cosmos_; Chilton's lovingly performed _Ballad Of El Goodo_; the raucous take of _Back Of A Car_ complete with nicely placed feedback; a very emotional version of _Daisy Glaze_; a Chuck Berryesque rocking cover of T-Rex's _Baby Strange_; a great and inventive, to compensate for lack of strings, version of _For You_; and a totally ballistic version of Todd Rundgren's _S-L-U-T.

   Once you get past the fact that it's not real glossed up and studio enhanced like Frampton _Comes Alive_ or one of the KISS _Alives_, you realise that this is a great and VERY REAL live album!...




5. I don't know if "the ground rumbled," but it was a hell of a show. I was there, a student at the University of Missouri, Columbia (I don't know where the hell they got that Missouri University thing).

   Some details for you fans... The show was organized by MU's student radio station, KCOU, very nearly by accident. The station already had booked Alex for the annual Springfest, again organized by KCOU, and somebody there said - "Hey, wouldn't it be funny if.." and history was made with a couple of calls to Jody Stephens, Alex, and the Posies.

   We were outside in a tent, of all things, because the Hearnes Center was booked with, if I remember right, a Bryan Adams concert. There couldn't have been 200 people in the tent, either. As always, it was a great performance by the best unknown band in the world. Alex was in fine form, and was a treat to see during his waking hours, versus some of the darker shows I've seen him do. And it was the only time I've seen him perform Chris Bell's work, which was nice.

   Anyway, thought you might like some details from an eyewitness to the show.

   S. Clayton Moore Denver, Colorado

2 comments about No Way out But Forward Go.

1. It's kind of hard to review this record. Recorded primarily during the "Night Time" tour on a festival stop, "No Way Out But Forward Go" finds Killing Joke in full flight, but there's something quite wrong with it.
   
   Recorded off the soundboard, it's crisp, clean, and reasonably well balanced (Jaz Coleman's vocals are a bit up front), but... and this may be the tour moreso than the recording, it's a bit too clean, a bit too crip. Take a piece like "Requiem" off the band's first album. Rather than the sludging force that it was on the studio recording, it's crisp, with the instruments well really widely separated and sounds a bit too clean. Not helping this at all is it sounds like Jaz Coleman isn't quite up to snuff in the open air performance-- he sings out of tune mangling fine takes of "Empire Song" and "Love Like Blood".
   
   Further, you get the impression that the band's energy got a bit diffused by the atmosphere, several pieces fall a bit flatter when you'd really like to see them pushed ("Tabazan").
   
   All this aside, there's some decent moment-- "The Hum" is dark, trudging and powerful, "Kings and Queens" is downright explosive, and certainly "Pssyche" never seems to miss. But by and large, this is not a record for a casual fan.



2. It's kind of hard to review this record. Recorded primarily during the "Night Time" tour on a festival stop, "No Way Out But Forward Go" finds Killing Joke in full flight, but there's something quite wrong with it.
   
   Recorded off the soundboard, it's crisp, clean, and reasonably well balanced (Jaz Coleman's vocals are a bit up front), but... and this may be the tour moreso than the recording, it's a bit too clean, a bit too crip. Take a piece like "Requiem" off the band's first album. Rather than the sludging force that it was on the studio recording, it's crisp, with the instruments well really widely separated and sounds a bit too clean. Not helping this at all is it sounds like Jaz Coleman isn't quite up to snuff in the open air performance-- he sings out of tune mangling fine takes of "Empire Song" and "Love Like Blood".
   
   Further, you get the impression that the band's energy got a bit diffused by the atmosphere, several pieces fall a bit flatter when you'd really like to see them pushed ("Tabazan").
   
   All this aside, there's some decent moment-- "The Hum" is dark, trudging and powerful, "Kings and Queens" is downright explosive, and certainly "Pssyche" never seems to miss. But by and large, this is not a record for a casual fan.

4 comments about 10/27/00 - Fresno, California.

1. On some of these bootlegs, I can barely believe Mike McCready is of the same species as the rest of us. This is Mike's night. On Corduroy, Last Exit, Dissident, Nothing as it Seems, and the classic State of Love and Trust, he plays as though his fingers are being controlled by psychic purple space monkeys. I really don't know how else to explain it. On a song that has become one of his highlights, Black, his solo is unfortunately abbreviated, but as the song is bookended by State of Love and Trust and the Binaural rarity Parting Ways, no complaints here.
   
   Aside from Mr. McCready's heroics, the setlist is as good as a set can be without Given to Fly, or Yellow Ledbetter- my two favorite Pearl Jam songs. Other highlights include the all-too-rare Footsteps and Indifference. Pearl Jam's always been a band about alienation, and if these songs don't illustrate that, I don't know what does. Another rarity is No Code's 'Habit', prefaced by one of the finest moments of Eddie Vedder incoherence of the entire tour. If you want to know what he says, just get the bootleg. It's worth it for the music, and you'll crack up as an added bonus.



2. Disclaimer: Owner of all 72 official PJ bootlegs. This gig in Fresno was 65th out of the 72 shows in the 2000 tour. Some of the other bootlegs around this immediate period show that the band was getting pretty tired, but this show is an exception, and is a strong, no-nonsense performance. Eddie Vedder was apparently sick with a cold during this show, but he assured the crowd that he was drinking plenty of fluids (most likely his usual bottle of red wine). The rest of the band is solid and commit very few errors, and if you listen closely Jeff Ament is barreling along with his no-nonsense grooves (the bass is fairly faint in this mix). Eddie's nightly joke for this show is the story of a Yogi Bear tattoo he saw on some guy's butt - one of the sicker jokes of the entire tour. Musical highlights include Mike McCready's extra-long and extra-funky solo in "Even Flow," especially good extended jams in "Daughter" and "I Got Shit," the opening sequence of "Interstellar Overdrive" into "Corduroy" which the band has nailed by this point, and the inclusion of "Footsteps" and "Indifference," both of which appear very rarely in the bootleg series.



3. Excuse the bad pun, I couldn't resist. I have been a longtime fan and when I heard they were coming to Fresno, of all places, I was in shock. Eddie was quite the humorist at this show. Being under the weather, he informed the audience that "the lead singer is on drugs (prescribed, of course); the worst tattoo he ever saw involved Yogi Bear and a guy's buttocks and introducing Mike McReady to Fresno, "Fresno, Mike McReady-Mike McReady, Fresno"

   Of course, can't forget the music-which proves why Pearl Jam is one of the greatest live acts around. Thanks to Pearl Jam for releasing these shows on CD. Who knows if they'll ever make it to these parts again?




4. This show was quite amazing. I finally got a chance to see Pearl Jam in my hometown. Eddie had a cold, though, and despite the fact that he flipped off God it was an ok show. I lost interest after that, though...

4 comments about Live at CBGB's.

1. ...this is a piece of history...a time that, sadly, i believe, we will never see again...
   
   bands like tuff darts, the shirts, the laughing dogs, mink deville...all great...
   
   and the atmosphere comes thru the vinyl...i mean, disc...
   
   and dale...sorry to hit you with a second shot, but to further disprove your theory of these acts not going anywhere after this, yes, robert gordon was singing for tuff darts, mink deville is actually playing b.b.king's club this month in manhattan (thirty years after the fact), and the shirts have not only released another great album this year, but their lead singer of the day, annie golden, went on to be seen on the big screen in movies like "hair", "12 monkeys" and "it runs in the family"...
   
   but, that's neither here nor there, because what was important was THERE, the place where every musician was a musican...not some joker trying to land a big recording contract...we played because we loved the music...and we loved being around each other...
   
   no, there will never be another cbgb's, despite their attempt to bring it to vegas...
   
   somehow, i just can't picture wayne newton as the newest 'ramone'...



2. Although none of the best-known NY bands are heard here (oh, the record contracts flying around CBGB's in 1976...) cult favorites Tuff Darts (Robert Gordon), Mink DeVille, and the Shirts sound like they're having a great time. This collection, recorded over three nights in July, 1976, shows the New York rock scene going in all different directions, while that same weekend the Heartbreakers and the Ramones were staging their own first British blitz of London. It's surprising how "radio-friendly" most of this music seems now. In the days of multi-platinum Peter Frampton and Fleetwood Mac, though, Manster's sped-up cover of the Yardbirds' "Over Under Sideways Down" was absolutely radical. Imagine that. And though it's true there's no real missed opportunities here, its a terrific snapshot of a time, a place, and an energy that's likely not to happen again.



3. Actually, Dale, some of the performers did go further than this album. Mink DeVille may never have become a household name, but the band and its leader, Willy DeVille, released a slew of terrific albums. DeVille still records a new album every couple of years with exceptional quality stuff on every outing. Tuff Darts had a pretty decent first release that got loads of airplay in NYC, but the band's lead singer on Live at CBGBs was none other than Robert Gordon who spawned the rebirth of 50s rock and roll revival bands like the Stray Cats, the second coming of Link Wray, and many others. Gordon released several very strong albums and was a real critical favorite at the time. The quality of recording here is fair at best, but the youthful energy pours out of every song. This is a document of late 70s NYC New Wave which, at its best, was every bit as good as the British counterparts of Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, et al. Would've been nice to get a couple of other CBGB bands who did make it bigger on this disk --Blondie, Ramones to name a couple. Work the money, though.



4. This CD is an attempt at the collection of the CBGB's scene of the late 70's emerging punk/new wave music. Unfortunately, none of the bands represented made it beyond this album. You get great hits like "We Deliver" and "Slash", but overall the musicianship leaves something to be desired, though the emotion is there.

5 comments about Great Beyond.

1. This is an amazing, catchy, beautiful, wondrous, powerful song. Michael Stipe's voice has never sounded stronger. The arrangement is terrific. The chorus is haunting, tearful, especially if you juxtapose it with the tragedy of Andy Kaufman. Listening to this song wants me to see Jim Carrey's best performance again.



2. A magnificent song can really bring in a whole new audience, and for R.E.M., they finally launched their straight stardom into the movies again. This time, they finally scored a hit with The Great Beyond from Man On The Moon with Jim Carrey. The song is just one of those songs that really scores a hit at the box office. It is just a shame that they'll never score a movie hit like that anymore, never.



3. With the release of this single ( and I recommend getting the Maxi-Single ) R.E.M. is definitely getting back to the music that made them one of the greatest bands in the last decade or so.

   The Great Beyond has all the qualities that made many of the tracks on Green, Out of Time and Automatic special. It appears to be complex lyrically, but upon closer inspection has beautiful images and glimpses into Andy's life. On the maxi it is a pleasure to hear Everybody Hurts and in particular The One I Love performed live in the UK.

   I believe that R.E.M. have a great song here. Get it.




4. After tuning my car radio frantically searching for this song, and then driving a mile out of my way and back to my house just so I could hear it, I finally gave up and bought the CD. "The Great Beyond" is a wonderful example of musicality - especially the refrain's continuation of a single syllable over two half-step notes - that mystifies the listener. Were "The Great Beyond" the only recording on this single, I'd be happy and would have bought it. But the Maxi-CD recording also boasts three classic songs from a live recording. In their infinite wisdom, "The Great Beyond" and "Man on the Moon" are placed as tracks one and four, so that the listener will not mistake the one song for the other. A good addition to anyone's musical library.



5. The Great Beyond is an upbeat, catchy song (true, it does take a few listens). It's reminiscent of the material on Up; it sounds vaguely similar to Daysleeper. However, the real treat of this single are the live songs. If you liked the album versions of One I Love, Everybody Hurts, and Man On The Moon, you will be blown away by the impassioned performances of these three songs. Absolutely a must for R.E.M. fans.