Glen Hirshberg's Blog - Posts Tagged "rem"
REM
TRUE (Tuesday Round-up of Everything), Week of 6/17, Post 1:
REM's "Unplugged: 1991-2001" is exactly good enough to remind me how good they once were, no better. Every song I thought I remembered, I still remember. There are a couple ("Find a River"!) that I forgot I remembered. And every song I'd truly forgotten--that is, virtually everything after drummer Bill Berry left except "Electrolite"--I still can't remember, even after hearing it again. Given that Mr. Berry always struck me as more solid than special, it's amazing how deep and wide the gap is between almost everything this band did with him and everything they did without him. Even unplugged, with Berry (in 1991) and his fill-ins (in 2001) tapping congas and cans.
REM's "Unplugged: 1991-2001" is exactly good enough to remind me how good they once were, no better. Every song I thought I remembered, I still remember. There are a couple ("Find a River"!) that I forgot I remembered. And every song I'd truly forgotten--that is, virtually everything after drummer Bill Berry left except "Electrolite"--I still can't remember, even after hearing it again. Given that Mr. Berry always struck me as more solid than special, it's amazing how deep and wide the gap is between almost everything this band did with him and everything they did without him. Even unplugged, with Berry (in 1991) and his fill-ins (in 2001) tapping congas and cans.
