R.E.M. - Perfect Square

It's R.E.M. Fantastic concert!

Like the "In Time" tour and CD, the "Perfect Square" disc plays like a greatest hits compilation. All the songs you'd expect to see are here. However, there are a handful of more obscure tracks (including the first official release of the 24-year-old song "Permanent Vacation") to satisfy fans rabid for something different.The venue chosen for the featured concert is gorgeous. Shots of the fountain and buildings surrounding the Bowling Green in Wiesbaden, Germany make for much more pleasant scenery than the insides of the dark Summit stadium in Atlanta where their last concert video, "Road Movie," was shot. Image quality, too, is wonderful.The thing that stands out most about "Perfect Square" is that it actually feels like a concert - you can even see the progression of time as the sun sets. R.E.M.'s past concert videos have been noticably pieced together, taking a song from here and another from there. This time, finally, it's a single show, and as such it gives you much more of an idea of what it's like to be there.The bonus documentary "A Stirling Performance" chronicles the production of a trio of concerts the band performed at Sterling Castle in Scotland during the "Up" tour in 1999. It was quite interesting to see what sort of planning had to go into such a major production. The documentary unfortunately suffers from grainy picture quality and even worse sound quality. It made understanding the residents of the tiny tourist town, already with thick with Scottish accents, very difficult. But it was nice to get to see a bit more concert footage, regardless.Since Amazon doesn't have a track listing, here's the setlist for the "Perfect Square" concert:Begin the BeginWhat's the Frequency, Kenneth?Maps and LegendsDriveAnimalDaysleeperThe Great BeyondBad DayThe One I LoveAll the Way to RenoOrange CrushLosing My ReligionAt My Most BeautifulElectroliteShe Just Wants to BeWalk UnafraidMan on the MoonEverybody HurtsSo Fast, So NumbCountry FeedbackPermanent VacationImitation Of LifeIt's The End of the World As We Know It

... if you're a R.E.M. fan (& maybe if you're not, too, lol). I wish I could give it MORE than 5 stars.I became obsessed with the group unfortunately after they broke up :o(I began to DL songs from iTunes & link the group's concert performances from You Tube on my puter. This concert in Wiesbaden, Germany has to be their best! This DVD has been played nonstop day & nite since I received it last week. Looks GREAT from a big HD screen, & I feel like I'm in the audience there. The additional clips of their Stirling Castle performances & the preparation for that concert are just bonus on this DVD. A MUST for any R.E.M. fan, & you'll love Michael Stipe's rapport & interaction with the audience.

This DVD is worth getting just for the intense versions of 'Walk Unafraid' and 'So fast, So Numb' that crush the album versions like a grape. During most of the other songs, everyone seems like they're just kind of doing the old-timers tour, but on this one song it's like they pulled the safety off and shot it off for real. It's not that their old quite yet. Michael Stipe is energetic and even walks down off the stage near the safety barrier where the front row of fans eagerly greet him, arms outstretched. He's not crowd surfing or anything, but there's a nice connection there. 'Man on the Moon' was the song that seemed to hype the crowd up most. My only major complaint about this DVD is the stock repetition of a camera shot that comes out of a fountain at the venue. The first couple times this shot is repeated it's not so bad, but it gets really cheesy after that.Note: This DVD contains footage from actually one concert and a half. One is the concert film shot in Germany. The 'half' is included in one of the DVD extras shot in Scotland as part of a documentary. Unfortunately, the three dates shot for the documentary in Scotland lacks the same audio quality as the Germany show and most of it is chopped up. Would've been cool to get a little more from that bit in terms of performance. Otherwise, the documentary about Scotland was really cool, but though they speak English, I do better with the subtitles on.

This is a stellar performance of songs spanning their amazing career and is a must have for the longtime fan or someone wanting to acquaint themselves with REM's amazing music. The sound and picture quality are excellent. However, I do have two complaints:1. Ok, I get it, the crowd is having a good time but.... how about spending some camera time on "my guys" rather than the crowd so much, ok? (Tour Film and Road Movie had it right... Barely any crowd time on screen.)2. Mike Mill's mic needs to be turned up just a bit. Love his voice and his backing vocals aren't as prominent as they are in some of their other live DVDs.Anyway, all in all it's a beautiful collection.

Other reviewers have commented on the many, many highlights of this incredible concert. Although trite, I can honestly say that any one of the following cuts is well worth the price of admission: What's the Frequency,Kenneth?, Daysleeper, Bad Day, Losing My Religion, Imitation of Life, It's the End of the World, and the real show-stopper -- M. Stripe's personal favourite -- an absolutely amazing version of Country Feedback. With the band currently on tour, I am sure there will be a renewed interest in their videos. This is a 'keeper' that will not disappoint.

It's really annoying that the DVD says it has closed captioning, without mentioning that there are no closed captions for the actual songs. The reason I bought this DVD was because I had seen the performance on Paladia, with song captions, and found that song captions enormously increased my enjoyment of the concert. It was a tremendous performance! I don't much care for the DVD, though, for the reason given above.

Live concert with all the hits, performed flawlessly, as ever, by the awesome REM. Something I will watch over and over again.

Il pacco è arrivato nei tempi stabiliti ed è stato ben confezionato.il rapporto qualità prezzo è molto buono.I REM sono una della band più brave nei live che abbia mai ascoltato.danno tutto per il pubblico.il DVD contiene sia la preparazione prima del concerto,sia la grande verve dei REM nei live.sono presenti le canzoni più conosciute del gruppo.grande DVD

R.E.M. es un grupo con dos caras muy distintas en su música, y dos tipos de seguidores. Cuando empezaron, formaren parte de lo que se llamaría N.R.A. (Nuevo Rock Americano), aportando una bocanada de aire fresco y buen hacer que atrayeron a un número considerable de seguidores puristas del rock clásico. Con el tiempo, fueron evolucionando hacia formas más "mainstream", consiguiendo gran número de fans amantes de la música de las radiofórmulas. En este concierto, tenemos un poco de todo, con la ventaja de que el directo siempre ayuda a que parezcan mejores temas más flojos, por lo que los seguidores de las dos épocas pueden disfrutar de este concierto.

Extraordinary DVD. I have huge collection of R.E.M. songs but had no dvd as nothing was available in India. This was a fantastic concert in Germany and audio and video quality is superb. Bonus features are excellent and I got to see the band performing my favorite song "Lotus". Thinking of buying an additional copy. Highly Recommended for everyone who loves rock music.

ein wirklich unglaublich gutes konzert, das auch filmtechnisch perfekt umgesetzt wurde .während ihr "tourfilm" die band in ihrem unaufhaltsamen aufstieg zur größten rockband der welt zeigt, dokumentiert "roadmovie" ebendiesen status, der damals (1995) seinen höhepunkt erreicht hatte."perfect square" zeigt eine band, die es, über jeglichen zweifel erhaben, vorzieht an wunderschönen historischen plätzen wie dem wiener schloss schönbrunn, dem münchner königsplatz, dem londoner trafalgar square oder eben dem auf dieser dvd zu sehenden bowling green in wiesbaden zu spielen und dabei aus einem unerschöpflichen fundus an wunderbaren songs schöpfen kann.neben den weltbekannten hits, die ohnehin jeder kennt, sind es für mich eher die älteren, unbekannteren lieder wie "begin the begin", "maps and legends" und vor allem "permanent vacation", die die highlights darstellen. vor allem letzteres muss mit einem augenzwinkern gesehen werden; sehen sie doch einfach peter buck in die augen, wenn er sein darin enthaltenes "ac/dc-gitarrensolo" in wahrsten sinne des wortes "herunterfidelt" - sie scheinen zu sagen "sorry guys, but anyone can wtite such straight-forward-rock'n roll-songs with a fast, placative solo to play stadiums! we can, but , for god's sake, we don't have to!!"diese band steht wirklich über den dingen und das ist auch der grund, warum sie es immer wieder schaffen, grandiose songs (neuestes beispiel "leaving new york") zu schreiben und manchmal auch zu überraschen!ich ziehe meinen imaginären hut!