Latest releases reviewed

R.E.M.
When the Light Is Mine
EMI
***

Produced in collaboration with R.E.M. to celebrate their 25th anniversary, this handy little pre-Warners visual guide to Athens, Georgia's finest could come with a salutary warning note: lads, go back to basics. Chronicling the activities of the band between the seminal indie-darling years of 1982-1987, the DVD collects all of their early music videos (for the likes of Radio Free Europe, Driver 8, Life and How to Live It, Finest Worksong) along with live appearances from The Tube, Old Grey Whistle Test and The Cutting Edge. Musically it's faultless, although some of the visuals have dated to the degree where bad haircuts vie with silly clothes for embarrassing giggles. Extras include previously unreleased interview and concert footage. After this it was a multi-million dollar deal with Warners, a leap from cult to mainstream, records of diminishing financial and creative returns, a walkout from drummer Bill Berry and a lot of "Watch This Space" pondering on where they'll end up next.  - Tony Clayton-Lea

ELIZABETH SCHWARZKOPF
A Self Portrait
EMI Classics
****

Elizabeth Schwarzkopf died in her sleep aged 91 in August of this year. She was the last survivor of the great quintet of sopranos who came to prominence after the second World War, the others being Callas, Tebaldi, De Los Angeles and Nilsson. This self portrait, produced under her direction, is a record of her singing life with much previously unseen video footage from her career, including scenes with other great contemporary artists. Very much the grand Grande Dame, Schwarzkopf deals robustly with her time under the Nazis by denying any interest in or knowledge of politics. Possessed of a glorious lyric soprano voice, she excelled in Mozart and Richard Strauss - with the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier being her signature role. This disc is a fascinating record of the life and times past of one of the great postwar Prima Donnas. www.emiclassics.com - Colman Morrissey