Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth studio album by the Americanalternative rock band R.E.M., released on July 28, 1986. R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album, which was recorded at John Mellencamp's Belmont Mall Studios in Belmont, Indiana. This was the only album the band recorded with Gehman, who moved them from the more obscure and dense sound of their earlier albums to an accessible, hard rock-influenced quality. The album was well-received critically.
Details
The source for the title of the album is based on an English idiom. Its use is very old, but R.E.M.'s use is, according to guitarist Peter Buck, from the 1964 filmA Shot in the Dark, minus the apostrophe: The cover of the album is a photograph of drummer Bill Berry on the upper part of the cover and a pair of bison, signifying an environmental theme, on the lower part. It also alludes to Buffalo Bill. With R.E.M.'s fan base beginning to grow beyond its college rock boundaries, Lifes Rich Pageant proved at the time to be the band's most commercially successful album in the United States, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard charts and heralding the band's first gold record. In the UK, the album managed a number 43 peak. Slant Magazine listed the album at #52 on its list of "Best Albums of 1980s" saying "Lifes Rich Pageant stands as a nearly seamless transition between the band's formative period and their commercial dominance." In 2000, it ranked at number 162 in the list of Virgin's All-Time Album Top 1000 List. The ecologically conscious "Fall on Me" and a cover of the Clique's "Superman", sung by bassist Mike Mills, were the only singles released from the album. Another ecologically minded song, "Cuyahoga", refers to the once heavily polluted Cuyahoga River that flows into Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio. The song includes the lyric we burned the river down, which refers to the several occasions when the river actually caught fire. At the end of "Just a Touch" Michael Stipe can be heard screaming the line "I'm so young, I'm so goddamn young", quoting longtime influence Patti Smith's live cover version of The Who's "My Generation" released on the b-side of her 1976 single "Gloria", which she also uses at the end of her cover version of "Privilege " from her 1978 album, Easter.
Reception
The 25th anniversary re-release of In 2020, PopMatters included it in their list of the "12 Essential 1980s Alternative Rock Albums".
Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, except where noted. Side one – "Dinner side"
*Previously unreleased version, recorded live to 2-track during Reckoning sessions, 1984
"Dream " – 2:38
*Originally released on the soundtrack to the film ', 1987
"Swan Swan H" – 2:41
*Originally released on the soundtrack to the film Athens, GA: Inside Out, 1987
Notes
"Rotary Ten" and "Toys in the Attic" can be found on Dead Letter Office.
Although sometimes referred to as such, the first release of this edition does not have the original tracks remastered. They follow the first print of the album and only add the extra tracks.
"Superman" was listed on some early UK CD copies as "Superwoman."
The track listing on the back of the album is incorrect. It has never been corrected. The order is given as 1-5-10-8-2-7-4-9-3-11, which leaves out "Superman" and "Underneath the Bunker." The track listing is correct on the actual vinyl, cassette, and some CD versions.
Early American pressings of the CD have the track number for "Cuyahoga" as "0R" instead of "04" printed on the disc itself. This error resurfaces on the cover of
Green''.
On the vinyl and cassette releases, R.E.M. labeled side one as the "Dinner side" and side two as the "Supper side."
The European 'I.R.S. Years Vintage 1986' release preserves the erroneous track list, but properly lists the bonus tracks.
