Lifes Rich Pageant

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Lifes Rich Pageant
Lifes Rich Pageant cover
Studio album by R.E.M.
Released July 28, 1986 (1986-07-28)
Recorded April–May 1986, Belmont Mall Studios, Bloomington, Indiana
Genre Alternative rock
Length 38:23
Label I.R.S.
Producer Don Gehman
Professional reviews
R.E.M. chronology
Fables of the Reconstruction
(1985)		 Lifes Rich Pageant
(1986)		 Document
(1987)

Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the American band R.E.M. and was released in 1986. Intended as an upbeat reaction to the sobering and historical Fables of the Reconstruction, R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album at his Belmont Mall Studios in Belmont, Indiana.

Contents

[edit] 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 (minus the apostrophe) is, according to Peter Buck, from the 1964 film A Shot in the Dark:

Inspector Clouseau opens car door and falls into a puddle.
Maria: "You should get out of these clothes immediately. You'll catch your death of pneumonia, you will."
Clouseau: "Yes, I probably will. But it's all part of life's rich pageant, you know."[1]

The missing apostrophe in the title is deliberate. Nearly all contractions used by R.E.M. lack apostrophes.

The cover of the album depicts drummer Bill Berry in heavy make-up 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 fanbase beginning to grow beyond its college rock boundaries, Lifes Rich Pageant proved to be their biggest U.S. album yet, peaking at #21 on the Billboard charts and scoring them their first gold record. In the UK, where the band's fame lagged slightly, the album managed a #43 peak.

The ecologically-conscious "Fall on Me" (a personal favorite of frontman Michael Stipe) 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 (most famously in 1969) when the river actually caught fire.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, except where noted.

  1. "Begin the Begin" – 3:28
  2. "These Days" – 3:24
  3. "Fall on Me" – 2:50
  4. "Cuyahoga" – 4:19
  5. "Hyena" – 2:50
  6. "Underneath the Bunker" – 1:25
  7. "The Flowers of Guatemala" – 3:55
  8. "I Believe" – 3:49
  9. "What If We Give It Away?" – 3:33
  10. "Just a Touch" – 3:00
  11. "Swan Swan H" – 2:42
  12. "Superman" (Gary Zekley, Mitchell Bottler) – 2:52


Track listing notes:

  • "Superman" was listed on some early copies as "Superwoman."
  • The track listing on the back of the album is incorrect, most likely on purpose or because the track list was altered too late in production for the album art to be redesigned. 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 CD.
  • Early pressings of the CD have the track number for "Cuyahoga" as "0R" instead of "04" printed on the CD itself.
  • On the vinyl release, R.E.M. labeled side one (tracks 1-6) as the "Dinner side" and side two (tracks 7-12) as the "Supper side."

[edit] The IRS Years reissue

On January 26, 1993, EMI, which owns the I.R.S. catalogue, re-released Lifes Rich Pageant with six bonus tracks:

  1. "Tired of Singing Trouble" – 0:59
    • Previously unreleased
  2. "Rotary Ten" – 1:58
  3. "Toys in the Attic" (Steve Tyler, Joe Perry) – 2:26
  4. "Just a Touch" (Live in the Studio) – 2:38
    • Previously unreleased version, recorded live to 2-track during Reckoning sessions, 1984
  5. "Dream (All I Have to Do)" (Boudleaux Bryant) – 2:38
  6. "Swan Swan H" (Acoustic version) – 2:41
    • Originally released on the soundtrack to the film Athens, GA: Inside Out, 1987

"Rotary Ten" and "Toys in the Attic" can be found on Dead Letter Office.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rosen, Craig (1997). R.E.M. Inside Out: The Stories Behind Every Song. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-56025-177-8.

[edit] Charts

[edit] Album

Year Chart Position
1986 The Billboard 200 21 (32 weeks on chart)
1986 UK Albums Chart 43 (4 weeks on chart)

[edit] Singles

Year Song Chart Position
1986 "Fall on Me" Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 5
1986 "Fall on Me" The Billboard Hot 100 94
1986 "Superman" Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 17

[edit] Certifications

Organization Level Date
RIAA – U.S. Gold January 23, 1987
CRIA – Canada Gold September 30, 1987
CRIA – Canada Platinum September 30, 1987

[edit] Literary references

Dark fantasy author Caitlín R. Kiernan mentions Lifes Rich Pageant in her first novel, Silk (1998), specifically the track "Fall on Me." Kiernan also makes several reference to "Fall on Me" in her sequel to Silk, 2004's Murder of Angels.

[edit] External links

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