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Infobox album| Name = Lifes Rich Pageant| Type = studio| Artist = R.E.M. | Cover = LifesRichPCover.jpg| Released = start date|1986|7|28| Recorded = AprilMay 1986 at Belmont Mall Studios, Belmont, Indiana , United States | Genre = Alternative rock | Length = Duration|m=38|s=23| Language = English language|English | Label = I.R.S. Records|I.R.S. | Producer = Don Gehman | Last album = Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)| This album = Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)| Next album = Dead Letter Office (album)|Dead Letter Office (1987)| Misc = Singles| Name = Lifes Rich Pageant| Type = studio| Single 1 = Fall on Me | Single 1 date = Start date|1986|08| Single 2 = Superman (The Clique song)|Superman | Single 2 date = Start date|1986|11Album ratings| rev1 = Allmusic | rev1Score = Rating|4.5|5 http://www.allmusic.com/album/lifes-rich-pageant-r16420 All Music review| rev2 = Robert Christgau | rev2Score = B+ http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php? id=1140& name=R.E.M. Robert Christgau Record Guide| rev3 = CMJ | rev3Score = Very favorable http://www.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php? id=24091 College Music Journal review| rev4 = Pitchfork Media | rev4Score = 8.8/10 http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15625-lifes-rich-pageant-25th-anniversary-edition/ Pitchfork review| rev5 = PopMatters | rev5Score = Favorable http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/r/rem-lifesrich.shtml PopMatters review| rev6 = Rolling Stone | rev6Score = Rating|4|5 http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/197859/review/5943567/lifesrichpageant Rolling Stone review| rev7 = Slant Magazine | rev7Score = Rating|4.5|5 http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/r-e-m-lifes-rich-pageant-25th-anniversary-edition/2565 Slant review Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the United States|American band R.E.M. , released in 1986. Intended as an upbeat reaction to the sobering and historical Fables of the Reconstruction ,Citation needed|date=May 2009 R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album, which was recorded at John Mellencamp 's Belmont Mall Studios in Belmont, Indiana .
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 Peter Buck , from the 1964 film A Shot in the Dark (1964 film)|A Shot in the Dark , minus the apostrophe:
: InspectorClouseau opens car door and falls into a fountain. :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? "Rosen, Craig (1997). R.E.M. Inside Out: The Stories Behind Every Song . New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-56025-177-8.
The missing apostrophe in the title is deliberate. Nearly all contractions used by R.E.M. lack apostrophes, though "life's" in this case is a possessive.
The cover of the album depicts drummer Bill Berry on the upper part of the cover and a pair of American bison|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 to be at the time the band's most commercially successful album in the U.S., peaking at #21cite web|title=R.E.M. > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums |url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p116437|pure_url=yes|work= allmusic |accessdate=2009-08-12 on the Billboard chart| Billboard charts and scoring them their first gold record .Citation needed|date=May 2009 In the UK, the album managed a #43 peak.Citation needed|date=May 2009 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." http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-1980s/308/page_5
The ecologically-conscious " Fall on Me " (a personal favorite of frontman Michael Stipe ) and a cover of The Clique (Texas band)|The Clique 's " Superman (The Clique song)|Superman ", sung by bassist Mike Mills , were the only singles released from the album (the single version of the latter removed the sample from one of the Godzilla movies that began the album version).
Another ecologically-minded song, "Cuyahoga", refers to the once heavily polluted Cuyahoga River that flows into Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio|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 Cuyahoga River#History|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 Spin (magazine)|Spin http://books.google.com/books? id=ym2SY9Ha5AIC& pg=PA78& lpg=PA78& dq=%22I'm+so+young%22+%22I'm+so+goddamn+young%22& source=bl& ots=c4Y4W2GrYJ& sig=0dLoztzDZfWSavZvfJtFxs-9Iow& hl=en& ei=mFXMS9qsCoiCOL2QgNkF& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=5& ved=0CBgQ6AEwBA#v=onepage& q=%22I'm%20so%20young%22%20%22I'm%20so%20goddamn%20young%22& f=false October 1986 longtime influence Patti Smith 's live cover version of The Who 's " My Generation (The Who song)|My Generation " as recorded as the B-side of her 1976 single "Gloria" and more recent as a bonus track on some CD re-issues of her album Horses (album)|Horses .
Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry , Peter Buck , Mike Mills and Michael Stipe , except where noted.
;Side one& nbsp; "Dinner side" #" Begin the Begin "& nbsp; 3:28 #"These Days"& nbsp; 3:24 #" Fall On Me "& nbsp; 2:50 #"Cuyahoga"& nbsp; 4:19 #"Hyena"& nbsp; 2:50 #"Underneath the Bunker"& nbsp; 1:25
;Side two& nbsp; "Supper side" #
"The Flowers of Guatemala"& nbsp; 3:55 #"I Believe"& nbsp; 3:49 #"What If We Give It Away? "& nbsp; 3:33 #"Just a Touch"& nbsp; 3:00 #"Swan Swan H"& nbsp; 2:42 #" Superman (The Clique song)|Superman " ( Mike Bottler and Gary Zekley )& nbsp; 2:52
;1993 I.R.S. Vintage Years reissue bonus tracks #
"Tired of Singing Trouble"& nbsp; 0:59 #*Previously unreleased #"Rotary Ten"& nbsp; 1:58 #*B-side of " Fall On Me " American 7" single #" Toys in the Attic (song)|Toys in the Attic " ( Steve Tyler , Joe Perry (musician)|Joe Perry )& nbsp; 2:26 #*B-side of " Fall On Me " British 12" single #"Just a Touch" (Live in studio)& nbsp; 2:38 #*Previously unreleased version, recorded live to 2-track during Reckoning (R.E.M. album)|Reckoning sessions, 1984 #" All I Have to Do Is Dream|Dream (All I Have to Do) " ( Felice and Boudleaux Bryant )& nbsp; 2:38 #*Originally released on the soundtrack to the film Athens, GA: Inside Out , 1987 #"Swan Swan H" (Acoustic version)& nbsp; 2:41 #*Originally released on the soundtrack to the film Athens, GA: Inside Out , 1987
Note : "Rotary Ten" and "Toys in the Attic" can be found on Dead Letter Office (album)|Dead Letter Office .
Note : 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.
;2011 25th Anniversary Edition reissue bonus tracks ( The Athens Demos ) #"Fall On Me" #"Hyena" #"March Song (King of Birds)" #"These Days" #" Bad Day (R.E.M. song)|Bad Day " #"Salsa (Underneath the Bunker)" #"Swan Swan H" #"Flowers of Guatemala" #"Begin the Begin" #"Cuyahoga" #"I Believe" #"Out of Tune" #"Rotary Ten" #"Two Steps Onward" #"Just a Touch" #"Mystery to Me" #"Wait" #" All the Right Friends " #"Get On Their Way (What If We Give It Away? )"
Track listing notes:
"Superman" was listed on some early 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 pressings of the CD have the track number for "Cuyahoga" as "0R" instead of "04" printed on the CD itself.
On the vinyl and cassette releases, R.E.M. labeled side one (tracks 1-6) as the "Dinner side" and side two (tracks 7-12) as the "Supper side."
The UK 1993 release for 'IRS Years Vintage 1986' preserves the incorrect track order, but lists the unreleased tracks.
Personnel
;R.E.M.
Bill Berry & nbsp; drum kit|drums and Backing vocalist|backing vocals
Peter Buck & nbsp; guitar
Mike Mills & nbsp; bass guitar and backing vocals, Lead vocalist|lead vocals on "Superman"
Michael Stipe & nbsp; singing|vocals
;Production
M. Bird& nbsp; illustrations
Jim Dineen & nbsp; Audio engineering|engineering
Gregg Edward & nbsp; mixing at Can-Am Recorders, Los Angeles , California , United States
Rick Fetig & nbsp; engineering
Don Gehman & nbsp; Record producer|production , audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing
Mike Hogarth & nbsp; engineering
Stan Katayama & nbsp; engineering
Bob Ludwig & nbsp; Audio mastering|mastering , at Masterdisc, New York City , New York , United States
:MusicBrainz album|id=f6d63a52-29a7-4708-9f60-c4ef9e28663f|name=Lifes Rich Pageant (I.R.S. Vintage Years edition)
R.E.M. Category:1986 albums Category:Albums produced by Don Gehman Category:English-language albums Category:I.R.S. Records albums Category:R.E.M. albums
