R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant (1986/2020) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

R.E.M.’s fourth studio recording, Lifes Rich Pageant, is a pivotal release that saw the band evolving into bona fide rock legends. It was their first album to achieve Gold status and is included on Slant Magazine’s “100 Best Albums of the Eighties.” Teaming up with producer Don Gehman, the album is a politically-conscious work that addresses social progress and environmental issues. Lifes Rich Pageant includes the hit singles “Fall On Me” and “Superman.” The album is a hard-rock affair that is both inspirational and uplifting.

Fables of the Reconstruction was intentionally murky, and Lifes Rich Pageant was constructed as its polar opposite. Teaming with producer Don Gehman, who previously worked with John Mellencamp, R.E.M. developed their most forceful record to date. Where previous records kept the rhythm section in the background, Pageant emphasizes the beat, and the band turns in its hardest rockers to date, including the anthemic "Begin the Begin" and the punky "Just a Touch." But the cleaner production also benefits the ballads and the mid-tempo janglers, particularly since it helps reveal Michael Stipe's growing political obsessions, especially on the environmental anthems "Fall on Me" and "Cuyahoga." The group hasn't entirely left myths behind – witness the Civil War ballad "Swan Swan H" – but the band sound more contemporary both musically and lyrically than they did on either Fables or Murmur, which helps give the record an extra kick. And even with excellent songs like "I Believe," "Flowers of Guatemala," "These Days," and "What if We Give It Away," it's ironic that the most memorable moment comes from the garage rock obscurity "Superman," which is sung with glee by Mike Mills.

TRACKLIST

1. R.E.M. - Begin The Begin
2. R.E.M. - These Days
3. R.E.M. - Fall On Me
4. R.E.M. - Cuyahoga
5. R.E.M. - Hyena (Album Version)
6. R.E.M. - Underneath The Bunker
7. R.E.M. - The Flowers Of Guatemala
8. R.E.M. - I Believe
9. R.E.M. - What If We Give It Away?
10. R.E.M. - Just A Touch
11. R.E.M. - Swan Swan H
12. R.E.M. - Superman



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