Lifes Rich Pageant

Information about Lifes Rich Pageant

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


Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by 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.

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.

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


Note that the track listing on the back of the album is incorrect, most likely on purpose, and has never been corrected. It shows the order as 1-5-10-8-2-7-4-9-3-11, leaving out "Superman" and "Underneath the Bunker". The track listing is correct on the actual vinyl, cassette, and CD. Earlier pressings of the CD have the track number for "Cuyahoga" as "0R" instead of "04" printed on the CD itself.

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:
  2. "Tired of Singing Trouble" – 0:59
  3. "Rotary Ten" – 1:58
  4. "Toys in the Attic" (Steve Tyler, Joe Perry) – 2:26
  5. "Just a Touch" (Live in the Studio) – 2:38
  6. "Dream (All I Have to Do)" (Boudleaux Bryant) – 2:38
  7. "Swan Swan H" (Acoustic version) – 2:41
"Rotary Ten" and "Toys in the Attic" can be found on Dead Letter Office.

Personnel

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.

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1986The Billboard 20021 (32 weeks on chart)
1986UK Albums Chart43 (4 weeks on chart)

Singles

Year Song Chart Position
1986"Fall on Me"Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks5
1986"Fall on Me"The Billboard Hot 10094
1986"Superman"Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks17

Certifications

Organization Level Date
RIAA – U.S.GoldJanuary 23 1987
CRIA – CanadaGoldSeptember 30 1987
CRIA – CanadaPlatinumSeptember 30 1987

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.

External links

  •  • [ e] R.E.M.
Peter Buck Mike Mills Michael Stipe Bill Berry Accompaniment: Scott McCaughey Bill Rieflin Ken Stringfellow Amanda Brown Nathan December Buren Fowler Peter Holsapple Barrett Martin Joey Waronker Management and producers: Bertis Downs, IV Jacknife Lee Joe Boyd Don Dixon Mitch Easter Don Gehman Jefferson Holt Scott Litt Pat McCarthy Studio albums and EPs: Chronic Town Murmur Reckoning Fables of the Reconstruction Lifes Rich Pageant Document Green Out of Time Automatic for the People Monster New Adventures in Hi-Fi Up Reveal Around the Sun Upcoming studio album #14 Singles Compilations: Dead Letter Office Eponymous The Best of R.E.M. ''And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 Other albums: Athens Andover Man on the Moon Not Bad for No Tour r.e.m.IX R.E.M. Live Videos: Succumbs Tourfilm Pop Screen This Film Is On Parallel Road Movie Perfect Square
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