Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
band
R.E.M.R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe , Peter Buck , Mike Mills , and Bill Berry . R.E.M. was one of the first popular alternative rock bands, and gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's unclear vocals. R.E.M...
and was released in 1986. Intended as an upbeat reaction to the sobering and historical
Fables of the ReconstructionFables of the Reconstruction, or Reconstruction of the Fables, is the third studio album released by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on the I.R.S. Records in 1985.-Details:...
, R.E.M. chose
Don GehmanDon Gehman is an American record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s with John Mellencamp.Gehman grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and played bass in a local rock band...
to produce the album at his Belmont Mall Studios in
BelmontBelmont is an unincorporated town in Washington Township, Brown County, Indiana.Belmont was originally the settlement of the Shakers, who quickly died out. However, they left the bell from their church. The bell went with the land in the government auction. The bell remained until 1920 by that...
,
IndianaIndiana is a U.S. state, the 19
th admitted to the Union. It is located in the Great Lakes region, and with approximately 6.3 million residents, is ranked 16
th in population and 17
th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38
th in land area, and is the...
.
The source for the title of the album is based on an English
idiomAn idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has figurative meaning — its implication comprehended only through common use; whereas the literal definition of the idiom, itself, does not communicate its meaning as a figurative usage.In linguistics, idioms are usually presumed to be figures of...
. Its use is very old, but R.E.M.'s use (minus the apostrophe) is, according to
Peter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck is the guitarist and co-founder, along with Bill Berry, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe, of the alternative rock band R.E.M....
, from the 1964 film
A Shot in the DarkA Shot in the Dark is a comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment in the Pink Panther series. Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté...
:
- Inspector Clouseau
Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau is a fictional detective in Blake Edwards's Pink Panther series. In most of the films, he was played by Peter Sellers, with one film in which he was played by Alan Arkin and one in which he was played by an uncredited Roger Moore. In the 2006 Pink Panther revival...
opens car door and falls into a fountain.
- Maria: "You should get out of these clothes immediately.
Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
band
R.E.M.R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe , Peter Buck , Mike Mills , and Bill Berry . R.E.M. was one of the first popular alternative rock bands, and gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's unclear vocals. R.E.M...
and was released in 1986. Intended as an upbeat reaction to the sobering and historical
Fables of the ReconstructionFables of the Reconstruction, or Reconstruction of the Fables, is the third studio album released by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on the I.R.S. Records in 1985.-Details:...
, R.E.M. chose
Don GehmanDon Gehman is an American record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s with John Mellencamp.Gehman grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and played bass in a local rock band...
to produce the album at his Belmont Mall Studios in
BelmontBelmont is an unincorporated town in Washington Township, Brown County, Indiana.Belmont was originally the settlement of the Shakers, who quickly died out. However, they left the bell from their church. The bell went with the land in the government auction. The bell remained until 1920 by that...
,
IndianaIndiana is a U.S. state, the 19
th admitted to the Union. It is located in the Great Lakes region, and with approximately 6.3 million residents, is ranked 16
th in population and 17
th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38
th in land area, and is the...
.
Details
The source for the title of the album is based on an English
idiomAn idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has figurative meaning — its implication comprehended only through common use; whereas the literal definition of the idiom, itself, does not communicate its meaning as a figurative usage.In linguistics, idioms are usually presumed to be figures of...
. Its use is very old, but R.E.M.'s use (minus the apostrophe) is, according to
Peter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck is the guitarist and co-founder, along with Bill Berry, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe, of the alternative rock band R.E.M....
, from the 1964 film
A Shot in the DarkA Shot in the Dark is a comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment in the Pink Panther series. Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté...
:
- Inspector Clouseau
Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau is a fictional detective in Blake Edwards's Pink Panther series. In most of the films, he was played by Peter Sellers, with one film in which he was played by Alan Arkin and one in which he was played by an uncredited Roger Moore. In the 2006 Pink Panther revival...
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?"
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 BerryWilliam "Bill" Thomas Berry is an American former musician and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer in alternative rock band R.E.M. for 17 years, before retiring from the group and becoming a farmer...
on the upper part of the cover and a pair of
bisonThe American Bison is a North American species of bison, also commonly known as the American Buffalo. "Buffalo" is somewhat of a misnomer for this animal, as it is only distantly related to either of the two "true buffaloes", the Asian Buffalo and the African Buffalo...
, signifying an environmental theme, on the lower part. It also alludes to
Buffalo BillWilliam Frederick " Buffalo Bill" Cody was an American soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , near Le Claire. He was one of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, and mostly famous for the shows he organized with cowboy themes...
.
With R.E.M.'s fan base beginning to grow beyond its
college rockCollege rock was a term used in the United States to describe 1980s alternative rock before the term "alternative" came into common usage. So named because it was primarily played on campus radio stations, these bands combined the experimentation of post-punk and New Wave with a more melodic pop...
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, the album managed a #43 peak.
The ecologically-conscious "
Fall on Me"Fall on Me" is a song by R.E.M. from their fourth album, 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant. It was the first of two singles released from that LP. It peaked at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it never charted on the UK Singles Charts.-Meaning and origin:...
" (a personal favorite of frontman
Michael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer who is the lead vocalist for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe has become well-known for the "mumbling" style of his early career and for his complex, surreal lyrics, as well as his social and political activism...
) and a cover of
The CliqueThe Clique are a late 1960s U.S. sunshine pop band from Houston, Texas.The group was centered around record producer/songwriter Gary Zekley, who often employed session musicians. Their self-titled album, The Clique , released by White Whale Records, featured the singles "I'll Hold Out My Hand" and...
's "Superman", sung by bassist
Mike MillsMichael Edward Mills is the bass player of the band R.E.M. Though known primarily as a bassist, piano player and background singer, his musical repertoire includes many other keyboard, guitar, string, wind and percussion instruments...
, were the only singles released from the album.
Another ecologically-minded song, Cuyahoga, refers to the once heavily-polluted
Cuyahoga RiverThe Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
that flows into
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the thirteenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
at
ClevelandCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border...
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
. 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 BerryWilliam "Bill" Thomas Berry is an American former musician and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer in alternative rock band R.E.M. for 17 years, before retiring from the group and becoming a farmer...
,
Peter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck is the guitarist and co-founder, along with Bill Berry, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe, of the alternative rock band R.E.M....
,
Mike MillsMichael Edward Mills is the bass player of the band R.E.M. Though known primarily as a bassist, piano player and background singer, his musical repertoire includes many other keyboard, guitar, string, wind and percussion instruments...
and
Michael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer who is the lead vocalist for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe has become well-known for the "mumbling" style of his early career and for his complex, surreal lyrics, as well as his social and political activism...
, except where noted.
Side one – "Dinner side"
- "Begin the Begin
"Begin the Begin" is the first song on R.E.M.'s fourth album, Lifes Rich Pageant. Lead singer Michael Stipe has called it "a song of personal, political activism." Though never released as a single, it still appears frequently in the band's live performances as a song early in the set...
" – 3:28
- "These Days" – 3:24
- "Fall on Me
"Fall on Me" is a song by R.E.M. from their fourth album, 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant. It was the first of two singles released from that LP. It peaked at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it never charted on the UK Singles Charts.-Meaning and origin:...
" – 2:50
- "Cuyahoga
"Cuyahoga" is an ecologically-minded song from R.E.M.'s fourth album Lifes Rich Pageant. It 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...
" – 4:19
- "Hyena" – 2:50
- "Underneath the Bunker" – 1:25
Side two – "Supper side"
- "The Flowers of Guatemala" – 3:55
- "I Believe" – 3:49
- "What If We Give It Away?" – 3:33
- "Just a Touch" – 3:00
- "Swan Swan H" – 2:42
- "Superman" (Mike Bottler and Gary Zekley
Gary Zekley was a West Coast record producer and songwriter associated with 1960s, 1970s and 1980s bands and songs in the bubblegum, rock and roll, sunshine pop, and surf genres....
) – 2:52
1993
I.R.S. Vintage Years reissue bonus tracks
- "Tired of Singing Trouble" – 0:59
- "Rotary Ten" – 1:58
- B-side of "Fall On Me
"Fall on Me" is a song by R.E.M. from their fourth album, 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant. It was the first of two singles released from that LP. It peaked at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it never charted on the UK Singles Charts.-Meaning and origin:...
" American 7" single
- "Toys in the Attic
"Toys in the Attic" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, it is the first song and title track from the band's third album Toys in the Attic, their bestselling studio album in the United States. The song is three minutes, five seconds long...
" (Steve Tyler, Joe PerryAnthony Joseph Perry is the lead guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and contributing songwriter for the rock band Aerosmith...
) – 2:26
- B-side of "Fall On Me
"Fall on Me" is a song by R.E.M. from their fourth album, 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant. It was the first of two singles released from that LP. It peaked at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it never charted on the UK Singles Charts.-Meaning and origin:...
" British 12" single
- "Just a Touch" (Live in studio) – 2:38
- Previously unreleased version, recorded live to 2-track during Reckoning
Reckoning is the second album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1984 by I.R.S. Records. Produced by Mitch Easter and Don Dixon, the album was recorded at Reflection Sound Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina over 16 days in December 1983 and January 1984...
sessions, 1984
- "Dream (All I Have to Do)
"All I Have to Do Is Dream" is a popular song made famous by the Everly Brothers, written by the legendary husband and wife songwriting team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, and published in 1958...
" (Felice and Boudleaux BryantFelice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant were an American wife and husband country music songwriting team who were also at the forefront of the evolution of pop music...
) – 2:38
- Originally released on the soundtrack to the film Athens, GA: Inside Out
Athens, GA: Inside/Out is a documentary film about the mid-1980s music scene in Athens, Georgia, USA.The film features interviews and concert footage of local bands who were a part of the scene at the time of the documentation as well as local legends R.E.M., Pylon, and The B-52's. It also features...
, 1987
- "Swan Swan H" (Acoustic version) – 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
Dead Letter Office is a rarities and B-sides collection by R.E.M., released in 1987. The album essentially a collection of many additional recordings R.E.M. made pre-Murmur to Lifes Rich Pageant that were outtakes or released as flip sides to their singles internationally...
.
- 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.
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 release, 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 uncorrected album cover, but lists the unreleased tracks.
Personnel
R.E.M.
- Bill Berry
William "Bill" Thomas Berry is an American former musician and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer in alternative rock band R.E.M. for 17 years, before retiring from the group and becoming a farmer...
– drumsA drum set is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person . The term "drum kit" first became used in the 1700s in Britain...
and backing vocalsA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
- Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck is the guitarist and co-founder, along with Bill Berry, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe, of the alternative rock band R.E.M....
– guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
- Mike Mills
Michael Edward Mills is the bass player of the band R.E.M. Though known primarily as a bassist, piano player and background singer, his musical repertoire includes many other keyboard, guitar, string, wind and percussion instruments...
– bass guitarThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
and backing vocals, lead vocalsThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. Lead vocalists may also play one or more instruments...
on "Superman"
- Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer who is the lead vocalist for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe has become well-known for the "mumbling" style of his early career and for his complex, surreal lyrics, as well as his social and political activism...
– vocals
Production
- M. Bird – illustrations
- Jim Dineen – engineering
Audio engineering is a part of audio science dealing with the recording and reproduction of sound through mechanical and electronic means. The field draws on many disciplines, including electrical engineering, acoustics, psychoacoustics, and music. Unlike acoustical engineering, audio...
- Gregg Edward – mixing at Can-Am Recorders, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
, CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- Rick Fetig – engineering
- Don Gehman
Don Gehman is an American record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s with John Mellencamp.Gehman grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and played bass in a local rock band...
– productionIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
, mixingAudio mixing is the process by which a multitude of recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics and panoramic position are commonly being manipulated and effects such as reverb might...
- Mike Hogarth – engineering
- Stan Katayama – engineering
- Bob Ludwig
Bob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. Ludwig's craftsmanship is appreciated widely within the music profession, as testified by his extensive credits and demand for his work...
– masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
, at Masterdisc, New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
- Sandra Lee Phipps – photography
- Juanita Rogers – back cover painting
- R. O. Scarelli – packaging
- B. Slay – illustrations
Release history
| Region |
Date |
Label |
Format |
Catalog |
| United Kingdom |
| I.R.S. I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...
|
vinyl LPA gramophone record, commonly known as phonograph record, vinyl record, or simply record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc...
|
MIRG1014 |
| United States |
|
I.R.S. |
LP |
IRS-5783 |
| cassette tape |
IRSC-5783 |
Compact DiscA Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982...
|
72434-93478-2-3 |
| Brazil |
| EpicEpic Records is an American record label. It is owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment. The label was founded in 1953 as a jazz label, and was eventually expanded to several genres of music. The label manages several imprints as well.-History:...
|
LP |
14495 |
| Greece |
| I.R.S. |
LP |
57064 |
| The Netherlands |
| Illegal Illegal Records is part of the Faulty Products group. They distributed the first single of The Police.Discography of ReleasesDiscography:BUK 3 Timbuk 3 Airwave Jungle 1986ES 1098 Wall Of Voodoo Far Side Of Crazy 1985...
|
LP |
ILP 57064 |
| New Zealand |
| I.R.S. |
LP |
ELPS 4550 |
| Spain |
| Illegal |
LP |
57064 |
| United States |
| I.R.S. |
Compact Disc |
IRSD-5783 |
| Worldwide |
| MCAMCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part...
|
Compact Disc |
5783 |
| United States |
| I.R.S. |
cassette tape |
IRSC-5783 |
| United States |
| UniversalUniversal Music Group is the largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry. It is the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
|
Compact Disc |
19080 |
| The Netherlands |
| EMIThe EMI Group is a British music company. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major publishing arm- EMI Music Publishing- based in New York City...
|
Compact Disc |
7 13201 2 5† |
| Japan |
| Toshibais a Japanese multinational conglomerate manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company's main business is in infrastructure, consumer products, electronic devices and components.Toshiba-made Semiconductors are among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders...
/EMI |
Compact Disc |
TOCP-7269† |
| Worldwide |
| CapitolCapitol Records is a major United States-based record label owned by EMI and located in Los Angeles and New York City as part of Capitol Music Group...
|
Compact Disc |
93478 |
| Europe |
| EMI |
Compact Disc |
13201† |
| Europe |
| EMI |
Compact Disc |
7132012† |
†I.R.S. Vintage Years edition, with bonus tracks
Chart performance
Album
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1986 |
The Billboard 200 |
21 (32 weeks on chart) |
| 1986 |
UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website ; the full Top 200 is published exclusively in ChartsPlus.To qualify for the UK albums...
|
43 (4 weeks on chart) |
Singles
| Year |
Song |
Chart |
Position |
| 1986 |
"Fall on Me" |
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks |
5 |
| 1986 |
"Fall on Me" |
The Billboard Hot 100 |
94v |
| 1986 |
"Superman" |
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks |
17 |
Sales certifications
| Organization |
Level |
Date |
| RIAA – U.S. |
Gold |
January 23, 1987 |
| CRIA – Canada |
Gold |
September 30, 1987 |
| CRIA – Canada |
Platinum |
September 30, 1987 |
External links