lifes rich pageant

These noisy cats cleared the murky waters of their sound with this transitional tapestry of lush harmonies and raucous jangle-pop. After the miserable experience they had recording 'Fables Of The Reconstruction' in England with Joe Boyd, R.E.M. was ready for a change. They connected with producer Don Gehman and recorded at John Mellencamp's Belmont Mall Studios in Indiana. Michael Stipe's voice shows more confidence and projection; and the production reveals the strengths of each member of the band, especially drummer Bill Berry, whose forehead appears on the cover and whose backbeat provides the drive that characterizes 'Lifes Rich Pageant'. From the arabian flair of 'Underneath The Bunker' to the backwoods banjo that starts 'I Believe', the nuances are much easier to hear. Despite the crisper, more radio-friendly sound, the album maintained their indie mystique with its artsy cover, mismatched tracklisting, and overtly political songs. Still, it became their first Gold record, peaking at number twenty one on the US album chart.






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'Begin The Begin' starts the album with a nod to Cole Porter in what Stipe calls "a song of personal, political activism."

A philanderer's tie, a murderer's shoe

Life's rich demand creates supply in the hand

Of the powers, the only vote that matters

Silence means security silence means approval

On Zenith, on the TV, tiger run around the tree

Follow the leader, run and turn into butter

'These Days'

"I had a hat and it sunk, reached down,

Yanked it up, slapped it on my head

All the people gather

Fly to carry each his burden

We are young despite the years we are concern

We are hope despite the times

All of the sudden, these days

Happy throngs, take this joy wherever, wherever you go"

'Fall On Me' is about oppression and acid rain. The single peaked at number ninety four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

"There's the progress we have found (when the rain)

A way to talk around the problem (when the children reign)

Building towered foresight (keep your conscience in the dark)

Isn't anything at all (melt the statues in the park)

Buy the sky and sell the sky and bleed the sky and tell the sky"

'Cuyahoga' refers to an incident on June 22, 1969 when an oil slick and debris in the Cuyahoga River caught fire in Cleveland, Ohio.

"Let's put our heads together, start a new country up,

Underneath the river bed we burned the river down

This is where they walked, swam, hunted, danced and sang,

Take a picture here, take a souvenir"

'Hyena' is a comment on the nuclear arms race.

"The only thing to fear is fearlessness

The bigger the weapon, greater the fear

Hyena is ambassador to here"

'I Believe' addresses the way people embrace contradictory ideas and beliefs.

"When I was young and give and take

And foolish said my fool awake

When I was young and fever fell

My spirit, I will not tell

You're on your honour, on your honour

Trust in your calling, make sure your calling's true

Think of others, the others think of you

Silly rule golden words make practice

Practice makes perfect

Perfect is a fault and fault lines change

I believe my humour's wearing thin

And change is what I believe in"

Bassist Mike Mills sings lead on the cover of the Clique's 'Superman' that closes the album. The single peaked at number seventeen on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

"You don't really love that guy you make it with now do you?

I know you don't love that guy 'cause I can see right through you."

'Lifes Rich Pageant'
full album:





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

Side one – "Dinner side"
"Begin the Begin" – 3:28
"These Days" – 3:24
"Fall on Me" – 2:50
"Cuyahoga" – 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" (Mitchell Bottler and Gary Zekley) – 2:52