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Lifes Rich Pageant by  ReleasedJuly 28, 1986RecordedApril–May 1986StudioBelmont Mall, , United StatesLength38:23 chronology
(1985)Lifes Rich Pageant
(1986)
(1987) from Lifes Rich Pageant ""
Released: August 1986 ""
Released: November 1986

Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth studio album by the American  band , released on July 28, 1986. R.E.M. chose  to produce the album, which was recorded at 's Belmont Mall Studios in . This was the only album the band recorded with Gehman, who moved them from the more obscure and dense sound of their earlier albums to an accessible, -influenced quality. The album was well-received critically.

Details

The source for the title of the album is based on an English . Its use is very old, but R.E.M.'s use is, according to guitarist , from the 1964 film , minus the apostrophe:

 opens a car door, falling 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 cover of the album is a photograph of drummer  on the upper part of the cover and a pair of , signifying an environmental theme, on the lower part. It also alludes to .

With R.E.M.'s fan base beginning to grow beyond its  boundaries, Lifes Rich Pageant proved at the time to be the band's most commercially successful album in the United States, peaking at number 21 on the  and heralding the band's first . In the UK, the album managed a number 43 peak.

 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."

In 2000, it ranked at number 162 in the list of 's All-Time Album Top 1000 List.

The ecologically conscious "" (a personal favorite of frontman ) and a cover of 's "", sung by bassist , were the only singles released from the album (the single version of the latter removed the sample from one of the  movies that began the album version).

Another ecologically minded song, "Cuyahoga", refers to the once heavily polluted  that flows into  at , . The song includes the lyric we burned the river down, which refers to the several occasions (most famously in 1969) when the river actually .

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 longtime influence 's live cover version of 's "" released on the b-side of her 1976 single "", which she also uses at the end of her cover version of "" from her 1978 album, .

Reception
The 25th anniversary re-release of Lifes Rich Pageant was met with positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator . This release received a  score of 93 out of 100, based on 20 reviews.Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingB+A8.8/10

In 2020,  included it in their list of the "12 Essential 1980s Alternative Rock Albums".

Track listing

All songs written by , ,  and , except where noted.

Side one – "Dinner side"

"" – 3:28 "These Days" – 3:24 "" – 2:50 "" – 4:19 "Hyena" – 2:50 "Underneath the Bunker" (unlisted on packaging) – 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 "" (Mitchell Bottler and ) (unlisted on packaging) – 2:52