I Will Rearrange Your Scales

Lifes Rich Pageant - 1986

With Lifes Rich Pageant (there's no apostrophe on purpose, so I don't want to hear it!), R.E.M. began to enter the second phase of the band's career. At this point, the boys from Athens, GA were gaining the attention of listeners outside the college radio loyal and the album went as high as #21 on the US album charts. While being their most "commercial" album to date, it was still one of their best. Legend has it that many of the songs on Lifes Rich Pageant are holdovers from previous recording sessions or just songs that R.E.M. had never got around to recording before. If that's the case, then this ain't too bad for leftover.

Don Gehman's production is crystal clear, enabling R.E.M. to sound like they're playing a music hall instead of a cellar. In doing so, Michael Stipe's lyrics are more discernible than ever before, making this the easiest record to sing along to, so far. Also, Stipe is more confident as a vocalist than he has ever been before. This is nicely balanced by a stronger vocal presence by Mike Mills in the background. Mills is practically a co-singer at times, especially on "These Days", "Fall On Me", and the cover of The Clique's "Superman", where he's basically the lead singer. He continues to provide harmonies, melody and counter-point lyrics, but now his microphone has been turned up even more.

Another big change is that R.E.M. really bring the rock on several tracks like never before. The album opens with one of those wonderful Peter Buck guitar licks that quickly crashes into a dirge of feedback and power chords on the aptly titled "Begin the Begin". The momentum is sustained, if not ratcheted up on "These Days". This is in keeping with a time-honored rock album tradition of following a rocking opener with a harder, louder number. Plus, Bill Berry's drumming sounds like a clap of thunder, as he is allowed to let loose on these first two tracks.

R.E.M. slow it all down quickly with the brilliant "Fall On Me" and the almost as excellent "Cuyahoga". The former was released as a single and has become a signature song for the band, ever since. The highlights on "Fall On Me" include a beautiful bridge sung by Mills, and a three-way vocal pile-on by Stipe, Mills, and Berry on the outro. "Cuyahoga" is detailed and picturesque. Its environmental themes make a it a good compliment to the prior song, if you believe that "Fall On Me" is about acid rain (which it probably isn't, but oh, well).

The first side of Lifes Rich Pageant ends with another up-tempo number, "Hyena" and the extremely odd "Underneath the Bunker". The former is fun little rock number, but the later is essentially a throwaway track. Sure, it is competently done, but "Underneath the Bunker" is full of strange lyrics, gypsy rhythms, and Tex-Mex guitar solos. In other words, it really doesn't fit on the record and can't be taken seriously. It's not a bad song, but it is a wisely placed side A ender allowing it to be an album interlude.

The second begins as an anti-thesis of the first, with the slow, moving ballad "The Flowers of Guatemala". This song exemplifies Michael Stipe's broadening worldview as a lyricist, which is evident throughout the album. Also, Peter Buck is allowed a simple, but effective guitar solo, which is rare for R.E.M.

"I Believe" is probably one my favorite R.E.M. songs to sing along with. Stipe rattles off a string of seemingly non-sequetuer lines that I am unable to resist repeating. Other bonuses include a quick banjo intro and an accordion bridge.

"What If We Give It Away" is a pleasant enough mid-tempo track filled with some wonderful Stipe wails. It works mainly as a buffer between "I Believe" and the whirlwind that is "Just A Touch". "Just A Touch" is like honky-tonk on steroids. It's a speedy throwdown full of "Whoops", dirty guitars, screaming Hammond organs, and banged out piano. If there was a show-stopper on the album, this would be it.

Lifes Rich Pageant is sweetly, but hauntingly epilogued with "Swan Swan H". In a way, this song feels more in keeping with the southern themes of earlier R.E.M. albums. Still, it's a moving little chanty and great bookend to this record.

Last but not least is "Superman". Like "Underneath the Bunker", its inclusion seems rather odd. However, where "Underneath the Bunker" is a throwaway, "Superman" is more of a bonus track. It's a cover song, it doesn't really fit with the rest of the record, and the album's narrative flow has already been wrapped up with "Swan Swan H", but I think the world is a better place because it was recorded. This is one of those cover songs in which the people covering the song make it their own and the new version becomes "the version".

Lifes Rich Pageant is a transitional record for R.E.M. and it's one of their best. They've begun to rock harder and sound clearer. This batch of songs will really come in handy when they start to tour arenas in the near future.

9 out of 10

Footnote: The tracklisting on back of the record is not what's on the disc/vinyl/tape:
"Begin the Begin"
"Hyena"
"Just A Touch"
"I Believe"
"These Days"
"The Flowers of Guatemala"
"Cuyahoga"
"What If We Give It Away"
"Fall On Me"
"Swan Swan H"
Rumor has it that the order was changed at the last minute, but the cover had already been finished. If this is the original sequence, it's interesting to listen to it that order. "Underneath the Bunker" and "Superman" are not present, and the first side holds all the rockers, where as the second contains all a slower numbers.