Lifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the American band R.E.M., 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 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 Berry 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 fan base beginning to grow beyond its college rock boundaries, Lifes Rich Pageant proved to be the band's 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" (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.

Side one – "Dinner side"

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

Side two – "Supper side"

1. "The Flowers of Guatemala" – 3:55
2. "I Believe" – 3:49
3. "What If We Give It Away?" – 3:33
4. "Just a Touch" – 3:00
5. "Swan Swan H" – 2:42
6. "Superman" (Mike Bottler and Gary Zekley) – 2:52

1993 I.R.S. Vintage Years reissue bonus tracks

13. "Tired of Singing Trouble" – 0:59
    • Previously unreleased
14. "Rotary Ten" – 1:58
    • B-side of "Fall On Me" American 7" single
15. "Toys in the Attic" (Steve Tyler, Joe Perry) – 2:26
    • B-side of "Fall On Me" British 12" single
16. "Just a Touch" (Live in studio) – 2:38
    • Previously unreleased version, recorded live to 2-track during Reckoning sessions, 1984
17. "Dream " (Felice and Boudleaux Bryant) – 2:38
    • Originally released on the soundtrack to the film Athens, GA: Inside Out, 1987
18. "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.
• 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 – drums and backing vocals
• Peter Buck – guitar
• Mike Mills – bass guitar and backing vocals, lead vocals on "Superman"
• Michael Stipe – vocals

Production

• M. Bird – illustrations
• Jim Dineen – engineering
• Gregg Edward – mixing at Can-Am Recorders, Los Angeles, California, United States
• Rick Fetig – engineering
• Don Gehman – production, mixing
• Mike Hogarth – engineering
• Stan Katayama – engineering
• Bob Ludwig – mastering, at Masterdisc, New York City, New York, 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.	vinyl LP	MIRG1014
United States		I.R.S.	LP	IRS-5783
			cassette tape	IRSC-5783
			Compact Disc	72434-93478-2-3
Brazil		Epic	LP	14495
Greece		I.R.S.	LP	57064
The Netherlands		Illegal	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		MCA	Compact Disc	5783
United States		I.R.S.	cassette tape	IRSC-5783
United States		Universal	Compact Disc	19080
The Netherlands		EMI	Compact Disc	7 13201 2 5†
Japan		Toshiba/EMI	Compact Disc	TOCP-7269†
Worldwide		Capitol	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	Billboard 200	21 (32 weeks on chart)
1986	UK Albums Chart	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

References

External links

• R.E.M.HQ on Lifes Rich Pageant
• : (I.R.S. Vintage Years edition)
• : (I.R.S. Vintage Years edition)