Lifes Rich Pageant: R.E.M.: Amazon.ca: Music

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This item: Lifes Rich Pageant ~ R.E.M. Audio CD CDN$ 10.62

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1. Begin The Begin - R.E.M.

2. Hyena

3. Fall on Me

4. Cuyahoga

5. These Days

6. Underneath the Bunker

7. The Flowers of Guatemala

8. I Believe

9. What if We Give it Away?

10. Just a Touch

11. Swan Swan H

12. Superman

Product Description

From Amazon.com

R.E.M.'s early recordings purposefully bury Michael Stipe's vocals, allowing them to dominate the audio mix no more than Peter Buck's jangly guitar figures or Mike Mills's bass. Lifes Rich Pageant represents a subtle shift in the program, with clearly audible lyrics (though they remain obscure in meaning) on most tracks. The band still has a bit of fun with its audience, listing the songs out of order on the album sleeve and leaving a couple of them ("Underneath the Bunker," "Superman") off entirely. As good as it is to hear Stipe enunciate while he sings, the music is equally revelatory and forward-looking on the radio-friendly "Fall on Me"; harder-rocking songs like "Begin the Begin," "These Days," and "Superman" (the latter tune sung by Mills); and the haunting, folkish "Swan Swan H." --Daniel Durchholz

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Customer Reviews

96 Reviews

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (96 customer reviews)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Rock Records Ever Made, July 6 2004

By

Kerry S. Hale "Kerry S. Hale" (Hughes, AR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lifes Rich Pageant (Audio CD)

Prior to "Life's Rich Pageant", R.E.M. had released a string of four exceptional records that weren't quite rock, not quite folk, not quite pop, and not quite anything. Every one was a masterpiece, in my opinion, but none really rocked from start to finish. "Reckoning" had some pretty fast paced rockers, but they were buried in between mid-tempo and slow numbers that dominated the record. "Life's Rich Pageant" changed that. From the opening riff of "Begin the Begin" to "Superman", the album flies by on a heavy rhythm (R.E.M.'s tightest ever), with fascinating guitar work (Peter Buck's best ever), and words that you can understand (Michael Stipe's second best ever, behind "Fables of the Reconstruction"). The best tracks:

"Begin the Begin"- Probably the strangest riff ever (sounds like a Hindu snakecharmer managed to learn how to play guitar) stuck in the middle of one of R.E.M.'s heaviest songs ever. This song is the perfect way to open the record, and lets you know exactly what you are going to hear for the next forty minutes. Probably the only time R.E.M. opened a record this way.

"These Days"- I think this song is probably the best guitar driven song that R.E.M. has ever recorded. I've never heard anything like it before or since. And talk about fast and driving! If this song doesn't get you going and your blood pumping, you need help.

"Fall on Me"- Almost everyone's heard this one. I like it a lot, but it's not my favorite on the record. Maybe I've just heard it too much.

"Cuyahoga"- The record's high point, in terms of songwriting and performance. The song is so simple and is played with so much restraint that it is engrossing. When I hear this song, and then see what R.E.M. has become, it kind of makes me sad. They would have trouble writing something this good and touching these days.

"I Believe"- I have no idea what this song is about, but it really puts me in an optimistic and idealistic mood. For all I know, they may be playing games and mocking things we believe in, but I see it the other way. Its one of their catchiest tunes ever, and if I had to pick one R.E.M. song to take to the proverbial desert island...this would be it..no question.

Its not that I don't like the other songs, or think that they are just filler, but I just REALLY like the songs I've mentioned. I think this was the last of the perfect R.E.M. albums ("Document" was the last really great one, and "Monster" was where I just couldn't bear it anymore. I understand that people and bands have to grow and change, but all they did was change, and not for the better). There's a good reason why, if you ask college graduates between 30 and 40 to name their favorite record of all time, this record always gets a mention. Go to iTunes and see where this ranks on the list of most-purchased R.E.M. albums. If you want to know why R.E.M. is the most popular college group of all time, get this record and you'll know.

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5.0 out of 5 stars guitar riffs a-go-go, Sep 21 2009

By

Brian Maitland (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lifes Rich Pageant (Audio CD)

This is more like R.E.M. live sounds like, if you've grown up on the slower "Everybody Hurts" tracks in their career. From "begin The Begin," "I Believe" and "Just A Touch" rock out to the supreme.

Definitely a great bookend to the Document album. In a weird way, the hit single "Fall On Me" really seems a tad out of place on this killer CD.

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5.0 out of 5 stars One of REM's Classics, July 11 2004

By

MAGA (Lampasas, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lifes Rich Pageant (Audio CD)

This album is great from start to finish. There are no weak cuts and some of their greatest and most experimental songs of all-time. It does have a little more commercial appeal than their earlier stuff, but that is OK. If you don't know much about REM, I would recommend buying this one first, if you want to get off to the right start.

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› Go to Amazon.com to see all 125 reviews 4.7 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Aptly titled effort
"Life's Rich Pageant" is an aptly titled work as it's definitely a lively and rich pageantry of beautiful music. Read more

Published on May 17 2004 by Reviewer

5.0 out of 5 stars It cant get any better than this.
Largely underrated by even most fans, Pageant is quite simply the best album of REM's career(and that takes some doing!)Songwriting,invention and melody at its absolute peak. Read more

Published on April 4 2004 by beatadrum