Life's Rich Pageant is one of the few albums I distinctly remember putting in the CD tray the day it came out, and playing it in its entirety on repeat for several hours. I had the top floor bedroom in a fraternity house (the "Moon Room"), had saved all summer for top notch stereo gear from Tweeter, Etc, and the entire neighborhood was awash in R.E.M. that day.
While I love all their albums (some admittedly more than others), this is probably the closest to my heart. The poetic lyrics, the aspiring melodies, the uniquely dissonant harmonies. Especially coming on the heels of Fables, which was intensely introspective and features harsh guitar licks (reflecting the band's near break-up), Pageant was a blossoming of their best musical attributes and most experimental style. The deep cuts, like Swan Swan H, still stop me cold when they come on my phone or car random rotation, I must drop everything and belt out every word.
While it was Superman that captured my ear that first day the album came out, with the benefit of time, I've come to consider Flowers of Guatemala one of the all-time underrated rock anthems, which soared as a concert standout as well, since I've always placed higher weight on music that goes to a higher level live than studio.
As much as any music ever recorded, I feel a kinship with this album that's hard to put into words. It's where I walked and swam, hunted, danced, and sang. While I readily admit R.E.M. is an acquired taste, and leaves plenty for purists to criticize, I've always been drawn to their homespun charm and authenticity.
Kudos to Don (whom I've never met!) -- an outstanding choice for opening salvo of musical debate!
PS. I still have the giant album art poster from Newbury Comics rolled carefully in a tube in the attic somewhere
I love this! Vivid memories of where you were and how you felt when an album came out, and how your tastes have evolved over time. Great stuff. Thanks Evan.
As Don Lane knows, my college experience was an REM trial by osmosis. It took a while for me to understand their true genius...I was late to the game about 15 years ago when I fell in love with Murmur. I had grown apprecialtive by the one time I saw them on the Green tour but by that time they were sounding quite different than they were just two years earlier. Remember when bands used to release a record once a year?
In giving LRP a good listen, I realize that it is the apex of that bridge between old and new REM. These Days has that Orange Crush vibe while Fall on Me and Cuyahoga are undeniably amazing and remind me of what came before. I don't know if I'll ever embrace tunes like Underneath the Bunker (a "Mexican Radio" experiment with some vocal channelling of Wall of Voodoo) and Flowers of Guatemala but I can understand why the die hards do.
What If We Give it Away is such a gem. It's so representative of all that's great about the band. Effortless, simple, well-crafted, the harmonies...it just works. Maybe the most REM tune on a the record most representative of the band.
Murmur will always be my go-to REM offering, but Life's Rich Pageant will now be a mainstay.
what Mitch said......
Life's Rich Pageant is one of the few albums I distinctly remember putting in the CD tray the day it came out, and playing it in its entirety on repeat for several hours. I had the top floor bedroom in a fraternity house (the "Moon Room"), had saved all summer for top notch stereo gear from Tweeter, Etc, and the entire neighborhood was awash in R.E.M. that day.
While I love all their albums (some admittedly more than others), this is probably the closest to my heart. The poetic lyrics, the aspiring melodies, the uniquely dissonant harmonies. Especially coming on the heels of Fables, which was intensely introspective and features harsh guitar licks (reflecting the band's near break-up), Pageant was a blossoming of their best musical attributes and most experimental style. The deep cuts, like Swan Swan H, still stop me cold when they come on my phone or car random rotation, I must drop everything and belt out every word.
While it was Superman that captured my ear that first day the album came out, with the benefit of time, I've come to consider Flowers of Guatemala one of the all-time underrated rock anthems, which soared as a concert standout as well, since I've always placed higher weight on music that goes to a higher level live than studio.
As much as any music ever recorded, I feel a kinship with this album that's hard to put into words. It's where I walked and swam, hunted, danced, and sang. While I readily admit R.E.M. is an acquired taste, and leaves plenty for purists to criticize, I've always been drawn to their homespun charm and authenticity.
Kudos to Don (whom I've never met!) -- an outstanding choice for opening salvo of musical debate!
PS. I still have the giant album art poster from Newbury Comics rolled carefully in a tube in the attic somewhere
I love this! Vivid memories of where you were and how you felt when an album came out, and how your tastes have evolved over time. Great stuff. Thanks Evan.
Thanks, Evan. Great to read about your experiences with REM.
As Don Lane knows, my college experience was an REM trial by osmosis. It took a while for me to understand their true genius...I was late to the game about 15 years ago when I fell in love with Murmur. I had grown apprecialtive by the one time I saw them on the Green tour but by that time they were sounding quite different than they were just two years earlier. Remember when bands used to release a record once a year?
In giving LRP a good listen, I realize that it is the apex of that bridge between old and new REM. These Days has that Orange Crush vibe while Fall on Me and Cuyahoga are undeniably amazing and remind me of what came before. I don't know if I'll ever embrace tunes like Underneath the Bunker (a "Mexican Radio" experiment with some vocal channelling of Wall of Voodoo) and Flowers of Guatemala but I can understand why the die hards do.
What If We Give it Away is such a gem. It's so representative of all that's great about the band. Effortless, simple, well-crafted, the harmonies...it just works. Maybe the most REM tune on a the record most representative of the band.
Murmur will always be my go-to REM offering, but Life's Rich Pageant will now be a mainstay.