REM - Life’s Rich Pageant (25th Anniversary Edition) (Album Review)
Monday, 08 August 2011
Written by James Ball
It’s difficult to review an album that’s been out for 25 years featuring a band whose sound hasn’t really changed an awful lot in that time. What they have done though, listening to the core album through from start to finish, is create a sound that has not aged one bit. It’s hard to believe that in a year the New Kids on the Block debut album, Europe’s 'Final Countdown' and Berlin's 'Take my Breath Away' were doing the rounds, R.E.M were busy making a record that would have a strong, relevant musical style to what they would write 25 years later and it would still sound entirely fresh and original.
Except for 'Underneath the Bunker' which is R.E.M.s Mariachi song. It doesn’t sound dated either, but is a bit of a shock to the system, especially with Stipes megaphone vocals underneath it, distorting the whole feel behind the track.
So, what is there to say about 'Life’s Rich Pageant'? Well, it’s pretty simple, if you like R.E.M and thought that their career started with 1987s smash hit 'Document', then think again and buy this too, especially since legendary bands and artists’ studio albums are increasingly being deleted and the singles poached for mindless “Best of” compilations. Get a hold of this edition of it while you can because you don’t know how long it’ll still be around for. Of course, if you don’t like R.E.M, and feel like you never will, then this reissue will do little to change your mind. After all, aside from the departure of Peter Buck, nothing’s really changed.
So, tracks like the excellent opening 'Begin the Begin' set the tone for what is a pretty fast-paced, foot-tapper of a record. 'Fall on Me', while a little slower and more downbeat, is arguably their biggest hit from the record, and their first single ever to be certified gold, and 'I Believe', complete with random ukulele opening before slamming straight into the classic R.E.M mantra is still as valid today as it was all those years ago.
Oh, and 'Just a Touch' is a true party piece. It’s utterly mental, Absolutely everyone involved goes absolutely crazy with it with Michael Stipes vocals occasionally struggling to be as close to the forefront as the rest of the record as the drums, bass, guitar and piano all throw everything they’ve got into the song at a frightening rate. When this album came out, it was really the de facto start of R.E.Ms career as just a year later, Document would come out and change everything. This is the record that should be heard before it’s lost. As a record, it’s flamboyant and Stipe in particular sounds far more confident on record than the earlier releases.
The closing cover of The Cliques 'Superman', complete with Godzilla intro, allows R.E.M to do something a little different and Mike Mills is handed the microphone for a rare burst of lead vocals, creating a new 60s dynamic to proceedings, and then it’s all over.
Overall, this is probably R.E.Ms most upbeat and overall fun album in terms of sound. There’s some underlying issues underneath, particularly an environmental edge to tracks like Cuyahoga and Fall on Me, but as a piece of music at face value, there’s little to not enjoy here.
Then there’s the bonus disc of the Athens demos, featuring a selection of alternate versions of tracks that would make their way onto the main album, as well as non-album tracks. They’re all pretty much well worth a listen too, as these aren’t some poorly-produced crackly demos that you can get. They’re all but full of spit and polish and could quite easily have featured on studio albums without anyone knowing. Of those non-album tracks, 'March Song (King of Birds)' is probably the least essential. It’s army-style drum march is the focal point throughout with the overlapping guitars trying to create something interesting, but it falls a bit short. It’s a good job it didn’t feature on the main album and, realising it’s not going to win any friends, fades away slowly.
Generally though, the demo songs all sound more raw and biting than their album originals. They have a little more edge and to them and as such really add a different dynamic to them. 'Underneath the Bunker' is particularly interesting in demo format.
So to bring things down to a conclusion, if you bought this in 1986 (or more recently), then it is worth it again for the Athens demos. It’s not just some cheap re-release that some bands do these days by throwing a handful of tracks on the end of a disc. This has, in effect, nineteen extras. If you haven’t bought it before and want to, then do so as you get 30 tracks for the price of 10 and that in my eyes, is good maths.
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The closing cover of The Cliques 'Superman', complete with Godzilla intro, allows R.E.M to do something a little different and Mike Mills is handed the microphone for a rare burst of lead vocals, creating a new 60s dynamic to proceedings, and then it’s all over.
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