The extra tracks are brilliant, also.

Absolutley essential.

If you haven't heard any of their first five albums, start with their debut Murmur (but get all of them in due time). Also recommended is the Tourfilm DVD which shows them on top form during the Green tour.


REM move towards the mainstream....   May 24, 2005
 2 out of 14 found this review helpful

1985's 'Fables of the Reconstruction' was viewed as a failure by REM at the time- this follow-up album notes a change in gear and the point where REM moved towards the mainstream. The production from someone associated with the then popular John Couger Mellencamp is more robust and noticeably more rock - while Stipe's vocals are clearer & there is less of that oblique-mumbling that appeals so much on those early records!

'Life's Rich Paegent' (title from a Peter Sellers work) is a mixed bag- offering up several classic-tracks, some so-so ones and a bit of filler. This version comes with several bonus-tracks, including the 'Fables'-era oddity 'Tired of Singing Trouble' - which reminds me that 'I Believe' was originally listed on 'Fables...' as 'When I Was Young'! ('Fall on Me' was a few years older too, while 'Just a Touch' stemmed back to the early days of 'Windout' & '1,000,000.'

'Begin the Begin' is the robust-opener here, making the political-content more apparent than on 'Fables...' - the following-year's 'Finest Worksong' would perfect this kind of protest-rock. 'These Days' is another anthemic-rocker, followed by the double-whammy of 'Fall on Me' and 'Cuyahoga' you'd think this was the best REM-album in the world! Sadly things go off the boil- 'Hyena' is an average-rocker, 'Underneath the Bunker' a blatant b-side - while the second-half of the album offers further underwhelming moments including 'Just a Touch', the non-eventful 'What If We Give It Away' & that shocking cover of 'Superman' sung by Mike Mills (again, a blatant b-side!).

'I Believe' is a sterling country-thrasher, 'Swan Swan H.' continues the acoustic-folk of 'Wendell Gee' & looks forward to 'The Wrong Child' & 'Out of Time.' The latter half's standout track, and probably the greatest song here, remains 'Flowers of Guatemala' - a divine ballad that nods to U.S. duplicity in Central America.

'Life's Rich Paegent' is a fine album, though far from a classic- the following year's 'Document' remains a sharper album...


rich but poignant album   February 16, 2003
 7 out of 9 found this review helpful

Against the early nineties mainstream exposure to rem's music, this album is often overlooked by fans. Many have a problem with the rockier feel of the album and the production which pushed the drum sound right up in the mix, but what remains apparent is that this is the album on which Michael Stipe began to find his voice. A lot of people express this dividing line in the clarity of his phrasing on tracks such as i believe and Swan Swan H, but more importantly his random mumblings on Murmur and Reckoning had been replaced by clear statements of political intent and call to arms. The album as a whole flows smoothly through the brash openings of Begin the Begin to the haunting melancholy of The Flowers of Guatamala, to the sweeping pain of Cuyahoga. This album provided a clear platform for the band to break through from the underground, and the fact that Fall on me with its distinctly poignant video was an MTV success reflects the band's confidence to express themselves more clearly. Buy this album as it will show you where the roots of many of their finest moments were first formed... oh and the bonus tracks of Superman, a raucous Toys in the Attic, and a beautiful (all i have to do is)Dream are distinctly unmissable for completists!!