R.E.M.: Lifes Rich Pageant [25th Anniversary Edition]

R.E.M.
Lifes Rich Pageant [25th Anniversary Edition]
IRS/Capitol Records [1986; re: 2011]
(2CD Set)








Fire Note Says: Another R.E.M. classic gets the 25 anniversary treatment!

Album Review:
Lifes Rich Pageant marked R.E.M.'s fourth studio record and when reflecting back on the album, it really found the band starting to find their pop and political soul. Not only were the songs on Pageant bigger sounding but they also tackled environmental issues and lyrically offered some of the band's distaste for political agendas. This version of course is celebrating the 25 Anniversary of Pageant's release and gets treated to a nice lift top box presentation that contains the original album digitally remastered and a second disc with "The Athens Demos," which is 19 previously unreleased tracks recorded by the band before the final studio sessions. The remastering is enjoyable, as the record sounds much cleaner sounding in places and even though The Athens Demos are mostly for die hard fans, they can be appreciated from the most casual person as you get to peer into R.E.M.'s songwriting process and hear beloved tracks from beginning to end. This is what a special edition is all about and Lifes Rich Pageant delivers!

Key Tracks: "Cuyahoga", "Fall On Me", "Superman"

R.E.M.: Collapse Into Now [Fire Note Review 3/9/11]
R.E.M.: Fables Of The Reconstruction [25th Anniversary Edition] [Fire Note Review 7/14/10]
R.E.M.: Live At The Olympia [Fire Note Review 11/30/09]
R.E.M.: Reckoning [Deluxe Edition] [Fire Note Review 6/26/09]
R.E.M.: Murmur [Deluxe Edition] [Fire Note Review 12/1/08]
R.E.M.: Accelerate [Fire Note Review 3/31/08]

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Capitol Records

-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony