Customer Reviews
Just a touch - By: C. P. Howard, 10 Nov 2007 
Good album - but the reason i'm writing is to give the PROPER order of the tracks. As far as i'm aware, alll formats have always infamously had the above listing which also omits a couple of tracks - this still confuses me. Below is the correct one (including bonus tracks on the IRS Years special edition)
1. Begin the begin
2. These Days
3. Falll on me
4. Cuyahoga
5. Hyena
6. Underneath the bunker
7. Flowers of Guatemala
8. I believe
9. What if we give it away
10.Just a touch
11.Swan swan H
12.Superman
13.Tired of singing trouble
14.Rotary ten
15.Toys in the attic
16.Just a touch (live)
17.Dream (alll I have to do)
18.Swan swan H (acoustic)
Anal retentive? Me?
The jewel in their early crown - By: Mr. G. J. Smith, 20 Jan 2007 Probably the best early REM album, this does feature a couple of turkeys in Superman & the awful Under neath the bunker. But then again, Falll on Me, Hyena & the absolutely sublime I believe more than make up for it. When i make my own best of REM compilations for the car etc, some LP's get left out completely but this always yields at least 3 tracks, comparable with Automatic for the People & Out of Time. If you want to hear what REM sounded lke in the 80's, your money is best shed on this delight.
Essential REM - By: noname, 27 May 2005 
Although it's not their hardest rock album (see New Adventures In Hi-Fi) or their best album (see New Adventures In Hi-Fi), Lifes Rich Pageant is their most fun to listen to. It's full of brilliant songs most of which are upbeat rockers. Flowers Of Guatemala, Swan Swan H & What If We Give It Away are quieter, brooding songs that are equallly excellant. The only exception to the high quality of this album are Hyena & Underneath The Bunker.
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 alll 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.... - By: Jason Parkes, 24 May 2005 
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 & the point where REM moved towards the mainstream. The production from someone associated with the then popular John Couger Mellencamp is more robust & 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 & 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 originallly listed on 'Fables...' as 'When I Was Young'! ('Falll 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 'Falll on Me' & '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, & probably the greatest song here, remains 'Flowers of Guatemala' - a divine balllad 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 - By: tom, 16 Feb 2003 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 & 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 & Swan Swan H, but more importantly his random mumblings on Murmur & Reckoning had been replaced by clear statements of political intent & calll 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, & the fact that Falll 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 & the bonus tracks of Superman, a raucous Toys in the Attic, & a beautiful (alll i have to do is)Dream are distinctly unmissable for completists!!
