Lifes Rich Pageant
by R.E.M.

From buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/20/2017 19:52 | #191131 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I was just talking with my dad the other day about what a great album Lifes Rich Pageant is. We're of very different generations musically, and this is one of those rare points of total agreement. The song he singled out for particular praise was "The Flowers of Guatemala," and I couldn't agree more; it might be the single greatest song R.E.M. ever recorded. It's a haunting political song about the horrific refugee crisis in Guatemala during the early eighties, largely a product of the Reagan administration's meddling in central American political and military affairs. The song itself is an incredibly warm and compassionate depiction of the refugees affected by this situation, with its evocative metaphor of deadly amanita mushrooms as "flowers." Pete Buck's searing guitar solo in this song gives me goosebumps even now, even after listening to this album for the thousandth time. Just a brilliant piece of work.

From Brad1770 TOP 100 COMMENTER 08/29/2017 05:25 | #196888 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

My favourite album by my all time favourite band says it all , R.E.M' masterpiece.

'Lifes Rich Pageant' is album number 2 in the R.E.M holy trinity of incredible releases with the band at their creative peak ( 'Fables' 1985 , followed by 'Life' 1986 , followed by 'Document'1987 ). IMO only The Beatles have released 3 consecutive albums better that these 3 from R.E.M. 'Lifes Rich Pagent' contains no less than 6 amazingly perfect tracks in 'Begin The Begin'/'These Days'/'Fall On Me'/'The Flowers Of Guatemala '/'Swan Swan H' and even the cover 'Superman'. The track ' What If We Give It Away' is easily the only weak point and stops me giving this album a perfect 100/100.

Never understood why this album got virtually no attention during its time, even on college radio. The video for "Fall on Me" found its way onto MTV, but other than that, there was nothing.
A pity, because that song was only one of a collection of the greatest music R.E.M. ever recorded. Rare is the time I play this album today, only because I did so nonstop from beginning to end back in the late eighties.
(Edited)

Outstanding album from one of the decade's best bands. Consistent excellence all the way through. (Edited)

I'm really impressed with Lifes Rich Pageant. I heard it was a solid album but I didn't think I'd like it as much as I do. It's somewhat transitional - perfectly balancing the accessibility of their post-IRS stuff and the elegance of their first three albums. It's a flawless piece of work. Sometimes I think it's even better than Murmur. The only complaint I have is the apostrophe omission in 'Lifes'...