R.E.M.íS ëLIFES RICH PAGEANTí REMASTERED FOR 25TH ANNIVERSARY
R.E.M. has teamed with Capitol/I.R.S. for the July 12 release of an expanded 25th Anniversary 2CD and digital edition of the bandís 1986 album, Lifes Rich Pageant. The new edition features the digitally remastered original album, plus 19 previously unreleased demo recordings cut prior to the albumís studio sessions. The commemorative release also adds new liner notes by music journalist and author Parke Puterbaugh, with the 2CD package presented in a lift-top box with a poster and four postcards. On the same date, the remastered original album will be reissued by Mobile Fidelity on 180-gram vinyl in faithfully replicated LP packaging.
R.E.M.ís fourth studio album, Lifes Rich Pageant was recorded by vocalist Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry at John Mellencampís Belmont Mall Studios in Indiana. Produced by Don Gehman, renowned for producing a string of punchy, soulful heartland-rock albums by Mellencamp, Pageant includes the singles ìFall On Meî and ìSuperman.î The album was R.E.M.ís first to achieve Gold certification status, and it reached #21 on Billboardís Top 200 Albums chart, the bandís then-highest chart position.
With Lifes Rich Pageant, R.E.M. kicked open the door to a more extroverted future. As Anthony DeCurtis noted in his lead review in Rolling Stone 25 years ago, ìLifes Rich Pageant is the most outward-looking record R.E.M. has made, a worthy companion to the groupís bracing live shows and its earned status as a do-it-yourself and do-it-your-way model for young American bandsÖ For R.E.M., the underground ends here.î
ìThe Athens Demos,î as R.E.M. has dubbed them, comprise the new editionís second disc of 19 previously unreleased recordings, including drafts of Pageantís 12 songs, plus additional demos of songs that were later recorded for other releases. Among them are early versions of ìBad Day,î ìRotary Ten,î ìTwo Steps Onward,î ìMystery To Me,î ìAll The Right Friends,î and ìMarch Song (King Of Birds),î an early instrumental version of ìKing Of Birdsî from Document. One track, ìWait,î has never before been officially released by R.E.M. in any form, but it has shown up on bootlegs over the years.
R.E.M.: Lifes Rich Pageant (25th Anniversary Edition) (2CD, digital)
Disc One: digitally remastered original album
1. Begin The Begin 7. The Flowers of Guatemala
2. These Days 8. I Believe
3. Fall on Me 9. What If We Give It Away?
4. Cuyahoga 10. Just a Touch
5. Hyena (Album Version) 11. Swan Swan H
6. Underneath The Bunker 12. Superman
Disc Two: The Athens Demos ñ all previously unreleased
(Recorded March 1986 at John Keaneís Studio, Athens GA)
1. Fall On Me 10. Cuyahoga
2. Hyena 11. I Believe
3. March Song (King Of Birds) 12. Out Of Tune
4. These Days 13. Rotary Ten
5. Bad Day 14. Two Steps Onward
6. Salsa (Underneath The Bunker) 15. Just A Touch
7. Swan Swan H 16. Mystery To Me
8. Flowers Of Guatemala 17. Wait
9. Begin The Begin 18. All The Right Friends
19. Get On Their Way (What If We Give It Away)
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