My shirt is wearing thin and change is what I believe in

Continuing my trip across the output of Athens' finest...

Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)

I came to this album relatively late, but it's up there with Reckoning as my favourites of their "early period" albums.  It's one of their albums I listen to all the way through out of most out of all of them - it's got a high quality bar throughout and there are some absolutely cracking tracks on it, so I'm always happy to revisit it.

Side one - "Dinner Side"

1. Begin the Begin
We're back to opening albums with a top track.  Nicely rocky guitar and some surprisingly comprehensible lyrics, even if I can't tell you what they actually mean.

2. These Days
This barrels along nicely as well - it's all a nice change from the previous album so far.

3. Fall On Me
This is a slower one, but has some lovely harmonies to it (although Mr Stipe does struggle with some of the higher notes).  "Well I would keep it above, but then it wouldn't be sky any more"

4. Cuyahoga
Another slower one with some nice harmonies.  Did you know the Cuyahoga is famous as the river that burned?  At least 14 times...

5. Hyena
The tempo picks up again - nothing wrong with this track, although I think it struggles to stand out against the competition.  "The only thing to fear is fearlessness"

6. Underneath The Bunker
This is a little odd - mostly instrumental, except for a spot of warbly backing singing and then some megaphone vocals.  It's certainly different from all that's gone before.

Side two – "Supper Side"

1. The Flowers of Guatemala
Yeah, it's a good album but they just can't get out of the habit of opening the second side with a less brilliant track.  It does perk up a bit, but it's not the best.

2. I Believe
"I believe in coyotes.  And time as an abstract" - ah, it's very fine Stipesque nonsense.  But accompanied with a cracking backing track (including a great banjo opening) which just barrels along.  One of my fave R.E.M. tracks off any album.

3. What If We Give It Away?
It's a fine question.  And you almost feel like the song gives you the answer - it's gotta be a good thing, right?  But, of course, you have no actual idea what he's on about.

4. Just a Touch
I don't like the way this starts, but the chorus redeems it.  I don't think it will be for everyone though.

5. Swan Swan H
Some lovely guitar work on this and the lyrics really are the most wonderful nonsense.

6. Superman
An OK track, but the album doesn't end with a bang for me.

So this is definitely a "four track" album and "Fall On Me" and "I Believe" definitely make the grade.  The other two are a bit harder to pick - I'm going for "These Days" and "What If We Give It Away?" but there are a few tracks that might have sneaked in on another day.  I think this album is a bit unlucky because it's between their very early stuff and the ones where people started to pay attention to them but I really like it and if you're not aware of it, then go and check it out.

Wikipedia has loads of interesting facts on the album including telling us that the title comes from - go on, guess!  Yes, that's right - it's from an Inspector Clouseau film, because they're obviously all such jolly japesters!  The picture on the front is half Bill Berry (the group's drummer) and half buffalo (signifying an environmental theme) - together they also represent Buffalo Bill, apparently.  I also didn't know "Superman" was a cover (originally by The Clique) and was sung by Mike Mills (the bassist).

The album was produced by another new dude - Don Gehman, with this being his only turn with the band but he also produced John Mellancamp's The Lonesome Jubilee which is one of my favourite albums ever (and well worth a listen if you don't know it).  It was well received on release by the critics (although Robert Christgau was a bit sniffy about it) and their opinion of it has only grown with time (like mine).  It also continued their trend of increased commercial success (which will continue for a bit yet), getting to #21 in the US and #43 in the UK.

In case you hadn't guessed, I really like this album and chronologically it's a refreshingly clear change from the muddy waters of Fables Of The Reconstruction - it's probably one of their albums most likely to have been missed by the casual R.E.M. fan and that's a shame because it's well worth a listen.

Fables Of The Reconstruction - My least favourite of their early albums
Document - The first one I bought