Life's Rich Pageant by R.E.M.

Pros: Good voice, Wonderful lyrics, Moments of instrumentals
Cons: Nothing extraordinary on the instrumentals, Still mumbling through many songs

I have decided I might well like R.E.M., though I am definitely a fan of their works after they left I.R.S. This is not to say I cannot see the appeal of the band during the I.R.S. years, certainly lyrically they are a force to be trifled with in that ...

Pros: The first R.E.M. album with clear vocals
Cons: One song drags

Much has been said about the fact that Lifes Rich Pageant was the first release by R.E.M. on ...

Pros: The production is brilliant, the tunes are catchy and there's even diversity!
Cons: ...Nothing, really.

(Disclaimer: Those looking for a brief description of the album will find what their looking for in the "Review Body" section. The section titled "Track Reviews" is meant only for those who want to read detailed descriptions of the songs, and ...

Pros: Big, big rock and roll. Great melodies, great production.
Cons: Political lyrics from Stipe. Hyena. What If We Give It Away.

Coming off of 'Fables of the Reconstruction', REM could have recorded themselves singing Christmas carols a cappella and it would have been an improvement. 'Fables' was much darker than fans were used to and, perhaps to lighten the mood, the band...

Pros: Some gorgeous songs, some rocking songs, and the emergence of a political conscience.
Cons: Several less strong tracks.

A change was evident from the first few seconds; Michael Stipe was capable of singing clearly, and R.E.M. were capable of making a clattering racket. Opening track "Begin The Begin" is a searing indictment of apathy ("the insurgency began/and you missed...

Pros: Stipe's vocals are pushed to the front for once; very strong material throughout the album
Cons: Production quality isn't as good as on later albums

One of the truly irritating things about aging is watching those bands that were a big deal to me when I was in college start to deteriorate. U2's day has come and gone, Camper van Beethoven and the Pixies disbanded years ago and R.E.M. did the...

Pros: When R.E.M.'s got clear production, they don't sound half bad. No, they sound great!
Cons: The sloganeering gets old after awhile. And while R.E.M. doesn't care for apostrophes, I do.

Rolling Stone put it best. “The underground ends here.”

And R.E.M. fans have been ambivalent about it ever since.

Don’t believe me? Believe it or not, accusations of “sell-out” became common amongst its devoted when this 1986...

Pros: Stipe and Company at Their Rocking, Tuneful Best
Cons: None

Long before the commercial breakthrough Out of Time and the absolutely masterful Automatic for the People came Life's Rich Pageant which was as transformative an album for R.E.M. as the aforementioned would be. Pageant was,...

Pros: Excellent effort from R.E.M.
Cons: none

After 1985's "Fables of the Reconstruction" album, R.E.M. was recovering from the weary sessions of the album that nearly broke the band up. As the band were becoming huge favorites in college campuses, their next effort "Life's Rich...

Pros: Well balanced and varied
Cons: Only eleven songs

This record came out a couple weeks before I started college. I remember being a growing fan of the band after purchasing Fables a couple years before. Fables led me to borrow Reckoning and Chronic Town (I didn't encounter Murmur until a week or so into...