R.E.M. when recording this album were in the middle of a sort of metamorphosis- this was their last indie record, and the last to go with their original lo-fi production sound which they would never sound like again. Yet it's a strong album, with a much rockier sound and a wider potential appeal than before. You can see why they went major label than it did.
I'm always banging on about production- I like lo-fi, and tend to be of the school of thought that most music should be produced by clones of Steve Albini. Yet I'll admit that for Life's Rich Pageant, even more so than for earlier R.E.M. albums, this production style doesnt't really suit their sound.
Nevertheless, this album, on the cusp of much bigger success, reminds us of R.E.M.'s roots not of the stadium rock beast they would become (except, you know, without the general crapness of stadium rock), but of their very indie roots.
Oh, and the extra songs at the end of the special edition are interesting, especially the cover of the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream".
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