R.E.M.
Life Rich Pageant

After the unfair critical-commercial failure of the previous "Fables of the Reconstruction," R.E.M. should have taken a one-year break, locked themselves in the studio, and come out with a work without weak points. That’s what U2 did between "The Unforgettable Fire" and "Joshua Tree"; that’s what REM should have done.
Instead, fourth album in four years. Why? To win over the larger audience. Not bad for a band considered among the most "pure" in the international scene.

"Life..." was a good commercial success, but the reality is that the inspiration and freshness of the first three albums begin to fade here. The result is unsatisfactory for two reasons: too many mediocre songs; too many accelerations. REM started to eliminate their magical electric-folk-psychedelic sound (a trademark of the first three albums) and began to play faster, beefing up the guitar, without having the ability to do so, with the futile aim of making a few more college students dance.

You don't need Mozart's ear to understand that when REM does "oriented-rock," they are pathetically mediocre. The best of these tracks ("Begin the Begin") is just passable. Other pieces, which we’ll leave anonymous, have the flavor of nonsense recorded under the influence of alcohol and other substances.

Despite everything, the album features several textbook numbers: the classy accelerated electric-folk of "I Believe"; the acoustic enchantment of "Swan Swan H."; the electric enchantment of "Flowers of Guatemala"; the lesson of melody and counter-song of "Cuyahoga."

And above all, "Fall on Me," one of the greatest masterpieces of their repertoire, with melody, change, and counter-song fit for an anthology.

The best of "Fables..." and "Life..." constitutes a masterpiece that has nothing to envy from "Murmur." Had it not been for their haste to publish, driven by the greed for success, they would have released an album that, with proper promotion, would have conquered the world.

A 3.5 that cannot be rounded up.