R.E.M. “Lifes Rich Pageant” released 35 years ago today, July 28th, 1986. Ranked as one of the best alternative rock albums of the 80′s, Lifes Rich Pageant was R.E.M.’s fourth LP; it hit #21 on the US album charts and went to #43 in the UK. It’s one of my favorite R.E.M. albums as well, with so many great tracks, mostly with enigmatic lyrics about history (Miles Standish, Martin Luther on “Begin the Begin,” the Civil War on “Swan Swan H” – one of my faves) and environmentalism (the burning of river pollution on “Cuyahoga,” acid rain on “Fall on Me”). R.E.M. released two singles from Lifes Rich Pageant: “Fall on Me” which went to #94 in the US (and to #5 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart) and “Superman.” “Superman” does not appear on the cover’s track listing (nor does the cha-cha-cha instrumental “Underneath the Bunker”) – it’s a cover of the 1969 song by The Clique. R.E.M.’s version went to #17 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and is sung by Mike Mills rather than Michael Stipe. “Superman” remains one of my all-time R.E.M. songs, cover or not, and I also love “These Days” and “I Believe.”