R.E.M.’S DEAD LETTER OFFICE & EPONYMOUS to be Reissued on Vinyl for the First Time on July 29… LIFES RICH PAGEANT Also to be Released on Vinyl on July 29
The band has teamed with Capitol/UMe for the July 29 reissue of three of the band’s I.R.S. Records releases: Lifes Rich Pageant, Dead Letter Office, and Eponymous. The three standard weight vinyl LPs are presented with their original sleeve art. Long out-of-print on vinyl, Dead Letter Office and Eponymous are both restored to wax with these new LP editions for the first time since their original release.
Released in 1986, Lifes Rich Pageant is R.E.M.’s fourth studio album, recorded by vocalist Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry at John Mellencamp’s Belmont Mall Studios in Indiana. Produced by Don Gehman, renowned for producing a string of punchy, soulful heartland-rock albums by Mellencamp, Pageant includes the singles “Fall On Me” and “Superman.” The album was R.E.M.’s first to achieve Gold certification status, and it reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the band’s then-highest chart position.
Released in 1987, Dead Letter Office was R.E.M.’s first compilation, collecting B-sides and rarities. A fan favorite, Dead Letter Office includes R.E.M.’s covers of Aerosmith’s “Toys In The Attic,” the Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes,” Pylon’s “Crazy,” and a freewheeling, rough-hewn take on Roger Miller’s “King Of The Road.”
Eponymous, released in 1988, features singles and alternate mixes spanning R.E.M’s first five albums, including the original Hib-Tone single of “Radio Free Europe” and alternate mixes of “Gardening At Night and “Finest Worksong.”
The vinyl LPs are available for preorder here.
Lifes Rich Pageant
Side 1 Side 2
Begin The Begin The Flowers Of Guatemala
These Days I Believe
Fall On Me What If We Give It Away?
Cuyahoga Just A Touch
Hyena Swan Swan H
Underneath The Bunker Superman
Dead Letter Office
Side 1 Side 2
Crazy Wind Out
There She Goes Again Ages Of You
Burning Down Pale Blue Eyes
Voice Of Harold Rotary Ten
Burning Hell Bandwagon
White Tornado Femme Fatale
Toys In The Attic Walter’s Theme
King Of The Road
Eponymous
Side 1 Side 2
Radio Free Europe [Original Hib-Tone Single] Driver 8
Gardening At Night [Alternate Vocal Mix] Romance
Talk About The Passion Fall On Me
So. Central Rain The One I Love
(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville Finest Worksong [Mutual Drum Horn Mix]
Can’t Get There From Here [Album Version] It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)