R.E.M. -- LIFES RICH PAGEANT

a masterpiece by R.E.M.

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no masterpice, some fine rough songs and some of the orst recordings. so we need a deluxe treatmen, it just can upgrade the album

You could go to jail for such a statement, rightfully so....

XTC: SKYLARKING

Van Morrison: NO GURU, NO METHOD, NO TEACHER

Elvis Costello: KING OF AMERICA

The dirty work outtakes could have made a really fine album...............but they decided to take the worst songs and overproduced the wrong stuff
There are very nice moments, One hit, fight, the intro of winning, had it, dirty work, sleep tonight..........
A dissapointing album

Thank you Glam Descendant, I got all of them albums you mention here, but are they Masterpieces? Costellos second album is a masterpiece just like van the mans 'Astral Weeks'...King of America , No Guru and Skylarking has a couple of good songs being from -86 I agree, but so have Dirty Work (Sleep Tonight, Harlem Shuffle)..

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jamesfdouglas
Dirty Work a completely guitar-driven album?
Harlem Shuffle, Too Rude, Winning Ugly, Back to Zero, Sleep Tonight.

There's half the album - which of those are guitar-driven?

I'd say all of them, except Sleep Tonight.

Even on Back To Zero there are really funky playing by Keith and Bobby. The song is horrendous, but the playing is fine. That goes for Winning Ugly as well, even though that one, as well as BTZ has too much keyboards for my tastes.

Harlem Shuffle and Too Rude are classic soul and reggae tracks with prominent guitars.

If you put wind instruments instead of keyboards on BTZ and WU............ the final result should have been happier

Dirty Work is dirty work because of Chuck's black hand

Well, in fairness, he's only prominent with his "black hand" on two stinkers

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KeithNacho
If you put wind instruments instead of keyboards on BTZ and WU............ the final result should have been happier

just Vocal-rhythm-sologuitar-bass-drums and I would have been happy..

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Back To Zero could actually have worked with brass, imo. James Brown-style.

There's lots of praises here for One Hit, which is understandable - excellent angry rocker; but for me, the 2 best tracks on the album is One Hit AND Sleep Tonight, without any doubt.
The rest of the album.....some crap, but also somenice stuff in between, even if the songs themselves aren't great songs. Those mean guitars in Fight, Dirty Work and even Hold back for instance....makes them worthwhile.

If they hadn't included Winning Ugly, Back To Zero, Hold Back (some cool guitar licks there though) and Too Rude; and instead included Stricktly Memphis, You're Too Much....and 2 other songs instead
...and if they had mixed it better

....I think most people would have thought it was a quite a good album, considering how the band got along at that time, and considering that it was the 80s. The only "big complaint" about it would be that Jagger's was only shouting the lyrics, trying to sound as mean as the guitars on the album



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-14 12:39 by Erik_Snow.

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DandelionPowderman
Back To Zero could actually have worked with brass, imo. James Brown-style.

Agree 100%

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Every grou, every music have an subotimal album (just see Bowie's tonight and never let me down; Clapton´s 90's albums.........)

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MrMonte
all right, a kindred spirit! Did you enjoy the blog piece?

Consider me another kindred spirit. I think most of DW rocks! And I also love Hold Back. There is great, raw and passionate guitar work throughout most of the album. There is passion and raw emotions turned into stinging rock music. I also really enjoyed your blog! Keep writing!

Guitar work is much better than SW's and BtB's

1986 was the year with no masterpieces. There were quite a bunch of old dudes proving the world
that 1986 was indeed a lousy year that'd better be soon forgotten.

Eric Clapton - August
Paul McCartney - Press to play
John Fogerty - Eye of the Zombie
Alice Cooper - Constrictor
Black Sabbath - 7th star
Rod Stewart - Every beat of my heart

Now tell me, which of these do you like better than Dirty Work?

Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away

In 1985 we had Jagger's She's the boss; in 1987 we had jagger's Primitive cool.
What had happened if Jagger should have released an album in 1986?? Could it be worse??

I still think many folks would have a better opinion of this album if it weren't for the horrendous '80s production ...which is about as subtle as the colour scheme for the cover.

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Come On

Contains the hits...One Hit and Winning weren't singles yet. Obviously they thought Winning Ugly would be a hit. They were ugly wrong about that.

Well to be fair. It isn't just all on the production. The album is a bunch of half baked ideas. Showing the lack of cohesion in the band at the time. Keith and Ronnie are partying hard. Charlie is strung out. Jagger is anywhere in mind and spirt other than the studio working on a Stones album. Bill was diddling a 13 year old. Unlike the extremes of Exile, Dirty Work is time catching up with them. They are no longer young party gods, but unsaid anger is now open war. So parts of the album has a germination of something that might have been hard hitting. SOme of the lyrics are pretty solid. But the melodies are very coarse and underdeveloped. And Jagger has often said that is his job. SO make the melody with the lyrics. And he didn't give a shit about working with The STones. His vocals are barked leftovers from the 76 tour. The cheesy synths and ruin songs like Back to Zero and Winning Ugly. And then there are the lyrics that were the nadir of rushed inattention. Now combine that with the terrible production, their worst cover, and the garish new wave pastels create one of The Stones most disjointed and unhinged project of their career.

There are a few half-baked ideas, but

One Hit
Harlem Shuffle
Too Rude
Winning Ugly
Back To Zero
Dirty Work
Sleep Tonight

are hardly half-baked, imo. Poor, maybe, but not half-baked

Songs like Fight, Hold Back (in particular) and Had It With You are shading the overall impression production-wise, though.

DIRTY WORK is overlooked - fortunately.

They did put bass on Had It With You. Keith decided it mushed it up too much so they left it out of the mix.

A "near classic album"? How's that? In Earth terms? It's about as near a classic album as the Black Eyed Peas are a talented band. Which would be ZERO.

DIRTY WORK sucks. It really is that bad.

Nice attempt though!

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marcovandereijk
1986 was the year with no masterpieces. There were quite a bunch of old dudes proving the world
that 1986 was indeed a lousy year that'd better be soon forgotten.

Eric Clapton - August
Paul McCartney - Press to play
John Fogerty - Eye of the Zombie
Alice Cooper - Constrictor
Black Sabbath - 7th star
Rod Stewart - Every beat of my heart

Now tell me, which of these do you like better than Dirty Work?

I think Claptons album is better than Dirty Work!

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the only decent piece is Harlem Shuffle