This year, REM’s Lifes Rich Pageant is turning 40. At the time of its release, the seminal record was a bellwether of the burgeoning underground and a turning point for the band. Buoyed by first single “Fall on Me” receiving commercial radio play, the record would go gold and pave the way for even greater success and the superstardom they eventually enjoyed. But when it came out in July 1986, Michael Stipe still had long curly hair, and R.E.M. was still just the coolest college rock band in the land.

To mark the anniversary—as they did last year to honor the 40th anniversary of Fables of the Reconstruction, and previously to play Murmur—actor Michael Shannon and guitarist Jason Narducy have hit the road to play the album with their talented band of friends: John Stiratt (of Wilco) on bass, Jon Wuester (of Superchunk) on drums, Dag Juhlin (of Poi Dog Pondering) on guitar, and Vijay Tellis-Nayak on keyboards. This has been done with REM’s blessing and has already resulted in various members of the band joining them onstage, although a full REM reunion didn’t occur in Athens, Georgia (REM’s birthplace) this time around, as it did on the Fables tour.

The Boston date at the Royale didn’t produce any guest appearances, but they were hardly needed. Shannon has more than enough charisma to carry the show; he approximates Michael Stipe’s intonations and stage movements without falling to mimicry. Even his striking green jumpsuit didn’t seem out of character. Meanwhile, Narducy and pals recreate each song not only with accuracy and dexterity but also channel the intangibles for something that transcends mere tribute. Even though we knew what we were getting for the first third of the show, namely Lifes Rich Pageant played straight through, hearing songs like “Cuyahoga” and “I Believe” played with such passion was no less thrilling than if it had been unexpected.

After finishing up with REM’s cover of The Clique’s “Superman” and leaving the stage, the band returned to begin playing songs, as Shannon explained, from throughout REM’s career. They quickly proved this point by starting with “Lotus,” a single from the band’s underappreciated, electro-pop tinged 11th album, Up. It was indicative of how eclectic the setlist turned out to be, with early cuts like “Gardening at Night” and “Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)” (from REM’s debut EP, Chronic Town) played next to “Fretless” (a rarity from the 1991 soundtrack to Wim Wenders” Until the End of the World) and songs from New Adventures in Hi-Fi, Shannon’s reply when forced to answer the question of his favorite REM album. Being REM fans themselves, they knew their audience and favored deep cuts and early material over the big hits.

After finishing with “The Great Beyond,” the band returned for an encore that began poignantly with “Nightswimming” and once again showed Shannon doing Stipe proud. They then focused on earlier material with “Camera” from Reckoning and a trio of cuts from Murmur: “Pilgrimage,” “Sitting Still,” and “Radio Free Europe,” which seemed like the perfect note on which to end, rather than “Star 69“ from the much-maligned Monster. But that’s a minor strike against the nearly three-hour show. And for anyone who came away from it not completely satiated, Shannon and Narducy are already planning to do it all again to celebrate Document’s 40th next year.