Automatic for the People
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| Automatic for the People | ||
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| Studio album by R.E.M. | ||
| Released | 5 October 1992 (UK) 6 October 1992 (U.S.) |
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| Recorded | Late 1991–Mid-1992 | |
| Genre | Alternative rock | |
| Length | 48:52 | |
| Label | Warner Bros. | |
| Producer(s) | Scott Litt & R.E.M. | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
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| R.E.M. chronology | ||
| Out of Time (1991) |
Automatic for the People (1992) |
Monster (1994) |
Automatic for the People is R.E.M.'s eighth album, and their third major label release for Warner Bros., released in 1992.
Contents |
[edit] Details
The album name refers to the motto of Athens, Georgia eatery "Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods." The photograph on the front cover is not related to the restaurant: it shows a sign on a motel in Miami, where part of the album was recorded. The album was also recorded in New Orleans.
Arriving on the heels of the previous year's breakthrough album Out of Time, Automatic for the People entered the United States charts at #2, selling over four million copies there, and spent several weeks at #1 in the United Kingdom. As a consequence, R.E.M. was marketed alongside new acts such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam as purveyors of the "alternative" sound, despite obvious differences in musical style between the older band and the newer ones. R.E.M.'s independent outlook, however, had inspired many of these alternative bands during the 1980s. Despite the new album's success, R.E.M. declined to tour in support of Automatic for the People, just as it had for Out of Time the previous year.
Automatic for the People had six singles released, tied with Monster for the most from any R.E.M. album. Many of Automatic for the People's songs proved to be very popular: "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", "Everybody Hurts", "Nightswimming", "Find the River", and the Andy Kaufman tribute "Man on the Moon", which would become the title of the comedian's 1999 biographical movie starring Jim Carrey. "Drive", the album's opening track and first single, was not included on the band's hits collection In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003, nor was final single (and final track) "Find the River". However, four tracks from Automatic for the People were included, more songs than from any of their other albums.
John Paul Jones, formerly the bassist for Led Zeppelin, in his second career in string arrangement, scored the strings for "Drive," "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite," "Everybody Hurts" and "Nightswimming."
It has subsequently been revealed that Kurt Cobain was likely listening to Automatic for the People sometime before his death on April 5, 1994.[1] The song "Everybody Hurts" had in fact been composed by Michael Stipe (its music was written by Bill Berry) as a reaction to an epidemic of suicides among young people. Stipe, a friend of Cobain's, later wrote the song "Let Me In" about Cobain's death.[2] It has been speculated that before his death, Cobain was looking to develop his own music in a more acoustic direction due partly to the influence of Automatic for the People and his contact with Stipe. Nirvana's 1993 unplugged performance later released on CD has been cited as evidence for this.
In 2005, Warner Brothers Records issued a two-disc edition of Automatic for the People which includes a CD, a DVD-Audio disc containing a 5.1-channel surround sound mix of the album done by Elliot Scheiner, and the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes. The CD (as with all in this series) is not remastered.
[edit] Critical acclaim
Mostly acoustic and typified by its dark lyrics (many of which ruminate on mortality, death and those departed), Automatic for the People is generally considered to be among R.E.M.'s best albums, and one of the finest releases of the 1990s, being the 42nd greatest album of all time on Acclaimedmusic.net and 4th best of the 90's.
In 1997 Automatic for the People was named the 18th greatest album of all time in a 'Music of the Millennium' poll conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. In 2006, Q magazine readers placed it at number 7. In 2003, the album was ranked number 247 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.
- "Drive" – 4:31
- "Try Not to Breathe" – 3:50 (Interpretation of Lyrics)
- "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" – 4:06
- "Everybody Hurts" – 5:17
- "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" – 2:13
- "Sweetness Follows" – 4:19 (Interpretation of Lyrics)
- "Monty Got a Raw Deal" – 3:17
- "Ignoreland" – 4:24
- "Star Me Kitten" – 3:15
- "Man on the Moon" – 5:13
- "Nightswimming" – 4:16
- "Find the River" – 3:50
[edit] Studio B-Sides
Like most R.E.M. albums, Automatic For the People had several live and studio tracks that were unused on the final album and instead issued as b-sides. The studio tracks are comprised primarily of instrumentals and covers. The Out of Time outtake "It's a Free World, Baby", also makes its first official appearance on the "Drive" single. "Fretless", another Out of Time outtake, appears on one of Automatic's singles; both these tracks, however, recorded for the previous album. The instrumental track to Green's "Orange Crush" was also a B-side to "Everybody Hurts".
"Winged Mammal Theme" – 2:55. Written as a theme song for the Batman franchise, it was ultimately rejected by the film makers.
"It's a Free World Baby" – 5:11 (Out of Time Outtake)
"First We Take Manhattan" (Leonard Cohen cover) – 6:06
"New Orleans Instrumental #2" 3:48 (companion piece to the New Orleans Instrumental that appears on the album).
"Fruity Organ" 3:26 (organ instrumental)
"Arms of Love" (Robyn Hitchcock cover) 3:35
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (Linda, Creatore, Peretti, Weiss) 2:41
"Organ Song" 3:25 (organ instrumental)
"Mandolin Strum" – 3:26 (Mandolin instrumental)
"Chance (Dub)" – 2:36
"Dark Globe" (Syd Barrett) – 1:51
Also, there are three additional tracks issued which are alternate versions of album tracks.
"New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" (Long Version) – 3:29
"Star Me Kitten" (demo) 3:05
"Star Me Kitten" (sung by William S. Burroughs)
[edit] Credits
- Bill Berry – drums, percussion, keyboards, bass, vocals
- Peter Buck – guitar, mandolin, bass
- Mike Mills – bass, keyboards, vocals
- Michael Stipe – vocals
[edit] Additional personnel
- Scott Litt – harmonica, contrabass clarinet
- John Paul Jones – orchestral arrangements
- George Hanson – conductor on 1 3 4 11
- Knox Chandler – cello on 1 3 4 11
- Kathleen Kee – cello on 1 3 4 11
- Daniel Laufer – cello on 1 3 4 11
- Elizabeth Murphy – cello on 1 3 4 11
- Denise Berginson-Smith – violin on 1 3 4 11
- Lonnie Ditzen – violin on 1 3 4 11
- Patti Gouvas – violin on 1 3 4 11
- Sandy Salzinger – violin on 1 3 4 11
- Sou-Chun Su – violin on 1 3 4 11
- Judy Taylor – violin on 1 3 4 11
- Paul Murphy – viola (lead) on 1 3 4 11
- Reid Harris – viola on 1 3 4 11
- Heidi Nitchie – viola on 1 3 4 11
- Deborah Workman – oboe on 1 3 4 11
[edit] Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Billboard 200 | 2 (75 weeks on chart) |
| 1992 | UK album chart | 1 (179 weeks on chart) |
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Drive" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 1992 | "Drive" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2 |
| 1992 | "Drive" | Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 23 |
| 1992 | "Drive" | Billboard Hot 100 | 28 |
| 1992 | "Ignoreland" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 5 |
| 1992 | "Ignoreland" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 4 |
| 1993 | "Everybody Hurts" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 21 |
| 1993 | "Everybody Hurts" | Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 13 |
| 1993 | "Everybody Hurts" | Billboard Hot 100 | 29 |
| 1993 | "Man on the Moon" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 2 |
| 1993 | "Man on the Moon" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 4 |
| 1993 | "Man on the Moon" | Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 9 |
| 1993 | "Man on the Moon" | Billboard Hot 100 | 30 |
| 1992 | "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 24 |
| 1992 | "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 28 |
[edit] Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – U.S. | Gold | December 17, 1992 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Platinum | December 17, 1992 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Double Platinum | December 17, 1992 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Triple Platinum | November 16, 1993 |
| RIAA – U.S. | 4X Platinum | February 9, 1995 |
| BPI – U.K. | 6 x Platinum | Mar 1, 1995 |
[edit] References
- ^ Cross, Charles R. Heavier Than Heaven, 2001, ISBN 0-7868-6505-9
- ^ Monster Music R.E.M., One Of, Time Magazine, Sep. 26, 1994
