Automatic for the People

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Continuing to specialize in the art of curve-throwing, R.E.M. followed up its 1991 smash, Out of Time, with this fragile album of soft melodies and string arrangements. The sympathetic ballad "Everybody Hurts" must have prevented countless suicide attempts, while the Andy Kaufman tribute "Man on the Moon" (with Michael Stipe affecting an Elvis Presley imitation) and the rock-into-oblivion "Drive" are among the quartet's strongest hits. (The opening line, "Hey, kids, rock and roll," isn't so much a rallying cry as an expression of anxiety.) It takes a few listens for its charms to unfold, but Automatic is the gem between bigger hits Out of Time and Monster. --Steve Knopper --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Automatic for the People
Average customer rating:

The last worthwhile R.E.M. album

OUTSTANDING...Enduring...everlasting...a musical giant!

One of the greatest albums ever released!

I'm not getting it...

An Instant Love Affair!

Automatic for the People
R.E.M.
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
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General | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
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Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Out of Time

Green

Monster

Murmur

Document

ASIN: B000002MG1
Release Date: 1992-10-06

Tracks:

Drive
Try Not To Breathe
The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
Everybody Hurts
New Orleans Instrumental No.1
Sweetness Follows
Monty Got A Raw Deal
Ignoreland
Star Me Kitten
Man On The Moon
Nightswimming
Find The River

Amazon.com essential recording

Continuing to specialize in the art of curve-throwing, R.E.M. followed up its 1991 smash, Out of Time, with this fragile album of soft melodies and string arrangements. The sympathetic ballad "Everybody Hurts" must have prevented countless suicide attempts, while the Andy Kaufman tribute "Man on the Moon" (with Michael Stipe affecting an Elvis Presley imitation) and the rock-into-oblivion "Drive" are among the quartet's strongest hits. (The opening line, "Hey, kids, rock and roll," isn't so much a rallying cry as an expression of anxiety.) It takes a few listens for its charms to unfold, but Automatic is the gem between bigger hits Out of Time and Monster. --Steve Knopper

Customer Reviews:

The last worthwhile R.E.M. album.......2007-07-05

For all the angst and harrowing depression that seemed to be the vogue of the time, few tried making it as soft and beautiful as the arrangements found on Automatic For the People. Several of these tracks are quite affecting even after multiple listens and even the overplayed hit, "Everybody Hurts," is good in small doses. "Man on the Moon" is one of their all-time best tunes, "Drive" a fabulous opener, and "Nightswimming" one of their most underappreciated singles.

One must wonder how much credit is due to John Paul Jones, who does the strings on several songs, but consider this something of a comeback for R.E.M. after their last two limp efforts--sadly, the comeback would NOT last. A bit overrated (some call it the band's best album), but still a very solid effort all around, and the last R.E.M. album worth picking up for anyone except hardcore fans.

Best cuts: "Man on the Moon," "Nightswimming," "Drive," "Try Not to Breathe," "Sweetness Follows," "Everybody Hurts," "Find the River," "Monty Got a Raw Deal"

OUTSTANDING...Enduring...everlasting...a musical giant!.......2007-06-29

It was the summer of my lost youth, and my cousin and friends were diving on the cliffs in Newport, Rhode Island, and we knew we shouldn't have been there, and I was bringing a boom box with us everywhere. They wanted LL Cool J and the like, and I pumped out "Out of Time" and they all gave me dirty looks, but moved their heads and got into it just the same.

When 'Automatic for the People' came out, it was if I had found my place in the world. I was an older, (much older) teenager, but I seemed to find my niche in this busy sector of life, and Michael Stipe seemed to portray in no uncertain terms, what it was like to be alive.

I was alive. 'Everybody Hurts' is an anthem for a lost culture, not just a generation. How splendid the video was, how utterly bewildering the song was, still echoing somewhere in my minds eye today, stood sinister and barren on the wooded knoll of my future; and I thought, with so much energy, that things couldn't be that bad. That with some thought and drive, anyone could really get through anything that this cruel world throws at them. That is what this album meant to me friends.

'Automatic for the People' is pure, refined Stipe at his finest. Those days where REM was splitting ears all over the globe, and the baby boomer generation asking 'wow, who is this.'

I miss those days of wonderment and fine music. I miss those days of knowing and anticipating your favorite bands next album, and not wondering, not hoping, but KNOWING, that it would be magical, tangible, and that it would speak to you. That every song would be your favorite and you would know each one word for word, just like 'Green'.

Songs like, 'Find the River' and 'Try not To Breath' told me that things are what they are, and REM proved beyond all recognition and understanding, that they, all four of them at that time??? were the band to be reckoned with......

.....Michael Stipe has given us poetry in motion and I thank him for his prose and talent, and for that, for that small, simple part of this gigantic metaphor we find ourselves in, is worth living...just to hear this poetic album of solitude and understanding....

As others have stated before me, "Automatic for the
People" is one of the most enduring musical achievements of the 1990's.

In fact, I would put it in the leagues of the finest albums of all time, on the run with RadioHead's 'Ok Computer'.

Thank you.

One of the greatest albums ever released!.......2007-06-08

Automatic For The People is REM's 1993 album released as follow up to the successful Out Of Time. The album is unique in REM's discography in that it relies heavily on string arrangements, which gives the album a nice, cozy, and sentimental feel.

The albums kicks off with the outstanding Drive before driving us through 11 tracks of pure excellence that includes the brilliant Try Not To Breathe and The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, the heartbreaking hit single Everybody Hurts (a song once dedicated to the late Nirvana frontman, and Michael Stipe's friend Kurt Cobain), the politically charged Ignoreland, the elusive Sweetness Follows and Star Me Kitten, the Andy Kaufman ode and hit single Man On The Moon (the song that would eventually become the foundation for a movie of the same title in 1999 starring Jim Carrey as Kaufman), the ethereal Nightswimming, and the folksy album closer Find The River.

REM went on to release other powerful albums in the years that followed Automatic, most notably Monster, but Automatic stands out as an album that really pulled me in, and made me appreciate REM to this day.

One of the greatest albums ever released!

Recommended

A

I'm not getting it..........2007-05-12

This was a massive success, completely dwarfing even Out of Time - not to mention each of the group's previous albums - in terms of units moved. And I can see why. It's a very accessible collection, much easier to listen to than the murky early records. And Stipe's clearly enunciating his words, rather than mumble his way through. Which is where the controversy sets in. Depending on who you ask, Automatic is either a brilliant masterwork of an album, among the best R.E.M. ever put out, or it's an abomination. At first I put it in category 2 - initially, only Man on the Moon and Everybody Hurts grabbed me. Now I think it occupies the vast territory between the two, much like Green.
The beginning and end of this record are as strong as any - the orchestrated Drive sets the tone nicely, and the ballad Try Not to Breathe continues to. I assume you've heard The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite (AKA callmewhenyoutrietowakeher), and it's a brilliantly stupid song. And if you've turned on the radio for the past decade you know Everybody Hurts, which is brilliant but NOT stupid - a surprisingly emotional power-ballad. Great, great, GREAT song.
You might as well skip straight ahead to track ten, though, because there's nothing of value coming for a long stretch. New Orleans Instrumental #1, Sweetness Follows, Monty Got a Raw Deal, Ignoreland, Star Me Kitten... No, no, no. What are they doing here? Get rid of 'em all. In fact, let's forget they ever existed.
Okay, now we can get back to the good stuff. Man on the Moon was overplayed as hell back in the '90s, but circa 2007 it's much easier to appreciate the mature lyrics, deeply layered harmonies, and the song's atmosphere. I think this is my favorite off the album, maybe even the group's best of the '90s. Love it. Same with the lush, nostalgiac Nightswimming, the fourth ubergiganto radio hit. Another favorite of mine. And Find the River brings the whole thing to a lovely close.
So, not a bad album, and thankfully there's nothing as bad as Shiny Happy People or Stand. But this is unbelievably far from R.E.M.'s greatest achievement - even if it kicks the crap out of Out of Time.

An Instant Love Affair!.......2007-04-26

R.E.M. had had a difficult job following up the success of Out Of Time but they had finally managed to produce an album equally as good and commercially more successful. Its commercial success had laid in the fact that the album had more songs which appealled as singles and the success of 'Man On The Moon', 'The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite' and of course 'Everybody Hurts'.

The album starts off with two songs which lead the listener into the album nicely; Drive and Try Not To Breathe. Just as the middle tracks are sometimes overlooked by the brilliance of the three major songs and Nightswimming, the first two tracks can sometimes be forgotten, but both are excellent and well placed as lead ups to The Sidewinder.... and Everybody Hurts. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite is one of REM's happy songs and is in beautiful contrast with the sombre Everybody Hurts. Although the lyrics for the latter suggest it is about overcoming problems it is only occasionally that the music matches this and it is impossible to describe Everybody Hurts as anything other than, in contrast to The Sidewinder, a sad REM song. This may be the sort of description a child would use but the songs themselves are plain and simple - one fun and happy the other sad and sombre.

Althought the middle of the album lacks the greatness that sparks the rest of Automatic For The People, the tracks are still of a high quality and in particular Monty Got A Raw Deal and Sweetness Follows. Ignoreland has good lyrics and is the groups political song on the album but the music lets it down somewhat - however it still adds an extra dimension to the album.

It is the last three tracks that really confirm the albums place in greatness however. Man On The Moon is simply Stipe at his best as an entertainer and the song just pips The Sidewinder as the most upbeat song on the album. Again, as they had earlier on the album, REM follow up a happy song with a tragic one and for me, personally, one of their best ever. Nightswimming is the song sums up the album personally and also has the advantage of not being played countless times in the media. Without doubt the highpoint for anyone buying this album who is familiar only with REM's major commercial successes. The album closes as quietely as it began with Find The River, and it is these three songs which end the album that show REM at their very best.
In its time, Automatic For The People had been voted 6th by the public for a book by Virgin acclaiming the top 100 albums ever in England. Although there are often these polls a closer look shows why this demonstrates how good this album is. The Beatles' Revolver had claimed top spot and the group had had two other albums in the top five. In second Radiohead had had The Bends and in fourth they had Ok Computer. When coming only behind the most acclaimed group of all time and the most acclaimed group of nineties Britain, it is clear that this album does appeal over a wide circumference of people. Along with Out Of Time this is REM at their original best and a must for even the very slightest of fans.

Automatic for the People (CD & DVD Audio)

Average customer rating:

Excellent
Brilliant Album, Good Sound Quality, Great Packaging!
New Re-Release Package
Automatic Classic

Automatic for the People (CD & DVD Audio)
R.E.M.
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Jangle Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music

Rhino Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Out of Time (CD + DVD-A) (Dig)
Monster (CD + DVD+ A) (Dig)
Green (CD + DVD-A) (Dig)
New Adventures in Hi Fi (CD + DVD+A) (Dig)
Reveal (CD & DVD Audio)

ASIN: B0006ICF9K
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Tracks:

Drive
Try Not to Breathe
Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
Everybody Hurts
New Orleans Instrumental, No. 1
Sweetness Follows
Monty Got a Raw Deal
Ignoreland
Star Me Kitten
Man on the Moon
Nightswimming
Find the River

Tracks:

Drive [DVD]
Try Not to Breathe [DVD]
Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite [DVD]
Everybody Hurts [DVD]
New Orleans Instrumental, No. 1 [DVD]
Sweetness Follows [DVD]
Monty Got a Raw Deal [DVD]
Ignoreland [DVD]
Star Me Kitten [DVD]
Man on the Moon [DVD]
Nightswimming [DVD]
Find the River [DVD]

Amazon.com

Now expanded, this edition features the regular, remastered album as well as a newly produced bonus DVD. Included on that disc are both new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes of Scott Litt's evocative studio productions and a previously unreleased, 15-minute 1992 documentary featuring band interviews and in-studio clips, as well as song lyrics and a gallery of still photos.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2007-02-10

Everything everyone else has said. But, I do have to add this one: The song Find the River ALONE could easily make this their best record. I lack the words.

Brilliant Album, Good Sound Quality, Great Packaging!.......2006-02-26

This is not only R.E.M.'s best ever album but is very probably one of the best ever albums. A classic from start to finish with excellent songwriting, musicianship and like a true classic, the whole is a great deal more than the sum of the individual tracks; change anything about this album e.g. track order, track additions etc and you destroy it.

The whole theme of this album centres on death and mortality and suggests that there may be more to life than what's here on earth and perhaps the afterlife is not to be feared after all. The album's tour de force, "Man On the Moon" even alludes to this, suggesting that such diverse personalities such as Elvis, Andy Kaufman, Mott the Hoople, Isaac Newton, Fred Blassy may all be rubbing shoulders and goofing around in heaven if they "made the list, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah".

John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin fame has also done a brilliant job with the orchestrations on a few of the tracks and most notably on "Nightswimming". The album ends with my favourite track, "Find the River" which has simply wonderful lyrics that very poetically describes the feeling of a soul leaving this earth to head for the afterlife and an expectation of better things on the other side.

Without a doubt, Michael Stipes' lyrics have never exceeded the heights that they attained on this album. No fillers here as every track is a classic gem. How this album didn't witn the Grammy for Album of the Year, I cannot understand but I suppose like most all-time classic albums, it takes time before the true brilliance shines through and for the mainstream to catch on.

This version of the album has both a remastered cd and a dvd-audio that plays in 5.1 surround sound as well. The dvd sounds excellent and even accentuates some parts that you just don't hear on the regular cd. There is also a humorous short documentary on the making of the album interspersed with funny shots of the proprietor of the restaurant that coined the album title.

Great album, great tracks and great sound plus video make this an excellent buy. Highly recommended.

New Re-Release Package.......2005-11-06

If one album were to be fingered as R.E.M.'s masterpiece, this would be it. Automatic For the People is the most pensive, reflective and well-paced album of the band's career. With nothing really left to prove, R.E.M. could afford to please themselves first - something they've always done, to be sure, but usually with a sideways glance over their shoulder - and this time around, they run with it. The result is an album whose sum is much greater than the individual parts. The ratio of ballads to rockers is shifted heavily toward the former, which provides singer/lyricist Michael Stipe with the basic framework to stretch out lyrically. Mystifying tunes ("The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Star Me Kitten") sit comfortably beside some of his most literal lyrics yet ("Everybody Hurts", "Man On the Moon"), while all are ensconced within creative and contagiously appealing melodies (did you happen to notice the sly four-note allusion to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" buried in "Sidewinder"?). As the saying goes, death and taxes are the only things in life that are unavoidable, but this record shuns fear and is full of acceptance. Human frailty hovers over the proceedings like the ghost of Christmas past ("Everybody Hurts", "Sweetness Follows", "Man On the Moon"), painting mortality in a light that is downright agreeable. Not many artists are capable of making you smile while contemplating death. Taxes may still suck, but on "Automatic For the People", R.E.M. provide evidence that our ultimate destination need not be something to fear. A Tom Ryan

Automatic Classic.......2005-05-07

Automatic for The People is R.E.M.'s follow-up to their greatest commercial triumph, Out Of Time. The success allowed R.E.M. a bigger forum to get their message out. Automatic For The People finds the band exploring such subjects as suicide, euthanasia, Republicanism, lost stars, groupies and pop culture. The album opens with "Drive" which riffs on the David Essex classic "Rock On". "Try Not To Breathe" deals with the subject of euthanasia and is sung from the perspective of an elderly person asking for understanding in his request. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight" lightens the mood a bit. Michael Stipe has fun with the song singing it in a "Subterranean Homesick Blues" style, even affecting an Elvis Presley imitation. He can actually be heard laughing on the track. Things get serious again with "Everybody Hurts" in which they broach the subject of suicide. They could've sounded preachy on the song, but Mr. Stipe sings with such compassion and understanding that song reaffirms life. "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" is a throwaway track and "Sweetness Follows" is a very pretty number. "Monty Got A raw Deal" is the first song on the album about a late misunderstood actor. It's about Montgomery Clift and is quite powerful with some stirring music. "Ignoreland" is a hard-edged rocker that speaks out against the indifference towards people created by Republicans in their White House years of the 80's and early 90's. "Star Me Kitten" is their ode to groupies and is done in almost sleepy sound. "Man On The Moon" is the second actor song and probably the most famous song from the album. It is about the late Andy Kauffman and served as the title for the recent biopic starring Jim Carrey. It's got a honky tonk sound and some good slide guitar work by Peter Buck. The album closes with two slow numbers. "Nightswimming" is heavily laden with strings and is about longing for days gone by while "Find The River" closes the album on high note. The band finally seemed to be comfortable in the spotlight and they created a personal and enduring classic. The previously unreleased documentary is good and the DVD also contains Mr. Stipe's original handwritten and typed lyric sheets.