R.E.M. – Automatic for the People (1992) Automatic for the People is the eighth studio album by R.E.M., released in October 1992 on Warner Bros. Records and produced by Scott Litt and the band. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums ever made — a record of extraordinary emotional depth, musical restraint and lyrical ambition that confounded expectations by following the global commercial breakthrough of Out of Time (1991) with something quieter, darker and more demanding. The album sold over 18 million copies worldwide and reached No. 1 in the UK. Remarkably, the band chose not to tour in support of the album, allowing the music to speak entirely for itself. The string arrangements on several tracks were written and conducted by John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, whose contribution gives the album a cinematic grandeur that perfectly complements the band's more introspective songwriting. The album's themes — mortality, grief, memory, loss and the passage of time — give it a coherence and emotional weight that few rock albums of any era have matched. Highlights Everybody Hurts — One of the most emotionally direct and universally resonant songs R.E.M. ever recorded; a slow, spare ballad of comfort and solidarity that has become one of the most played songs in the history of British radio and one of the most immediately recognisable recordings of the 1990s. John Paul Jones's string arrangement gives it a grandeur that matches the song's emotional ambition completely. Nightswimming — The album's most purely beautiful and musically restrained track; a solo piano piece with orchestral accompaniment and no guitar whatsoever, in which Michael Stipe's lyric of memory, nostalgia and the loss of youth is delivered with a vulnerability and intimacy that makes it one of the most affecting performances of his career. Man on the Moon — A tribute to the American comedian and performance artist Andy Kaufman, whose refusal to distinguish between sincerity and performance made him one of the most genuinely avant-garde figures in American popular culture; the song's warm, melodic generosity and its repeated invocation of Kaufman's name give it a celebratory quality that sits in productive tension with the album's prevailing mood of loss. Drive — The album's opening track and one of its most sonically distinctive; a slow, bass-driven song with a lyric that addresses the listener directly and a production of deliberate restraint that establishes the album's quieter, more introspective register from the very first note. Find the River — The album's closing track and one of its most quietly devastating; a gentle, acoustic song with a lyric of acceptance and forward movement that brings the album's meditation on mortality and loss to a conclusion of hard-won peace and genuine emotional resolution. CD Details Title: Automatic for the People Artist: R.E.M. Year: 1992 Label: Warner Bros. Records Producer: Scott Litt, R.E.M. String Arrangements: John Paul Jones Format: CD Album Tracks: 12 Barcode: 093624505525 Condition Condition: Used VG/VG — see our Condition Grading Guide. Browse our full 1990s CD collection. You might also enjoy our Blu-ray titles or our Vinyl Records.
