Automatic for the People

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Biography

Automatic for the People is the eighth album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. , released in 1992 on Warner Bros. Records . While R.E.M. had intended to make a harder-rocking album after dealing primarily with acoustic based sounds on its previous record Out of Time (album)|Out of Time (1991), the group eventually abandoned that goal and created an album that was musically subdued and dealt with mortality. Automatic for the People reached number two on the U.S. album charts and yielded six singles. The album has sold 16 million copies worldwide and is widely considered as one of the best records released in the 1990s.

Background and recording

After promotional duties for their previous album Out of Time in May 1991, the members of R.E.M. began work on their next album. Starting the first week of June,Robbins, Ira. "R.E.M." Pulse! . October 1992 guitarist Peter Buck , bassist Mike Mills , and drummer Bill Berry met several times a week in a rehearsal studio to work on new material. Once a month they would take a week-long break. The musicians would often trade instruments: Buck would play mandolin, Mills would play piano or organ and Berry would play bass. Buck explained that writing without drums was productive for the band members.Fletcher, p. 208 The band, intent on delivering an album of harder-rocking material after Out of Time , made an effort to write some faster rock songs during rehearsals, but came up with less than a half-dozen prospective songs in that vein.Fricke, David. "Living Up to Out of Time /Remote Control: Parts I and II". Melody Maker . October 3, 1992.

When it came time to make demos, the musicians recorded them in their standard band configuration. According to Buck, the musicians recorded about 30 songs. Singer Michael Stipe was not present at these sessions; instead, the band gave him the finished demos at the start of 1992.Fletcher, p. 209 Stipe described the music to Rolling Stone early that year as "ery mid-tempo, pretty fucking weird More acoustic, more organ-based, less drums".Fricke, David. "". Rolling Stone . March 5, 1992. Retrieved on March 12, 2009 In February, R.E.M. recorded another set of demos at Daniel Lanois ' Kingsway Studios in New Orleans .Black, p. 190

The album title was inspired by Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods, a down-home cafe at 1016 East Broad Street in Athens, Georgia . The slogan on the outside of the cafe reads Delicious Fine Foods - Automatic For The People."Led Zeppelin Crashed Here - The Rock and Roll Landmarks of North America" - By Chris Epting, pg. 58

The group decided to create finished recordings with co-producer Scott Litt at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York , starting March 30.Black, p. 191 The band recorded overdubs in Miami and New York City . String arrangements were recorded in Atlanta .Buckley, p. 216 After recording sessions were completed in July, the album was mixed at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle .

Music and lyrics

Despite R.E.M.'s initial desire to make an album of rocking, guitar-dominated songs after Out of Time , music critic David Fricke noted that instead Automatic for the People "seems to move at an even more agonized crawl" than the band's previous release. Peter Buck took the lead in suggesting the new direction for the album. The album dealt with themes of loss and mourning inspired by "that sense of& nbsp; turning 30", according to Buck. "The world that we'd been involved in had disappeared, the world of Hüsker Dü and The Replacements (band)|The Replacements , all that had gone We were just in a different place and that worked its way out musically and lyrically."Buckley, p. 218 The songs " Drive (R.E.M. song)|Drive ", " The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite ", " Everybody Hurts ", and " Nightswimming " feature string arrangements by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones . Fricke stated, "ballads, in fact, define the record," and noted that the album featured only three "rockers": " Ignoreland ", " The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite ", and " Man On The Moon (song)|Man on the Moon ".

Release

Automatic for the People was released in October 1992. In the United States, the album reached number two on the Billboard 200| Billboard 200 album charts."". Allmusic . Retrieved on March 12, 2009. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom, where it topped the UK Albums Chart on four separate occasions.Buckley, p. 230 Despite not having toured after the release of Out of Time , R.E.M. again declined to tour in support of this album. Automatic for the People has been certified four times platinum in the United States (four million copies shipped), six times platinum in the United Kingdom (1.8 million shipped), and three times platinum in Australia (210,000 shipped).Buckley, p. 358 The album has sold 3.5 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan sales figures as of 2011.

Automatic for the People yielded six single (music)|singles over the course of 1992 and 1993: "Drive", "Man on the Moon", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", "Everybody Hurts", "Nightswimming", and " Find the River ". Lead single "Drive" was the album's highest-charting domestic hit, reaching number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100| Billboard Hot 100 . Other singles charted higher overseas: "Everybody Hurts" charted in the top ten in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

In 2005, Warner Bros. 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 .

Reception

R.E.M. biographer David Buckley wrote, " Automatic for the People is regarded by Peter Buck and Mike Mills, and by most critics, as being the finest R.E.M. album ever recorded."Buckley, p. 217 Rolling Stone gave the album five stars. Reviewer Paul Evans wrote, "Despite its difficult concerns, most of Automatic is musically irresistible."Evans, Paul. . Rolling Stone . October 29, 1992. Retrieved on March 15, 2009. Melody Maker reviewer Allan Jones (editor)|Allan Jones commented, "It's almost impossible to write about the record without mentioning the recent grim rumors concerning Stipe's health," in reference to the rumors at the time that the singer was dying of AIDS or cancer . Jones concluded his review by noting, "Amazingly, initial reactions to Automatic for the People in this particular vicinity have been mixed Psshaw to them. Automatic for the People is R.E.M. at the very top of their form."Jones, Allan. "From Hearse to Eternity: Automatic for the People ". Melody Maker . October 3, 1992. Ann Powers , reviewing the album for The New York Times , noted that only three of the songs on the album went beyond mid- tempo and said, "Only 'Man on the Moon' shines with a wit that balances R.E.M.'s somber tendencies." Powers finished her review by saying, "Even in the midst of such disenchantment, R.E.M. can't resist its own talent for creating beautiful and moving sounds. Buck, Mills and Berry can still conjure melodies that fall like summer sunlight. And Stipe still possesses a gorgeous voice that cannot shake its own gift for meaning."Powers, Ann. "". The New York Times . October 11, 1992. Retrieved on March 17, 2009. Guy Garcia , for Time (magazine)|Time , also noted the album's themes of "hopelessness, anger and loss".Garcia, Guy. "". Time . November 23, 1992. Retrieved on March 17, 2009. Garcia added that the album proves "that a so-called alternative band can keep its edge after conquering the musical mainstream" and that it "manages to dodge predictability without ever sounding aimless or unfocussed."

Automatic for the People placed third in the Village Voice Pazz & Jop year-end critics' poll. Robert Christgau|Christgau, Robert . "". Village Voice . March 2, 1993. Retrieved on March 16, 2009. The album was nominated for Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards of 1993 . It was also ranked #247 in Rolling Stone 's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time .

In 2006, British Hit Singles & Albums and NME organised a poll of which, 40,000 people worldwide voted for the 100 best albums ever and Automatic for the People was placed at #37 on the list.. The Times . 1 Jun 2006

Packaging

The album name refers to the motto of Athens, Georgia eatery, Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods.Thompson, Jim. "". OnlineAthens. April 18, 2007. Retrieved on March 17, 2009. The photograph on the front cover is not related to the restaurant: it shows a star ornament that was part of the sign for the Sinbad Motel on Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, near Criteria Studios, where the bulk of the album was recorded. The motel is still there, but the star is not. The slanted support where it was once attached is still present, however. The interior jacket shows a two–three story circular platform that was the sign for the old Bon Aire Motel on the former Motel Row on Miami Beach. The Bon Aire and other motel row establishments have mostly been demolished for new high-rise condominiums.

The front cover of the album shows a greyed-out photograph of a Miami motel sign placed over an Embossing (paper)|emboss ed image, which is also included inside the album's booklet distorted on a white background. The back cover features a photograph of an old building with the track listing written over at the same angle from which the building is viewed. Other photographs, taken by Anton Corbijn , feature the band members on a beach.

The compact disc was issued in a jewel case with an odd yellow translucent spine/CD tray. The cassette shell was also issued with the same color. The yellow was made to match the colour of the CD disc. The band would later use a similar method for Monster (R.E.M. album)|Monster which was released in an orange spine/CD tray (though this matched the album cover).

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Bill Berry , Peter Buck , Mike Mills and Michael Stipe .

#" Drive (R.E.M. song)|Drive "& nbsp;– 4:31
#"Try Not to Breathe"& nbsp;– 3:50
#" The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite "& nbsp;– 4:06
#" Everybody Hurts "& nbsp;– 5:17
#"New Orleans Instrumental No. 1"& nbsp;– 2:13
#"Sweetness Follows"& nbsp;– 4:19
#"Monty Got a Raw Deal"& nbsp;– 3:17
#" Ignoreland "& nbsp;– 4:24
#"Star Me Kitten"& nbsp;– 3:15
#" Man on the Moon (song)|Man on the Moon "& nbsp;– 5:13
#" Nightswimming "& nbsp;– 4:16
#" Find the River "& nbsp;– 3:50

The track listing on the vinyl and cassette editions of the album lists tracks 1–6 as "Drive" and 7–12 as "Ride"

Personnel

;R.E.M.

Bill Berry & nbsp;– drum kit|drums , percussion instrument|percussion , keyboards, bass guitar, backing vocals, melodica

Peter Buck & nbsp;– electric guitar|electric and acoustic guitar s, mandolin , bass guitar

Mike Mills & nbsp;– bass guitar , piano , Keyboard instrument|keyboards , backing vocals

Michael Stipe & nbsp;– singing|vocals

;Additional musicians:

Scott Litt & nbsp;– harmonica , clavinet

:Strings and oboe on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming":

John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones & nbsp;– orchestra l arrangements

George Hanson & nbsp;– Conducting|conductor

Denise Berginson-Smith, Lommie Ditzen, Patti Gouvas, Sandy Salzinger, Sou-Chun Su, Judy Taylor& nbsp;– violin

Knox Chandler , Kathleen Kee, Daniel Laufee, Elizabeth Murphy& nbsp;– cello

Reid Harris, Paul Murphy, Heidi Nitchie& nbsp;– viola

Deborah Workman& nbsp;– oboe

;Production

Scott Litt & nbsp;– Record producer|producer , Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing engineer

Ed Brooks& nbsp;– second engineer (Seattle)

George Cowan& nbsp;– second engineer (Bearsville)

John Keane& nbsp;– recording engineer (Athens)

Mark Howard& nbsp;– second engineer (New Orleans)

Tod Lemkuhl& nbsp;– second engineer (Seattle)

Ted Malia& nbsp;– second engineer (Atlanta)

Stephen Marcussen & nbsp;– Audio mastering|mastering engineer (Precision Mastering)

Clif Norrell& nbsp;– Audio engineering|recording engineer , mixing engineer

Andrew Roshberg& nbsp;– second engineer (Miami)

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (1992)	Peak position
ARIA Charts	2
Austrian Albums Chart"". Austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved on March 12, 2009.	3
Canadian RPM (magazine)	3
SNEP	9
Media Control Charts	2
Italian Albums Chartcite web	4
Oricon	27
New Zealand Albums Chart	1
VG-lista	4
Swiss Music Charts	3
UK Albums Chart Roberts, David (ed.) (2006). Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums	1
U.S. Billboard 200	2
Chart (1993)	Peak position
MegaCharts	2
Sverigetopplistan	7

Year-end charts

Chart (1992)	Position
Italian Albums Chart	28
UK Albums Chart	18
U.S. Billboard 200cite web	accessdate=April 29, 2012	83
Chart (1993)	Position
List of Top 25 albums for 1993 in Australia	22
Austrian Albums Chartcite web	11
RPM (magazine)	26
Swiss Albums Chartcite web	13
UK Albums Chart	2
U.S. Billboard 200cite web	accessdate=April 29, 2012	27

Certifications and sales

Copyright Citations

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