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Automatic for the People | 
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| Artist: Rem
Label: Warner
Category: Music
List Price: £11.99
Buy Used: £0.05
You Save: £11.94 (100%)
New (72) Used (75) Collectible (5) from £0.05
Avg. Customer Rating:  62 reviews
Sales Rank: 394
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.5
MPN: 45055
UPC: 093624505525
EAN: 0093624505525
ASIN: B000002MG1
Release Date: September 30, 1992
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| 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 |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Not quite as flawless as a masterpiece should be--what's the slight "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" doing among such remarkably grounded material?--Automatic For The People still deserves its reputation as one of REM's best. Another link in the band's chain of 90's classics, it hits each mood--the glum teen-spirit report of "Drive", the sensual wash of "Star Me Kitten" and the gorgeously transcendent "Find The River,"--perfectly. Fittingly, Michael Stipe's lyrics are among his most coherent and empathetic. This will be recalled, and listened to, as a great work long after REM have packed it in. --Rickey Wright
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| Customer Reviews: Read 57 more reviews...
Sweetness Followed February 4, 2008
A beautiful record that I never tire of listening to. It has been with me a long time - my favourite record alongside Nirvana Unplugged - and has a terrific soothing quality.
The only thing I would question is the inclusion of "Ignoreland" which hints at their later political actions but does little to complement the album's mood of brooding but optimistic introspection.
Strangely, perhaps, I'm not a big fan of "Everybody Hurts" either. But the rest of the album is sheer brilliance, and more than the sum of its parts. "Sweetness Follows" and "Nightswimming" in particular are sublime.
The band would never be the same after Bill Berry left, witness his input into songs like "Find the River", probably my favourite track of all time.
This is probably my favourite R.E.M. album... August 18, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
... and possibly my favourite album of all. It's impossible to put into words what I really feel for this record, because it's far beyond reason.
Like most of my all time faves, this disc didn't have me hooked from the start. In fact, I thought it was the most overrated piece of junk ever! But back then I was a spotty teenager who'd recently picked up the guitar and found that I could play all the songs with out any trouble (while I struggled to get to grips with anything by Brain May, Slash, Hendrix and Page)... I thought that if music was simple an understated, it was bad music. Buck, Berry, Mills and Stipe taught me that there was more to making great music than blistering musicianship. Over the months of listening to it, I found that I gradually got to love the tracks outside of the core singles "Drive", "Everybody Hurts", "Man on the Moon" and "Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite". But that took time.
Out of Time was the first album I had of theirs, and I was immediately won over by its warmth and accessibility, but AFTP was so stark in comparison. However, something made me pick it up and put it on again (mostly the singles that I did like) - and after a few weeks "Try not to Breathe" and "Find the River" became the most special tracks for me. One by one, other tracks followed, until I couldn't fault a single note (although, it really is the notes they don't play, the dead air, that makes this record so different). With the passage of many months, this band went from zeros to heroes in my eyes until I wore out my tape and had to replace it with a CD.
You'd think I would have learned from this experience, but when I first heard their follow-up, Monster, I absolutely hated it with a passion. Of course, within a month I'd reversed my opinion completely. Then I went through their back catalog and reveled in their awesome and prolific collective talent. I won't rave on about all their other albums here, but suffice to say their work has been consistently brilliant from the very start up until they released Around the Sun, where it took a dip. Not to end on a negative note, I believe that The Worst Joke Ever is one of the most earcatching melodies I've heard in a long time.
Oh, and one last (and very important) thing - AFTP is not, by any means whatsoever, depressing in any way (as many claimed at the time). It is one of the most hope-filled, comforting beautiful records you could ever own - so hurry up and click "Add to Basket" right now and make your world a little brighter :-)
 Well its good but. August 5, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
A very interesting album I liked the sort of folk rock twist to it. Completely different to REM's more classic sound and a really great song in there too: "Everybody Hurts" but its not a 5 star by any means. For every song I liked on here there was another that was just plainly boring. The lyrics also range from beautiful to abysmal. This album should not be ignored but there is just music done like this which is better. Its not up there (in my opinion) with other great albums. Definately worth it for 5.00 though.
The Definitive R.E.M May 4, 2006
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
In 1992 at the height of their popularity, R.E.M. delivered their upmost finest, well-crafted project.
Automatic For The People was hauntingly atmospheric throughout with the profound lyrics centering on age, death and loss. Whilst it's mood is vastly sombre throughout, the album remains firmly and consistently compelling, literally clutching your attention and not letting it go until the album is completed.
R.E.M. had always been innovators in Rock/Folk music and this project merley confirmed their upholding status in their genre.
The music on this album has a grand, epic sweep provided by masterful orchestrations containing lush strings, multi acoustic instruments and shimmering keyboards. Automatic For The People is reflective on the whole and never before had R.E.M. been so emotionally direct as on this set.
The album opens with the slow, melancholy tone of Drive steadily leading into the vibrant, upbeat Try Not To Breathe which is a subtle reminder of one of their most definitive classics, Shiny Happy People.
The outstanding classic Everybody Hurts is still moving to listen to today and has amicably stood the test of time well as does the entire album. Tracks like Nightswimming and Sweetness Follows each have a comforting, soothing tone and are very mellow and atmospheric in their unique content. The rest of the album is instantly memroable with other superb and timeless recordings including Man On The Moon, New Orleans Instrumental No.1, Monty Got A Raw Deal and Ignoreland.
Automatic For The people emerged as one of their greatest Rock albums of the 1990's and proved to be one of the key landmarks in R.E.M.'s profile to date.
Astonishing for the People February 23, 2006
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
In the early 1990s,a new force emerged from the shadows of Georgia, USA. Already a decade in the business, a functional shift in style and zest propelled American outfit known as R.E.M. to the summit of the rock world. A band with many albums behind them, R.E.M. churned out Green and Out of Time to surpass their rock counterparts from Dublin: U2.
It is in the sequel to these albums that a true masterpiece was created. Automatic for the People has a power of no other album; an inherent emotional applomb with the ability to move the coldest of the cold. On the back of two excellent albums, this heralded a new level of musical excellence.
Haunting, macabre songs such as Sweetness Follows, Try not to Breathe and Drive compliment the beautiful, emotionally heightened brilliance of Everybody Hurts, Nightswimming and Find the River. Wonderful alternate musical styles and melodies from the band were complimented by the incredible vocals and lyrical genius of lead singer Michael Stipe. More upbeat lively songs such as Man On the Moon and the Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite are classics, the latter being a crazy, lyrical shambles that works a delight in light of the band's innovation and unique style.
Whether you're an R.E.M. fan or not, this album is a must-have and the best place to start if you desire to formulate an avid interest in the band's productions.
Some excellent material has followed, but Automatic for the People is truly one of the greatest albums of all time (my favourite personally) and a definitive turning point in the face of 90s rock music- by the world's greatest band.
Two words for you who does not possess the album: buy it.
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