36. Automatic for the People - REM 1992
After the runaway success of the previous years, 'Out of Time', the band took a decision to write an album of harder rocking material, but what appeared to be coming more naturally was bleaker, stripped back and more acoustic based songs. As these were the ones flowing out of the three instrumentalists, Peter Buck, Bill Berry and Mike Mills, just went with it. Buck was quoted as saying that the feeling of hopelessness and melancholy was due to "that sense of turning 30, and everything is suddenly very different." An album, that for the most part, comes across as being very disenchanted, and this brought to the fore, the band's natural talented of writing the most beautiful and moving sounds. Now, more than ever, it was the melodies that had to carry the songs as only a couple of the numbers raised up to a mid-paced tempo. There is also a very distinct lack of drumming on this album, percussion is used, but the absence of drum tracks is glaring. Oddly enough, it doesn't take away from the songs and this shows a real versatility and strength in the bands song writing. There were actually, 6, singles lifted from 'Automatic for the People', which even back in the early nineties, was a large amount to be taken from one album. First single, 'Drive', was the highest charting in their native U.S., but only reached 28. Fourth single, 'Everybody Hurts', was a top ten hit in the UK, Australia and Canada. Rather amazingly, the record has sold 1.8 million copies in the UK, which for such a small country, is astonishing. It was number one in the album charts there, on four separate occasions. The worldwide sales currently sit at 18 million, which has it level with its predecessor, 'Out of Time', but is such a different beast, when compared to that collection of songs. The Country influences that had crept in on 'Out of Time' were pretty much all that was carried over. After touring non-stop during the 80's and releasing an album a year, the band famously decided they wouldn't tour behind 'Out of Time' or this one. Amazing that they still sold like they did, isn't it? Stipe continued to become more and more difficult in interviews, seemingly holding in contempt, everyone he came into contact with. His voice had never sounded better and more connected with his lyrics, than he does here though. A lot his feeling and input into the recording of this album stemmed from the rumors of him dying from AIDS and/or cancer, that were rife at that time. Neither were true, but both seemed to hurt.