Automatic..The definition of the 90s

Following up one of the best selling albums of 1991 was never going to be an easy task. For a band who had been together ten years by the time they had released Out of Time, becoming an overnight success story meant they had a lot of expectation in how to succeed their triumphant 7th studio album. Sales of Out of Time topped 10 million units worldwide, by far their most commercially successful album in their career. Losing My Religion became one of the most instantly recognised songs and videos of the decade, earning the band 2 grammys and 6 MTV awards, including Best Video.

The dilemma within the band was how to follow this up. As successful as Out Of Time had been, it was the most un-REM sounding album they had ever made. Do they make Out Of Time pt2 and bolster the new found global fame, knowing it will sell in the millions on the back of their previous outing, or tweak their sound again as they had constantly done in their career thus far? Not wanting to take the easy option, they decided to make a record that was a lot heavier and guitar based, wanting to move away from the acoustic dominant sound of before. Ultimately, these plans were thrown out of the window early on in the recording process

In the early Summer of 1991, straight off the back of the promotional work for Out Of Time, Mike Mills, Pete Buck and Bill Berry began meeting up for preliminary rehearsals. Michael Stipe was given finished recordings in early 1992 to begin working his lyrics into the music….

In October of 1992 “Drive” the first single from album number 8, “Automatic For The People” was released. The song gave us a glimpse of the darker, more passionate sound, lyrically and musically that the band had given birth to. The dark, brooding intro and distortion heavy riff marrying perfectly with Stipe’s vocals….Smack, crack, Bushwhacked, tie another one to the racks, baby. It was the first sign of what was to follow: something so much darker than had gone before, touching on mortality, fear, suffering and bereavement.

Although, by and large a slower, more contemplative piece, there were songs that touched on the lighter more melodic aspects of REM. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight and Man On The Moon had pop singles written across them from the very first listen, but they weren’t a sample of the album as a whole and even the sing-a-long nature of Man On The Moon touched upon death and the afterlife with Elvis and Andy Kaufman meeting at a truck-stop incarnation of Heaven.

Death and mortality play a huge roll on this album, in no small part magnified by the constant and consistent rumours about Michael Stipe’s health at the time. His gaunt image, coupled with the fact that the band were refusing to tour in support of this album and Out Of Time only fuelled the speculation about Stipe’s well being. The first direct reference to death came in the title of track two, “Try Not To Breathe” which has the protagonist wishing for the end after a long, happy life - I will try not to breathe – This decision is mine – I have lived a full life – And these are the eyes that I want you to remember.

The album was the last true great alternative album before the Grunge explosion completely turned the musical world on its head. Automatic preceded the negativity that seemed to sweep up everyone in the generation Y maelstrom, yet touched so many of the subjects that crept up in those Seattle Scene days. “Everybody Hurts” approaches suicide, offering hope rather than surrender, “Sweetness Follows” the aftermath of losing a family member and facing the future.

The most dramatic and little talked about aspect of this album is the stunning string arrangements provided by Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones on Drive, Sidewinder, Everybody Hurts and the sublime Nightswimming. It adds such a fullness to the sound, orchestral pieces intertwined perfectly with the rhythm and guitars to create an absolutely vital sound for the album

There are so many highlights on this record it is almost impossible to talk about them all without this blog turning into an opus. Saying that, I must mention the final tracks off this album. Nightswimming and Find The River. Nightswimming is the simplest song on the album in that it only features Mike Mills on piano and Michael Stipe on vocals, apart from John Paul Jones subtle strings. It is a piece about innocence, about a youth long gone and alack of worry in life that few people outside of their teens can relate to any more. It is perfectly paced, and with your eyes closed you can conjure up the imagery so easily it is as if you lived the story yourself. As a lyricist Michael Stipe has few, if any, equals and nowhere in their entire back catalogue is this better exemplified than on the last two songs for this classic record. Find The River picks up the mood set by Nightswimming and runs with it. Words escape me when talking about Find The River. It is almost impossible to put in to coherent sentences what the song means to me. I will finish with this…If there was just one song I had to listen to every day for the rest of my life, Find The River would be it. Each nuance, key change and word expresses something different, something new with every listen. It is a special song to do that and Find The River is that special track

Automatic is fast approaching its 20th birthday and it is timeless. It is as fresh now as it was when I first heard it back in October 1992. There isn’t a weakness there. Each of the 12 tracks are stand out, stand alone works of art. Together, they form the definitive sound of the decade, nothing comes close to capturing the feel of that moment in my history and nothing ever will. REM have written better individual songs than the those that appear on here. Arguably they have made better sounding records with regards to spontaneity or rawness. As a complete body of work though, it is unparalleled in what it accomplishes. The bravery to walk away from the sound of Out Of Time and produce this master piece is testament to the strength and the belief these four men had in their abilities as musicians and songwriters.

Take a bow, REM. And thank you for the music