CLASSIC ALBUM: R.E.M. – Automatic For The People

Following the mainstream pop ambitions of their 1988 single Orange Crush and the crossover success of 1991’s Out of Time, R.E.M. wasted no time maintaining their place in the mainstream with Automatic for the People released in 1992, a mere 18 months after its predecessor.

Arguably R.E.M.’s most iconic and memorable album is driven by singer Michael Stipe’s cloaked, surrealistic American imagism in which he recounts tales of sidewinders, wanton consumerism, machines that swallow money, Nescafe & ice, failed democracies, professional wrestling, Andy Kaufman, Elvis, alongside his own personal insecurities and desires. The inclusion of such snippets of Americana, act as bizarro, out-of-place signposts (A stupid, stupid sign perhaps?) in a political environment at odds with its inhabitants. The idea of a warped mental and physical vastness is developed in tracks such Drive, Find The River, Nightswimming exemplify the band’s ambition to be free, explore, diversify and travel in keeping with the literary American tradition, albeit via an aural medium.

When everyone around them seemed to get louder, R.E.M. got quieter, more introspective and sonically elegant. Stipe’s focused, intriguing lyrical themes are more than ably backed by the superb, inventive arrangements conjured by Buck, Mills and Berry cementing Automatic for the People as one of THE greatest American rock albums.