Automatic for the People

1	Drive 4:30
2	Try Not to Breathe 3:49
3	The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite 4:06
4	Everybody Hurts 5:17
5	New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 Instrumental 2:12
6	Sweetness Follows 4:19
7	Monty Got a Raw Deal 3:16
8	Ignoreland 4:24
9	Star Me Kitten 3:15
10	Man on the Moon 5:12
11	Nightswimming 4:16
12	Find the River 3:49

Barnes & Noble

OK, so they're not simply shiny, happy people, but then R.E.M. never really were. The quartet responded to the immense commercial success of 1991's OUT OF TIME (almost overnight by record industry standards) with this collection of poetically introspective songs. AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE followed its predecessor by a mere 18 months, but remarkably, the tone is vastly different. Lush and serene where OUT OF TIME is lean and perky, AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE is in many ways a continuation of the "unplugged" tour that preceded its sessions. However, the arrangements are more precise and meticulous. "Drive" and "Man on the Moon" are major highlights, while "Everybody Hurts" quickly became a theme for headline variations everywhere. More than ever, this recording shows that R.E.M. could handle the pressures of superstardom with a minimum of obdurate insolence. Martin Johnson

All Music Guide

Turning away from the sweet pop of Out of Time, R.E.M. created a haunting, melancholy masterpiece with Automatic for the People. At its core, the album is a collection of folk songs about aging, death, and loss, but the music has a grand, epic sweep provided by layers of lush strings, interweaving acoustic instruments, and shimmering keyboards. Automatic for the People captures the group at a crossroads, as they moved from cult heroes to elder statesmen, and the album is a graceful transition into their new status. It is a reflective album, with frank discussions on mortality, but it is not a despairing record -- "Nightswimming," "Everybody Hurts," and "Sweetness Follows" have a comforting melancholy, while "Find the River" provides a positive sense of closure. R.E.M. have never been as emotionally direct as they are on Automatic for the People, nor have they ever created music quite as rich and timeless, and while the record is not an easy listen, it is the most rewarding record in their oeuvre. Stephen Thomas Erlewine