R.E.M.
Automatic for the People (Warner Bros.)
Reviewed by Sherman Wick

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Rarely does a record achieve such tremendous artistic and commercial success as R.E.M. did with Automatic for the People.

The band revisits its melancholic folk-rock roots, but with improved songwriting and arrangements. Paramount to the music's success was the orchestral arrangements on four songs by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. The orchestration on "Nightswimming" fleshes out and embellishes the minimalist piano line and buttresses Michael Stipe's reflective croon. On "Drive" the same technique is used, but with a strummed acoustic guitar and accordion drones before the song launches into the stratosphere with an electric guitar and a string ensemble. Once again, the group had commercial hits, despite the prevalent themes of aging and death on the record. "Everybody Hurts" and "Man on the Moon" have had enduring success on commercial radio and on numerous film soundtracks. The record is arguably the band at its best, and it is augmented here with a DVD containing an interesting documentary on the making of the record.

© 2005 - Sherman Wick