Automatic For The People
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''Automatic for the People'' is the eighth studio album by American
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
band
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
, released by
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
on October5, 1992 in the United Kingdom and Europe, and on the following day in the United States. R.E.M. began production on the album while their previous album, '' Out of Time'' (1991), was still ascending top albums charts and achieving global success. Aided by string arrangements from
John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
, ''Automatic for the People'' features ruminations on mortality, loss, mourning, and nostalgia. Upon release, it received widespread acclaim from critics, reached number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200, and yielded six singles. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' reviewer Paul Evans concluded of the album, "This is the members of R.E.M. delving deeper than ever; grown sadder and wiser, the Athens subversives reveal a darker vision that shimmers with new, complex beauty." ''Automatic for the People'' has sold more than 18million copies worldwide.


Background and recording

What would become ''Automatic for the People'' had its origins in the mixing sessions for R.E.M.'s previous album '' Out of Time'', held at
Paisley Park Studios Paisley may refer to: *Paisley (design), an ornamental Persian pattern or motif commonly identified with the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, in west Scotland People * Paisley (name), including a list of people with the name * Lord Paisley, in the ...
in December 1990. There, demos for "Drive", "Try Not to Breathe", and "Nightswimming" were recorded. After finishing promotional duties for ''Out of Time'', the members of R.E.M. began formal work on their next album. Starting the first week of June 1991,Robbins, Ira. "R.E.M." ''Pulse!''. October 1992 guitarist
Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his ca ...
, bassist
Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., h ...
, and drummer Bill Berry met several times a week in a rehearsal studio to work on new material. Once a month they would take a week-long break. The musicians would often trade instruments: Buck would play mandolin, Mills would play piano or organ, and Berry would play bass. Buck explained that writing without drums was productive for the band members.Fletcher, p. 208 The band, intent on delivering an album of harder-rocking material after ''Out of Time'', made an effort to write some faster rock songs during rehearsals, but came up with less than a half-dozen prospective songs in that vein.Fricke, David. "Living Up to ''Out of Time''/Remote Control: Parts I and II". ''Melody Maker''. October 3, 1992. The musicians recorded the demos in their standard band configuration. According to Buck, the musicians recorded about 30 songs. Lead singer
Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...
was not present at these sessions; instead, the band gave him the finished demos at the start of 1992. Stipe described the music to ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' early that year as " ry mid-tempo, pretty fucking weird ..More acoustic, more organ-based, less drums". In February, R.E.M. recorded another set of demos at
Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie ...
' Kingsway Studios in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
. The group decided to create finished recordings with co-producer
Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most su ...
at Bearsville Studios in
Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 20 ...
, starting on March 30. The band recorded overdubs in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. String arrangements were recorded in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.Buckley, p. 216 After recording sessions were completed in July, the album was mixed at
Bad Animals Studio Studio X (formerly known as Bad Animals Studio and Kaye-Smith Studios.) is a music and media recording studio on 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. Originally part of thKaye-Smith Enterprisesmedia conglomerate founded by ...
in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
.


Music and lyrics

Despite R.E.M.'s initial desire to make an album of rocking, guitar-dominated songs after ''Out of Time'', music critic
David Fricke David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...
noted that instead ''Automatic for the People'' "seems to move at an even more agonized crawl" than the band's previous release. Peter Buck took the lead in suggesting the new direction for the album. The album dealt with themes of loss and mourning inspired by "that sense of  ..turning 30", according to Buck. "The world that we'd been involved in had disappeared, the world of
Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notabili ...
and The Replacements, all that had gone ..We were just in a different place and that worked its way out musically and lyrically." "Sweetness Follows", "Drive", and "Monty Got a Raw Deal" in particular expressed much darker themes than any of the band's previous material and "Try Not to Breathe" is about Stipe's grandmother dying. The songs "
Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...
", " The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", "
Everybody Hurts "Everybody Hurts" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. from their eighth studio album, '' Automatic for the People'' (1992), and released as a single in April 1993. It peaked at number 29 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached the top ...
", and " Nightswimming" feature string arrangements by former
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
bassist
John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
. Fricke stated that "ballads, in fact, define the record", and noted that the album featured only three "rockers": " Ignoreland", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", and " Man on the Moon". "It pretty much went according to plan," Litt reported. "Compared to '' Monster'', it was a walk in the park. ''Out of Time'' had an orchestral arrangement—so, when we did ''Automatic'', judging where Michael was going with the words, we wanted to scale it down and make it more intimate."''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...
'' #21, August 1995
"Song by song ..the whole album is referencing the 1970s," recalls Stipe. '
Everybody Hurts "Everybody Hurts" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. from their eighth studio album, '' Automatic for the People'' (1992), and released as a single in April 1993. It peaked at number 29 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached the top ...
' was inspired by Nazareth's cover of '
Love Hurts "Love Hurts" is a song written and composed by the American songwriter Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by the Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is most well known from the 1974 international hit version by Scottish hard rock band Nazare ...
'. '
Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...
' was an homage to
David Essex David Essex (born David Albert Cook; 23 July 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. Since the 1970s, he has attained 19 Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and 16 Top 40 albums. Internationally, Essex had the most ...
and ' Rock On', especially that song's early
glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
production style.


Packaging

The album name refers to the motto of
Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...
, eatery Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods. The photograph on the front cover is not related to the restaurant: it shows a star ornament that was part of the sign for the Sinbad Motel on
Biscayne Boulevard U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) in Florida runs along the state's east coast from Key West to its crossing of the St. Marys River into Georgia north of Boulogne and south of Folkston. US 1 was designated through Florida when the U.S. Numbe ...
in Miami, near Criteria Studios, where the bulk of the album was recorded. The motel is still there, but the star is not since it was damaged in a hurricane. The slanted support where it was once attached is still present. "The album was going to be called ''Star'' at one point, hence the object on the cover that Michael had photographed and really dug,"
Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most su ...
told ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...
''. "It helps to have some kind of focus in the studio, so the photo was stuck up." The star photograph is placed over an
emboss EMBOSS is a free open source software analysis package developed for the needs of the molecular biology and bioinformatics user community. The software automatically copes with data in a variety of formats and even allows transparent retrieval o ...
ed image, which is also included inside the album's booklet distorted on a white background. The interior jacket shows a two–three story circular platform that was the sign for the old Bon Aire Motel on the former Motel Row on Miami Beach. The Bon Aire and other motel row establishments have mostly been demolished for new high-rise condominiums. The back cover features a photograph of an old building with the track listing written over at the same angle from which the building is viewed. Other photographs, taken by Anton Corbijn, feature the band members on a beach. The compact disc release was originally issued in a jewel case with a translucent yellow CD tray, traded out with a then-standard opaque black tray on later pressings; the cassette shell was also issued with the same color. The yellow was made to match the color of the CD. The band would later use a similar method for '' Monster'', which was released with a metallic orange CD tray on early copies (though this matched the album cover).


Release

''Automatic for the People'' was released in October 1992. In the United States, the album reached No.2 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album charts." Automatic for the People > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums.
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
. Retrieved on March12, 2009.
The album reached No.1 in the United Kingdom, where it topped the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
on four separate occasions. Despite not having toured after the release of ''Out of Time'', R.E.M. again declined to tour in support of this album. ''Automatic for the People'' has been certified four times platinum in the US (four million copies shipped), six times platinum in the United Kingdom (1.8 million shipped), and three times platinum in Australia (210,000 shipped).Buckley, p.358 The album has sold 3.52million copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan sales figures . In 1993, the album has sold 1.7 million copies in the US, according to billboard's lists of 1993's best-selling albums domestically. ''Automatic for the People'' yielded six singles over the course of 1992 and 1993: "Drive", "Man on the Moon", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite", "Everybody Hurts", "Nightswimming" and " Find the River". Lead single "Drive" was the album's highest-charting domestic hit, reaching No.28 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Other singles charted higher overseas: "Everybody Hurts" charted in the top ten in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. A live, harder, version of "Drive" appears on the ''Alternative NRG'', recorded at Athens' 40 Watt Club on November19, 1992, during an invitation-only concert supporting Greenpeace Action. A re-recorded, slower version of "Star Me Kitten", featuring William S. Burroughs, was released on '' Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files''. The music videos from the album were included in ''
Parallel Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Computing * Parallel algorithm * Parallel computing * Parallel metaheuristic * Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel * Parallel Sysplex, a cluster of ...
''. In 2005, Warner Bros. Records issued a two-disc edition of ''Automatic for the People'' which includes a CD, a
DVD-Audio DVD-Audio (commonly abbreviated as DVD-A) is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio uses most of the storage on the disc for high-quality audio and is not intended to be a video delivery format. The st ...
disc containing a 5.1-channel
surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener (surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to s ...
mix of the album done by
Elliot Scheiner Elliot Ray Scheiner (born 18 March 1947) is a music producer, mixer and engineer. Scheiner has received 27 Grammy Award nominations, eight of which he won, and he has been awarded four Emmy nominations, two Emmy Awards for his work with the Eagl ...
, and the original CD booklet with expanded
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...
. A 25th anniversary edition was released on November10, 2017, by Craft Recordings, featuring four discs of live recordings, demos, and the album remixed in
Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...
, making ''Automatic for the People'' the first music release on this format.


Critical reception

R.E.M. biographer David Buckley wrote, "''Automatic for the People'' is regarded by Peter Buck and Mike Mills, and by most critics, as being the finest R.E.M. album ever recorded." ''Rolling Stone'' gave the album five stars. Reviewer Paul Evans wrote, "Despite its difficult concerns, most of ''Automatic'' is musically irresistible." '' Melody Maker'' reviewer Allan Jones commented, "It's almost impossible to write about the record without mentioning the recent grim rumors concerning Stipe's health," in reference to the rumors at the time that the singer was dying of AIDS or
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
. Jones concluded his review by noting, "Amazingly, initial reactions to ''Automatic for the People'' in this particular vicinity have been mixed ..Psshaw to them. ''Automatic for the People'' is R.E.M. at the very top of their form."
Ann Powers Ann K. Powers (born February 4, 1964) is an American writer and pop music critic. She is a music critic for NPR and a contributor at the ''Los Angeles Times'', where she was previously chief pop critic. She has also served as pop critic at ''The ...
, reviewing the album for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', noted that only three of the songs on the album went beyond mid-
tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
and said, "Only 'Man on the Moon' shines with a wit that balances R.E.M.'s somber tendencies." Powers finished her review by saying, "Even in the midst of such disenchantment, R.E.M. can't resist its own talent for creating beautiful and moving sounds. ..Buck, Mills and Berry can still conjure melodies that fall like summer sunlight. And Stipe still possesses a gorgeous voice that cannot shake its own gift for meaning." Guy Garcia, for ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'', also noted the album's themes of "hopelessness, anger and loss". Garcia added that the album proves "that a so-called alternative band can keep its edge after conquering the musical mainstream" and that it "manages to dodge predictability without ever sounding aimless or unfocussed." ''Automatic for the People'' placed third in the ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
''
Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...
year-end critics' poll. ''The Village Voice''s Robert Christgau later gave the album a three-star honorable mention rating, indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure." The album was nominated for Album of the Year at the
Grammy Awards of 1994 The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening t ...
, but lost to
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...
's '' The Bodyguard''. It was later ranked number 247 in ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, 249 in a 2012 revised list, and 96 in a 2020 reboot of the list. ''Rolling Stone'' also ranked it at number18 on its "100 Greatest Albums of the 90s" list. It was also voted number 6 in
Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...
's ''
All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by th ...
'' 3rd Edition (2000)''.'' In 2006, ''
British Hit Singles & Albums ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of ...
'' and ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' organised a poll of which, 40,000 people worldwide voted for the 100 best albums ever and ''Automatic for the People'' was placed at number 37 on the list. The album was also included in the book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...
''. "I'm not so crazy about 'The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite'," Buck reflected in 2001, "but overall I think it sounds great." Buck added in 2003, in regard to the song, "We included this song on ''Automatic'' in order to break the prevailing mood of the album. Given that lyrically the record dealt with mortality, the passage of time, suicide and family, we felt that a light spot was needed. In retrospect, the consensus among the band is that this might be a little too lightweight." The 25th anniversary re-release of In 2017,
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
called ''Automatic for the People'' an "nakedly emotional album consumed by the anxiety of aging, the inevitability of death, the loss of innocence, and the impossibility of holding on to the past"; in 2022, they ranked this album the 63rd best of the 1990s.


Track listing


Original release


25th Anniversary Edition

In 2017, Craft Recordings and Concord Music Group released a 25th anniversary edition with exclusive demos, live songs and a blu-ray disc with music videos and a promotional video.


Personnel

R.E.M. * Bill Berry – drums, percussion, keyboards, bass guitar, backing vocals,
melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usua ...
on "Find the River" *
Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his ca ...
 – electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, bass guitar,
bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...
on "Monty Got a Raw Deal" *
Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., h ...
 – bass guitar, piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals,
double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
on "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" *
Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...
 – lead vocals Additional musicians *
Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most su ...
 – harmonica, clavinet *
John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
 –
orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...
arrangements In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming" *George Hanson – conductor on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming" *Denise Berginson-Smith, Lonnie Ottzen, Patti Gouvas, Sandy Salzinger, Sou-Chun Su, Jody Taylor –
violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming" *
Knox Chandler Knox Chandler is an American musician known primarily as a guitarist, though he also plays cello, keyboards and other instruments. He has worked extensively as a session musician. In the early to mid-1970s, Chandler attended the Hammonasset Scho ...
, Kathleen Kee, Daniel Laufer, Elizabeth Proctor Murphy –
cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", "Sweetness Follows", and "Nightswimming" *Reid Harris, Paul Murphy, Heidi Nitchie –
viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...
on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming" *Deborah Workman –
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...
on "Drive", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight", "Everybody Hurts", and "Nightswimming" Production *
Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most su ...
 – producer,
mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...
*Ed Brooks – second engineer (Seattle) *George Cowan – second engineer (Bearsville) *Adrian Hernandez -Second assistant engineer (Hollywood) *John Keane – recording engineer (Athens) *Mark Howard – second engineer (New Orleans) *Tod Lemkuhl – second engineer (Seattle) *Ted Malia – second engineer (Atlanta) *
Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...
 – mastering engineer (Precision Mastering) *
Clif Norrell Clif Norrell is an American record producer, recording engineer, music mixer, and musician. He has worked with many prominent artists including Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Jeff Buckley, No Doubt, Rush, Faith No More, Shania Twain, Mick Jagger, D ...
 – recording engineer, mixing engineer *Andrew Roshberg – second engineer (Miami)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications and sales


See also

*'' Drive XV: A Tribute to Automatic for the People''


References

*Black, Johnny. ''Reveal: The Story of R.E.M.'' Backbeat, 2004. *Buckley, David. ''R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography''. Virgin, 2002. *Fletcher, Tony. ''Remarks Remade: The Story of R.E.M.'' Omnibus, 2002. . *Platt, John (editor). ''The R.E.M. Companion: Two Decades of Commentary''. Schirmer, 1998.


Notes


External links

*
R.E.M. - ''Automatic Unearthed''
official documentary about the making of the album {{Authority control 1992 albums Albums produced by Bill Berry Albums produced by Michael Stipe Albums produced by Mike Mills Albums produced by Peter Buck Albums produced by Scott Litt R.E.M. albums Warner Records albums Albums arranged by John Paul Jones (musician) Albums conducted by George Hanson Baroque pop albums