Baby, instant soup doesn't really grab me

Continuing my trip across the output of Athens' finest...

Automatic For The People (1992)

Probably the album that most people consider peak R.E.M and even the most diehard fan would struggle to argue that things didn't trend downhill from here - so let's enjoy our time at the top!  I do like this album, but I seem to recall some tracks are unnecessarily slow (but some of the best tracks are just beautifully slow, so I guess they can't win).

Side one – "Drive Side"

1. Drive
An interesting track to start the album - it's kinda punchy yet understated and the lyrics are indecipherably odd.  Wikipedia says it's about "telling kids to take charge of their own lives. [Pause.] Among other things" - mmmm, sinister.  It also tells me the song is a tribute to "Rock On" by David Essex.  Errr, OK.

2. Try Not To Breathe
This is an interesting one - I don't know if it's supposed to be sad or not (funnily enough, the internet holds opposing views).  Beautiful melody and lyrics though.

3. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight
A step up in tempo which I think it's probably a good plan.  It also has cool lyrics as well - "a can of beans or blackeyed peas - some Nescafe and ice, a candy bar, a falling star or a reading from Doctor Seuss".  It also (and I never knew this) is based upon "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (which is obvious when you know it) and R.E.M. paid for the rights to use the song and as part of the deal covered the original which was the B side (it's fun, but no more than that)

4. Everybody Hurts
An achingly beautiful slow song - I assume it's about suicide ("when you think you've had too much of this life to hang on") but I've never actually checked.  Wikipedia tells me it is because, for once, they were being straightforward with their lyrics.  It also reminds me that John Paul Jones (Led Zep's bassist) did the string arrangement (on this and other songs on the album) and that it had a cool video (the traffic jam one).  The original got to #7 in the UK charts (although only #29 in the US) but the Helping Haiti cover (organised by Simon Cowell and featuring a very odd collection of artists) got to #1 in '10.

5. New Orleans Instrumental #1
It's been a strong opening side up until this point hasn't it?  Ah well, all good things come to an end, don't they?  I mean, this is a fine pointless instrumental - but it's very pointless.

6. Sweetness Follows
Nice enough but slightly content free.

Side two – "Ride Side"

1. Monty Got A Raw Deal
Getting things back on track with a song that sounds like it means something, but I have no idea what it's on about.  Apparently Monty is Montgomery Clift, but I've not investigated how he got a raw deal.

2. Ignoreland
I know what this one is about - US politics!  And the lyrics seem as relevant today as ever - 'I know that this is vitriol, no solution, spleen-venting - but I feel better having screamed".  It's also a more upbeat number than most, which is definitely needed.

3. Star Me Kitten
Another track that I'm not sure why it's here.

4. Man On The Moon
I like this song and it's another one I know what it's about - Andy Kaufman.  Look at me, I'm a full-on fan.  I was aware of Andy Kaufman having seen him in Taxi (which was often shown on BBC2 and I find it hard to believe anyone ever watched it) - but I didn't really know anything about him until I saw the Jim Carrey biopic.  Which was called Man On The Moon.

5. Nightswimming
Really poetic lyrics to this on top of a simple melody - the internet has a million different theories as to what it's about - often started by members of the band and I like Michael's explanation that it's about a "kind of an innocence that's either kind of desperately clung onto or obviously lost".

6. Find The River
I can never remember this one because I always think Nightswimming is a perfect place to end an album, but it's actually not a million miles away from that track.

This has to be at least a four track album, doesn't it?  And Out Of Time has somewhat set a precedent for going above and beyond that.  "Try Not To Breathe", "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight" and "Everybody Hurts" are gimmes from the drive side and "Man On The Moon" and "Nightswimming" are the same from the ride side, which gets us straight to five - I think "Drive", "Monty Got A Raw Deal" and "Ignoreland" would be in with a shout if I was looking for tracks to make up the numbers, but I'm not sure any of them are quite strong enough to muscle their way into such exalted company.

Wikipedia tells us the original plan was to make this more of a rocky affair, but the song-writing sessions just didn't go that way - Messrs Berry, Buck and Mills produced 30-ish demos sans Stipe and then they all decided to head into the studio with Scott Litt again to polish them up.  And I can give you some fine trivia in that the album name refers to the motto of Athens-based eatery Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods and the photograph on the front cover shows a star ornament that was part of the sign for the Sinbad Motel in Miami, which was near the recording studio.

The critics were mostly nice enough about the album - there were some gripes about the downbeat nature of it all, but it's generally viewed as their best album by most now.  It got to #1 in the UK and New Zealand, but only #2 in the US (along with Australia, The Netherlands and Germany).  It's certainly had legs in terms of chart life - it's spent 245 weeks on the UK charts (last seen in '15) and sold 18 million copies globally.

This is also a unique album because it's the only one I've written about three times and it gets mentioned in a couple of other posts as well - so it's fair to say I'm a bit of a fan.  I think there's a strong argument that it's their "best" album and I really like it - but I do have to be in the mood for it because sometimes I feel it's just a bit too polished, certainly in comparison with some of their earlier work.  It's also, most definitely, not a chuckle-fest and best avoided if you're feeling a bit down - even the "positive" songs reflect on mortality a little more than is always healthy.  And if that wasn't bad enough, I'm now going to make things worse by telling you that it was released on this very day - THIRTY-ONE years ago.  Where does the time go?

Out Of Time - The one where it all kicks off big time
Monster - An interesting revisit