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 ...
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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.[Automatic for the People received a lavish deluxe reissue for its 25th anniversary in 2017, expanding the album to a triple-CD set that also features a Blu-ray containing a surround mix of the album, music videos, and the album's original press kit. Of the two bonus discs of music, the second is familiar, containing the often-bootlegged November 19, 1992 set at Athens' 40 Watt Club. Sinewy, punchy, and packing the occasional surprise-the foreboding "Drive" is given swing, the Troggs ("Love Is All Around"), and the Stooges ("Funtime") are both covered-the set features R.E.M. at a peak, sounding confident that they're making rich, complex music that still rocks. As good as this is, it pales next to the third disc which, in the fashion of the demos disc that accompanied the 2016 deluxe reissue of Out of Time, traces the evolution of the composition of the album through rough drafts, snippets, fleeting ideas, and unfinished songs. Part of the fascination of this collection of demos is hearing the band exploring lighter territory than their finished album-this is especially true of "Mike's Pop Song," a glorious bit of power pop that holds its own with the Spongetones and Hoodoo Gurus and has no place on Automatic -- but it's also clear that all four members were orbiting the same moody star, discovering their own paths around this dark body. Here, the handful of completed songs are bunched at the beginning, then the disc returns to certain themes and melodies, giving a sense of collective forward movement that's quite appealing and makes the disc work as an album of its own. It's ragged but it contains its own shape and it sustains an atmosphere -- one that's more comforting than sad -- as well as its parent album.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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Add this copy of Automatic for the People [25th Anniversary Edition] to cart. $23.69, poor condition, Sold by Movie Surplus rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Mobile, AL, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by Universal Music.
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Seller's Description:
Berry/Buck/Mills/St; Bowie/Pop; Presley. Poor. Used-Acceptable, DISC ONLY, Withdrawn library disc(s). Includes a case. Artwork and liner notes not included. Disc(s) should play great, without any playback issues. Disc may include library markings, like writing, sticker, and protective label covers.
Add this copy of Automatic for the People to cart. $69.25, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2017 by UMC: 0888072029767.