Automatic for the People is the eighth studio album by R.E.M., released by Warner Bros. Records on October 5, 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 and conducted by George Hanson, 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. Automatic for the People has sold more than 18 million copies worldwide.
Tracklist:
- Drive
- Try Not to Breathe
- The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
- Everybody Hurts
- New Orleans Instrumental No. 1
- Sweetness Follows
- Monty Got a Raw Deal
- Ignoreland
- Star Me Kitten
- Man on the Moon
- Nightswimming
- Find the River
R.E.M.
Bill Berry: drums, percussion, keyboards, bass guitar, backing vocals, melodica on “Find the River”
Peter Buck: electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, bass guitar, bouzouki on “Monty Got a Raw Deal”
Mike Mills: bass guitar, piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals, double bass on “New Orleans Instrumental No. 1”
Michael Stipe: lead vocals
Additional musicians
Scott Litt: harmonica, clavinet
John Paul Jones: orchestral arrangements 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 on “Drive”, “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight”, “Everybody Hurts”, and “Nightswimming”
Knox Chandler, Kathleen Kee, Daniel Laufer, Elizabeth Proctor Murphy: cello on “Drive”, “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight”, “Everybody Hurts”, “Sweetness Follows”, and “Nightswimming”
Reid Harris, Paul Murphy, Heidi Nitchie: viola on “Drive”, “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight”, “Everybody Hurts”, and “Nightswimming”
Deborah Workman: oboe on “Drive”, “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight”, “Everybody Hurts”, and “Nightswimming”
Production
Scott Litt: producer, mixing engineer
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: mastering engineer (Precision Mastering)
Clif Norrell: recording engineer, mixing engineer
Andrew Roshberg: second engineer (Miami)
