— Mark Frith
"Drive" ⭐
"Man on the Moon" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Everybody Hurts" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Nightswimming" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Find the River" ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is how all six of the singles from R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People were rated in the increasingly indie-averse Smash Hits. Simply put, they were crushing it. Only a pair of Singles of the Fortnight Best New Singles but two more came within inches and I have to wonder if fear of overdoing the praise kept them from claiming the crown more. Those four all received the full five star treatment (even if ver Hits for whatever reason used circles, which may or may not have been moons, in place of stars) with "Find the River" getting a more than respectable four. Only "Drive" and its one star stands out from the pack — and this was likely down to a misprint since guest reviewer Rob Newman has only good things to say about it (as opposed to his feelings of vitriol towards R.E.M.'s self-important fans; what must he think of U2's fanbase?)
This sextet didn't exactly cause chart dominance for them but their's was the triumph of records which were more than the sum of their parts. Though "Find the River" missed the Top 40 entirely — and honestly, who would have needed it at the end of '93, especially since they seldom put fresh B sides on their singles by this point? — the rest performed well enough but the real beneficiary was its parent album.
R.E.M.'s eighth studio album seemed set to repeat the trajectory of predecessor Out of Time. Both debuted at number one then spent the next few months drifting around the Top 10. But while "Losing My Religion" and "Shiny Happy People" were both global hits, subsequent singles from Out of Time fared less well, with "Near Wild Heaven" and "Radio Song" spending a total of three weeks in the Top 40 combined; the 45s from Automatic, however, had greater legs, especially when "Everybody Hurts" came out in the spring of 1993. About six months after first hitting the top of the album chart, Automatic was back at number one and it would go on to enjoy two more non-consecutive weeks at the summit. It was still in the Top 10 that summer as fifth single "Nightswimming" gave it yet another second wind.
It was by this point that Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe must have known that they had become far more popular in Britain than they were back home in the US. (Whether or not they cared is a whole other matter) Out of Time had been their long-awaited breakthrough in the States with its two signature hits both Top 10 radio staples. Released just a year-and-a-half later, Automatic only managed to peak at number two — stuck behind the immovable behemoth The Chase by Garth Brooks — and its chief singles, "Drive", "Man on the Moon" and "Everybody Hurts" only just made the Top 30. These were perfectly acceptable results but not close to how they were doing across the pond.
"Nightswimming" is every bit as wonderful as Mark Frith claims but it didn't need to be a single beyond further propping up an already best selling album. Like "Try Not to Breathe", "Sweetness Follows" and "Star Me Kitten" it has the whiff of a seriously good deep cut about it, the kind that fans of bands like R.E.M. can't get enough of — and I should know since I'm one of them. With all due respect to "Driver 8" and "The One I Love", they had always been an albums act. (The above-mentioned album tracks could join the likes of "Catapult", "Harborcoat", "Cuyahoga", "You Are the Everything" and "Texarkana" to make up a compilation that would easily rival Eponymous, In Time or any of their many singles-focused collections)
Made up of just Mike Mills on piano along with a string section arranged by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, the stark musical backing really puts the spotlight on an awfully rough-voiced Michael Stipe. I have heard people referring to him being such a great vocalist that he could "sing the phonebook" (something he came awfully close to doing on the eccentric B side "Voice of Harold") but this is down to his phrasings and mannerisms rather than his technical abilities, as "Nightswimming" aptly displays. Yet, this is a strength. A flawless voice would never be able to match the raw vulnerable power of Stipe. On something like the annoyingly catchy "Stand", that nasally whine can become grating; here it's simply proof that no one else could have been the frontman for R.E.M.
With all I said above about R.E.M. being an albums band, I will tip my hat to this group of phenomenally good singles. "Drive" isn't really my idea of a hit but I do consider it a perfect opening track to rival "Begin the Begin" but the rest are simply magnificent. "Man on the Moon" is poignant even if you have no idea who this "Andy" Stipe is singing about it. "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite" is loaded with lyrics I get wrong but it is that rarest of songs that I'm happy to have stuck in my head. "Everybody Hurts" remains as heartbreaking as ever. And "Nightswimming" is a peerless torch song wonder. I'll be getting to "Find the River" before long but I will say that I'm convinced my beloved Pet Shop Boys used it as the basis for their outstanding song "Luna Park" from their return to form 2006 album Fundamental. The best albums don't always have ace singles and great singles often crop up on less than stellar albums but Automatic for the People is so brilliant that it had it all. They couldn't possibly persist in making them so wonderful forever but it's nice to bask in the glow of a time when R.E.M. was a streets ahead of the competition.
~~~~~
Also Reviewed This Fortnight
Take That: "Pray"
Take That would be one of my guilty pleasures but for the fact that I don't feel the least bit ashamed for liking them. Earlier efforts were a mixed a bag but "Pray" set everything right. In a UK music scene that had finally rid itself of Stock Aitken Waterman, it's strange to discover their patented sound given a nineties sheen courtesy of Gary Barlow. Frith likens it to previous hit "Why Can't I Wake Up with You?" but the That wisely dialed back on the depressing American-style R&B for its follow-up. They took their time getting that long sought after number one hit but everyone must have known this would be the one that would put them over the top which would only be confirmed when "Pray" entered the charts all the way in the top spot. Why America passed on this I'll never know.
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