Album
Automatic for the People
Automatic for the People is R.E.M.'s eighth studio album, released on 5 October 1992 by Warner Bros. Records. Work began while its predecessor, Out of Time, was still climbing the charts and finding a worldwide audience. The band, from Athens, followed that success with a record that turned towards a darker, more reflective mood. Several tracks feature strings arranged by John Paul Jones and conducted by George Hanson, adding weight to the largely acoustic, pop-leaning rock.
The album produced six singles and reached number two on the US Billboard 200. Critics praised it warmly, with Rolling Stone's Paul Evans hearing a band "delving deeper than ever" and finding a new, complex beauty in its sadder, wiser outlook. It has sold more than 18 million copies worldwide, and in 2020 Rolling Stone placed it at number 96 in its list of the 500 greatest albums. It is well worth hearing as the band's emotional high point between the hits of Out of Time and the louder Monster.
Automatic for the People: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 48:53Tracklist
- 1DriveBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:32
- 2Try Not to BreatheBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:50
- 3The Sidewinder Sleeps ToniteBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:09
- 4Everybody HurtsBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe5:20
- 5New Orleans Instrumental No. 1Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe2:16
- 6Sweetness FollowsBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:22
- 7Monty Got a Raw DealBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:18
- 8IgnorelandBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:28
- 9Star Me KittenBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:16
- 10Man on the MoonBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe5:14
- 11NightswimmingBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe4:18
- 12Find the RiverBerry, Buck, Mills, Stipe3:50
- Produced by
- Scott Litt, R.E.M.
- Recorded at
- Bearsville Studios (Woodstock), Bosstown Recording Studios (Atlanta), Criteria Studios (Miami), John Keane Studios (Athens), Kingsway Studios (New Orleans)
- Recorded
- June 1991 – July 1992
- Mixed by
- Ed Brooks, Scott Litt, Clif Norrell
- Mixed at
- Bad Animals Studio
- Engineered by
- George Cowan, Mark Howard, John Keane, Ted Malia, Clif Norrell, Andrew Roshberg
- Labels
- Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 48:53
Line-up
- Denise Berginson-Smith · violin · guest
- Patti Gouvas · violin · guest
- Reid Harris · viola · guest
- Kathleen Kee · cello · guest
- Daniel Laufer · cello · guest
- Elizabeth Proctor Murphy · cello · guest
- Paul Murphy · viola · guest
- Heidi Nitchie · viola · guest
- Lonnie Ottzen · violin · guest
- Sandy Salzinger · violin · guest
- Sou-Chun Su · violin · guest
- Jody Taylor · violin · guest
- Deborah Workman · oboe · guest
- Michael Stipe · vocals
- Knox Chandler · cello · guest
- Scott Litt · clavinet, harmonica · guest
Singles
- “Drive” · 21 September 1992
- “Man on the Moon” · 9 November 1992
- “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite” · 1 February 1993
- “Everybody Hurts” · 5 April 1993
- “Nightswimming” · 12 July 1993
- “Find the River” · 29 November 1993
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1992–95 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1992–95 | 2 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1992–95 | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1992–95 | 2 |
| Dutch Albums · 1992–95 | 2 |
| German Albums · 1992–95 | 2 |
| Austrian Albums · 1992–95 | 3 |
| Swiss Albums · 1992–95 | 3 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1992–95 | 4 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1992–95 | 4 |
All 21 charts
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) · 1992–95 | 6 |
| Swedish Albums · 1992–95 | 7 |
| US Vinyl Albums · 2017–21 | 7 |
| US Alternative · 2017–21 | 8 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2017–21 | 16 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1992–95 | 27 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1992–95 | 38 |
| Italian Albums · 2017–21 | 75 |
| Spanish Albums · 2017–21 | 93 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2017–21 | 105 |
| French Albums · 2000–01 | 135 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina · 1993 | Gold |
| Australia · 2001 | 4× Platinum |
| Austria · 2001 | 2× Platinum |
| Canada · 2003 | 7× Platinum |
| Denmark · 2025 | 4× Platinum |
| France · 2001 | Platinum |
| Germany · 2011 | 5× Gold |
| Italy · 2021 | Gold |
| Netherlands | 3× Platinum |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| Spain · 1993 | 2× Platinum |
| Sweden · 2000 | 2× Platinum |
| Switzerland · 1995 | 2× Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2025 | 8× Platinum |
| United States · 1995 | 4× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
90.6
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
12k
ListenBrainz listeners
197k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
55k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 5 October
Every year →
More from R.E.M.
Full discography →
Chronic Town
1982
Murmur
1983
Reckoning
1984
Fables of the Reconstruction
1985
Lifes Rich Pageant
1986
Dead Letter Office
1987
Document
1987
Eponymous
1988
Green
1988
Out of Time
1991
The Best of R.E.M.
1991
The Automatic Box
1993
Singles Collected
1994
Monster
1994
New Adventures in Hi‐Fi
1996
Essential R.E.M.: R.E.M. in the Attic (Alternative Recordings 1985–89)
1997
Up
1998
Reveal
2001
R.E.M. Vancouver Rehearsal Tapes - May 10, 2003 2003
Vancouver Rehearsal Tapes - May 10, 2003
2003
In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003
2003
Around the Sun
2004
iTunes Originals: R.E.M.
2004
And I Feel Fine… The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987
2006
Live
2007
Accelerate
2008
Reckoning Spotify Sampler
2009
Live at the Olympia
2009
Collapse Into Now Sampler
2011
Collapse Into Now
2011
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982–2011
2011
Live in Greensboro
2013
Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions
2014
Complete Warner Bros. Rarities 1988–2011
2014
Complete Rarities – I.R.S. 1982–1987
2014
R.E.M. at the BBC
2018
Live at the Borderline 1991
2019
Radio Free Europe 2025
2025
The best of 1992
All of 1992 →
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Broken
Nine Inch Nails · 1992
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More on Warner Bros. Records
The label →
Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park · 2000
Meteora
Linkin Park · 2003
Minutes to Midnight
Linkin Park · 2007
One More Light
Linkin Park · 2017
Rumours
Fleetwood Mac · 1977
A Thousand Suns
Linkin Park · 2010
The Hunting Party
Linkin Park · 2014
Out of Time
R.E.M. · 1991
Reanimation
Linkin Park · 2002
Collision Course
Linkin Park · 2004
Tusk
Fleetwood Mac · 1979
Mirage
Fleetwood Mac · 1982
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1992-10-07 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 5 October 1992 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 5 October 1992 | |
| Wikidata | 7 October 1992 | |
| US release | 6 October 1992 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 5 October 1992 | earliest UK or European date |
38 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Craft Recordings | 0088807204128 | other |
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505525 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505525 | other |
| 1992 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505525 | other |
| 1992 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505525 | other |
| 1992 | BR | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1992 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 0208314485222 | other |
| 1992 | CA | Columbia House | 093624505525 | other |
| 1992 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1992 | ZA | Warner Bros. Records | 6001491238020 | other |
| 1992 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505525 | deluxe |
| October 1992 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505525 | other |
| 5 October 1992 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505518 | original |
| 6 October 1992 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505525 | other |
| 6 October 1992 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505525 | other |
| 6 October 1992 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 6 October 1992 | CA | Columbia House | 77749751404302 | other |
| 6 October 1992 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505525 | other |
| 10 October 1992 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014749701 | other |
| 1999 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505518 | other |
| 2000 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505525 | other |
| 3 December 2002 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227817596 | other |
| 9 July 2004 | AU | Warner Bros. Records | 093624505525 | other |
| 21 March 2007 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674070633 | other |
| 2012 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 2012 | US | — | 888072396258 | other |
| 2016 | XE | Concord Bicycle Music | 888072004047 | other |
| 2017 | GB | R.E.M./Athens L.L.C. | other | |
| 10 November 2017 | XE | Craft Recordings | 888072029835 | other |
| 10 November 2017 | XW | Craft Recordings | 888072029842 | deluxe |
| 10 November 2017 | US | Craft Recordings | 888072041202 | deluxe |
| 10 November 2017 | XW | Craft Recordings | 00888072041240 | deluxe |
| 10 November 2017 | XE | Craft Recordings | 00888072041387 | deluxe |
| 10 November 2017 | US | Craft Recordings | 888072029835 | other |
| 10 November 2017 | XE | Craft Recordings | 888072029767 | other |
| 14 June 2021 | — | — | 00888072150294 | other |
| 29 October 2021 | JP | Craft Recordings | 4988031455517 | other |
| 3 April 2025 | XW | Craft Recordings | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| coverartarchive | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |