Average Rating: 5.00 Rating Variance: 0.00 Objectivity Score: 15% (Not Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicR.E.M. Automatic for the PeopleA classic. It never fails to amaze me. This is where R.E.M. used noisy guitar the best. "Wait a minute? Noisy guitar? Where?", you may ask. It starts with "Drive", which wouldn't do much for me if it weren't that powerful electric guitar that adds more depth to the song's feel. It comes back again as a wall of feedback during the bridge in "Try Not To Breathe", but to a incredibly melancholic effect! This is where I suddenly realized how a feedback noise could actually drive some real emotions! Then, after the strangely upbeat "Sidewinder", the poignant "Everybody Hurts", the "filler" instrumental (those strange noises? guitar! and feedback again!). I don't see it as "filler", though. To my ears, it's an interlude between the previous song and heavy-themed "Sweetness Follows", a gorgeuos song about important issues like family and death. And the highlight of this song is the feedback guitar solo, which sounds like someone screaming in pain. It moves me every time. And this is still side one! Side two is a bit lighter, but it raise the same questions about life and mortality; "Nightswimming" is a great metaphor about innocence lost; "Find The River", with great three-part harmonies, is again about mortality. I don't really care much about "Ignoreland" and "Star Me Kitten", but they are good song anyway. Oh well, summarizing, an evocative, satisfying listen.R.E.M. Lifes Rich Pageant
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