1.Drive [edit] (4:25) 2.It's a Free World, Baby (5:11) 3.Winged Mammal Theme (2:55) 4. First We Take Manhattan (6:06)
The first single, and opening track, from the classic Automatic for the People album. Unfortunately, as something of a latecomer to R.E.M., I missed out on most of their finest B-sides, but thankfully Laura had a copy of this over in America, which I "liberated".
Although I've described the version of Drive here as an edit, it's not
a radically changed one. In fact, the only difference is that the whispered
count-in that starts the album version has been removed, in order to make the
track more radio-friendly. Even so, it's not very often that you hear those
words in connection with this song, a surprising choice of comeback single. It's
not the most obvious opener to an album (though it's less of a curveball than
'Radio Song' had been the previous time) and it's a fair guess that the record
company would have preferred the more obviously hit-like 'Man on the Moon' or
'Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite' to be the first single. Still, it does give quite a
good indication of the record's downbeat direction.
It seems almost
superfluous to describe this track. One of its most distinctive features is the
orchestra, arranged by none other than John Paul Jones of
Led Zep fame. So dramatic is this that Automatic... is frequently thought
of as a string-drenched album, even though they only appear on four tracks out
of twelve. The book R.E.M. Inside Out picks up on the connection to US
chart-topper 'Rock On' by David Essex, with its circling musical phrases and Stipe's
impressionistic snatches of lyrics: "Hey kids, rock & roll" is a direct
quote. However, this lyric is often interpreted as political - "Bushwacked" is
an obvious swipe at the then-president, and "Ollie, ollie in come free" might be
an allusion to Oliver North and the Iran-Contra affair. Or not.
Although it didn't appear until 1992, It's A Free World, Baby is in fact an outtake from the previous year's Out Of Time album. Its most distinctive feature is probably the synthesised flute which runs through the verses in combination with clipped staccato guitars - an effect the band clearly liked so much that they recycled in for 'You're in the Air' on 1998's Up album. Note also the (admittedly not very original) lyrical references to "Sleep sweet dream", which turn up again on the hit 'The Great Beyond'. However, the reason why this song wasn't used on an album in its original form probably lies in the slightly awkward transition to the chorus, which doesn't quite work despite Mike Mills' deadpan repetitions "I don't need it (I don't need it)/ I hit my head (he hit his head)". This falls more into the realms of interesting curiousity than true lost gem, although the band themselves don't seem to agree - in case you missed it on this single, they licensed it to the soundtracks of Friends and Coneheads, as well as re-issuing it themselves on the bonus disc with the "deluxe" edition of 2003's In Time compilation.
Speaking of soundtracks brings us to Winged Mammal Theme, which was supposedly intended for Tim Burton's Batman movie. According to Buck, when the band were approached the only thing they had in the can was a vaguely cinematic-sounding piano instrumental, over which they dubbed themselves singing "Batman" in falsetto in a way that slightly recalled the original TV theme. Unsurprisingly the track was rejected and despite this Warner Brothers being both the film studio and the record company, they were forbidden to use the name "Batman" in the title. Whether or not this is true, the result is moderately entertaining but no more.
The final track is probably the second best; their version of Leonard Cohen's First We Take Manhattan. Cohen originally released the song on his album I'm Your Man (the one where he's eating a banana on the front, which devotees consider a great sign of his humour), and R.E.M.'s rendition is among the best of their many forays into the world of tribute albums - in this case the similarly-titled I'm Your Fan. Whilst R.E.M. don't exactly reinvent the song, theirs is a spirited performance and the vocal styles of Stipe and Mills (who sings the middle-eight) are sufficiently unlike the original to make the exercise worthwhile. Personally, I'm not particularly his fan, but I've always considered this one of his best compositions, even if I don't completely understand it. There's another link to Up here, by the way - that album's 'Hope' was based on the riff from Cohen's 'Suzanne'.
You all know what happened next, don't you? Automatic for the People became one of the most succesful records of all time, despite never quite reaching the top of the US chart. The band then followed up with the disappointing grunge effort that was 1994's Monster and 1996's rather more convincing New Adventures In Hi-Fi before Bill Berry left the band in 1997. The band have continued to record and play live since - indeed, as I finish this article in February 2005, they're touring the UK.
ONLINE:
Official
site.
The Polish-based R.E.M. Is On! is a good source of info, available in three languages.
The long-established File Under R.E.M. (est 1995!) offers a lot of archive material.
Also long-established is the fan community at Murmurs.com.
There's a UK-based fansite at REMonline
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