At My Most Beautiful

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"At My Most Beautiful"
Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Pat McCarthy
  • R.E.M.
R.E.M. singles chronology
"Lotus"
(1998) 		"At My Most Beautiful"
(1999) 		"Suspicion"
(1999)

"At My Most Beautiful" is a song by the American

UK Singles Chart
.

Origin and recording

R.E.M. bassist

Beach Boys' Brian Wilson would have written two decades prior.[3] Once guitarist Peter Buck received the basic tracks of the song from Mills, he too found the music reminiscent of Wilson.[4] Instead of avoiding the comparisons, the group instead opted to "[run] toward it", in Mills' words.[3]

"The idea for it happened driving up and down

Smile – is that right? – so I was like, 'Well, this will be my gift to [bandmates and Beach Boys fans] Peter and Mike, and Bill at the time. It was hard to write. It was a high order to say, 'I found a way to make you smile.' I had to come up with, 'OK, what are those ways?' That was tough."[5] Of the line, 'I found a way to make you smile', Stipe later recalled, "I just thought, that's the most beautiful thing in the world."[6]

Stipe had difficulty writing lyrics for the Up album.[6] In the case of "At My Most Beautiful", it took the singer a year to write the song's verse because he needed to figure out what one could do to prompt the action described in the opening line. The solution finally occurred to him one morning, and he finished writing the words in 45 minutes.[7] After a conversation with Patti Smith, Stipe was convinced that he needed to be fearless in his songwriting approach. In regards to "At My Most Beautiful", he had grown tired writing ironic love songs and consequently endeavored to create "the most romantic song I'd ever written".[6]

Blaine sitting behind a large drum set giving a thumbs up
"At My Most Beautiful" was written as a pop ballad in the style of 1960s musicians such as Brian Wilson and Hal Blaine (pictured)

Following the departure of drummer and founding member Bill Berry, the dynamic of the band changed. Buck performed drums on the song; though he admitted he was not adept at playing the instrument, he stated his skill level was sufficient to perform what he referred to as the "Hal Blaine-ish" fills heard on the recording.[4] During the final stages of production for Up in 1998, two days—June 21 and 22—were used to perform audio mixing on the song.[7]

Composition and lyrics

"At My Most Beautiful" is performed in the key of F major. There are several main chord progressions in the song: the introduction is Fmaj7–D–G minor, while the verse follows a I–III–IV–II chord sequence and the chorus ascends using a II–III–IV–V progression. In the mix, tubular and sleigh bells are heard in the right channel (with their reverberation reaching into the left), piano and bass guitar (both played in quarter note patterns) as well as bass harmonica are heard in the left, and guitar and Mike Mills' backing vocals are centered. Additional instrumentation includes organ in the chorus and cellos in the song's coda. The notes Michael Stipe sings are typical of the vocalist, focusing on the first, third, and fourth notes of the scale he's performing.[8]

"At My Most Beautiful" was written as a "gift" from Stipe to his bandmates, to indulge their fondness of

inversions on his band's Pet Sounds album, and that the cellos at the end heightens the section's resemblance to the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations".[8]

In addition to being its first tribute song, "At My Most Beautiful" was also R.E.M.'s first straightforward love song.[10] The lyrics reference leaving messages on a love interest's answering machine and what Rooksby terms "knowing obsession". He states that the song is about "the ennobling effect of love, yet is aware of its playful narcissism".[8]

Release and promotion

"At My Most Beautiful" was released as the third single from Up in early 1999.

cellist (portrayed by Rain Phoenix) experiencing a "bad day" on her way to an audition overseen by Buck, Mills, and Stipe. R.E.M. biographer David Buckley praised the narrative promo as one of the band's best.[14] Though the song was a moderate hit, its success failed to stimulate sales of Up, which by 1999 had sold a relatively low three million copies worldwide.[15]

Track listing

All songs were written by Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe unless otherwise indicated.

CD

  1. "At My Most Beautiful" (Radio Remix)
  2. "
    Later with Jools Holland – BBC Radio Theatre, London) (Iggy Pop
    )
  3. "Country Feedback" (live, Later with Jools Holland – BBC Radio Theatre, London) (Bill Berry, Buck, Mills, and Stipe)

UK CD single

  1. "At My Most Beautiful" (live, BBC Radio 1, October 25, 1998)
  2. "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" (live, Later with Jools Holland – BBC Radio Theatre, London) (Berry, Buck, Mills, and Stipe)

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "At My Most Beautiful"
Chart (1998) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[16] 39
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 28
Scotland (OCC)[18] 9
UK Singles (OCC)[19]
 10
US Adult Alternative Top 30 (Radio & Records)[20] 19

Release history

Release dates and formats for "At My Most Beautiful"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
United Kingdom March 8, 1999
  • CD
  • cassette
Warner Bros.
 [21]
Japan March 10, 1999 CD [22]
United States April 20, 1999 Radio [23]

References

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "R.E.M. - Unplugged 1991/2001: Complete Sessions". AllMusic. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  2. ^ Macdonald, John (March 12, 2009). "Stipe, Patti Smith, Others Play R.E.M. Tribute in NYC". Spin. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Forman, Bill. "Diminished But Unafraid, R.E.M. Talk About the Passion". Pulse!. November 1998.
  4. ^ a b Sprague, David. "Buck on Up". Guitar Magazine. December 1998.
  5. ^ Cavanagh, David: 'Come On, He Was Only The Drummer', Q #146, November 1998, pp96–104
  6. ^ a b c d Sakamoto, John. "Michael Stipe Talks Shop". Jam! Magazine. October 18, 1998.
  7. ^ a b Black, p. 237
  8. ^ a b c Rooksby, p. 157
  9. ^ Rooksby, p. 156
  10. ^ Buckley, p. 290
  11. ^ Fletcher, p. 335
  12. ^ Van Horn, Terri. "R.E.M. Follow TV Taping With Intimate Gig". MTV.com. February 18, 1999. Retrieved on January 23, 2013.
  13. ^ "R.E.M. To 'Party' For Cameo TV Role". MTV.com. February 11, 1999. Retrieved on January 23, 2013.
  14. ^ Buckley, p. 291
  15. ^ Doyle, Tom. "Out of Time?" Q. September 1999.
  16. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 13. March 27, 1999. p. 10.
  17. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – At My Most Beautiful". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  18. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  20. ^ "Adult Alternative Top 30". Radio & Records. No. 1301. May 28, 1999. p. 132.
  21. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 8 March, 1999: Singles". Music Week. March 6, 1999. p. 25.
  22. ^ "アット・マイ・モスト・ビューティフル | R.E.M." [At My Most Beautiful | R.E.M.] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  23. ^ "R.E.M.: At My Most Beautiful". Radio & Records. No. 1295. April 16, 1999. p. 39.

Bibliography

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