R.E.M.   ***New Adventures in Hi-Fi***  ORIGINAL 1996 RELEASE,  MY FAVORITE ALBUM FROM THESE GUYS, COVER AND VINYL ARE NEAR MINT  HATE TO LET THIS ONE GO.

• Scott Litt
• R.E.M.

1. "E-Bow the Letter"
   Released: August 27, 1996
2. "Bittersweet Me"
   Released: November 5, 1996
3. "Electrolite"
   Released: December 2, 1996
4. "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us"
   Released: April 1997

New Adventures in Hi-Fi is the 10th studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia and the following day in the United States. New Adventures in Hi-Fi was the last album recorded with founding member Bill Berry (who left the band amicably the following year), original manager Jefferson Holt, and long-time producer Scott Litt. It is also their longest studio album, clocking in at an hour and 5 minutes.

Contents

• 1Composition and recording
• 2Critical reception
  • 2.1Awards
• 3Track listing
• 4Singles and B-sides
• 5Personnel
• 6Sale chart performance
  • 6.1Weekly charts
  • 6.2Year-end charts
  • 6.3Certifications
• 7Release history
• 8References
• 9External links

Composition and recording[edit]

The album was recorded during and after the tour in support of Monster in 1995. The material on the album mixed the acoustic, country rock feel of much of Out of Time and Automatic for the People with the rock sound of Monster and Lifes Rich Pageant. The band has cited Neil Young's 1973 album Time Fades Away as a source of inspiration.[1]

Mike Mills said:

"We got into the studio feeling very happy and relieved that everyone was okay, especially Bill. It brought us all much closer and made us realise how important we are to each other. Once we'd been through a crisis like that (Berry's collapse on tour), making a record was a piece of cake. We discussed making an album of on-the-road stuff a year and a half before we went on the Monster tour. We wanted to get some of the looseness and spontaneity of a soundcheck, live show or dressing room. We used all the good songs. 'Revolution' – a song we did live – didn't make it onto this record, just like it didn't make it onto Monster (the song instead appeared on 1997's Batman & Robin) . . . . It usually takes a good few years for me to decide where an album stands in the pantheon of recorded work we've done. This one may be third behind Murmur and Automatic for the People."[2]

The band noted that they borrowed the recording process for the album from Radiohead, who recorded some of the basic tracks for The Bends while on tour and who supported the band in 1994 and 1995. R.E.M. took eight-track recorders to capture their live performances, and used the recordings as the base elements for the album. As such, the band's touring musicians Nathan December and Scott McCaughey are featured throughout, with Andy Carlson contributing violin to "Electrolite."

After the tour was over, the band went into the Bad Animals Studio and recorded four additional tracks, "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us", "E-Bow the Letter", "Be Mine", and "New Test Leper." Patti Smith came to the sessions and contributed vocals on "E-Bow the Letter." Audio mixing was finished at John Keane Studio in Athens and Louie's Clubhouse in Los Angeles with mastering by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine.

In part due to the nature of the recording process, several of the songs are about travel and motion—including "Departure", "Leave", and "Low Desert". The album's liner notes contain pictures from the road and the deluxe edition of the album is a hardcover book in a slipcase featuring more photographs of R.E.M.'s tour.

Critical reception[edit]

Critical reaction to the album was mostly favorable. Several publications lauded the album for its rich diversity, including Rolling Stone, Q, and Mojo. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic says "in its multifaceted sprawl, they wound up with one of their best records of the '90s."[3] At the same time, however, Melody Maker criticized the album's empty and flat sound caused by recording in arenas and soundchecks.[13]

The album is Stipe's favorite from R.E.M. and he considers it the band at their peak.[14]

Awards[edit]

New Adventures in Hi-Fi has since appeared on several lists compiling the best albums of the 1990s or all time:

• Magnet: Top 60 Albums 1993–2003 (#20)[15]
• Mojo: The 100 Greatest Albums of Our Lifetime 1993–2006 (#20)

It was also featured on several year-end best-of lists for 1996:

• Eye Weekly (#11)
• The Face (#28)
• Magnet (#26)
• Mojo (#4)
• New Musical Express (#16)
• Q (unranked)
• Rock Sound (French edition) (#2)
• Rolling Stone (#4)
• Spin (#11)
• Village Voice (#11)

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe:

The Hi Side

1. "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us" – 4:31
2. "The Wake-Up Bomb" – 5:08
3. "New Test Leper" – 5:26
4. "Undertow" – 5:09
5. "E-Bow the Letter" – 5:23
6. "Leave" – 7:18

The Fi Side

7. "Departure" – 3:28
8. "Bittersweet Me" – 4:06
9. "Be Mine" – 5:32
10. "Binky the Doormat" – 5:01
11. "Zither" – 2:33
12. "So Fast, So Numb" – 4:12
13. "Low Desert" – 3:30
14. "Electrolite" – 4:05

Unlike most R.E.M. albums, this vinyl release did not have custom side names and was instead released as a double album. Record one has tracks 1–6 (3 songs per side) and record two has tracks 7–14 (4 songs per side). However, the tape release had custom side names. The first side was called the "Hi-side" and the second side was called the "Fi-side."