Length 65:33 New Adventures in Hi-Fi
(1996) Road Movie
(1996) Release date 9 September 1996 Genre Alternative rock | Producer Scott Litt and R.E.M. Artist R.E.M. Label Warner Bros. Records | |
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Released September 9, 1996 (1996-09-09) Recorded 1995–1996 at various locations in the United States Nominations Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, Porin Award for Best Foreign Pop/Rock Album Similar REM albums, Alternative rock albums | ||
R e m how the west was won and where it got us 1996
New Adventures in Hi-Fi is the tenth 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
- R e m how the west was won and where it got us 1996
- R e m how the west was won and where it got us official music video
- Composition and recording
- Critical reception
- Awards
- Track listing
- Singles and B sides
- Personnel
- Chart performance
- Release history
- Songs
- References
"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."
R e m how the west was won and where it got us official music video
Composition and recording
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 have cited Neil Young's 1973 album Time Fades Away as a source of inspiration.
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."
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
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." At the same time, however, Melody Maker criticized the album's empty and flat sound caused by recording in arenas and soundchecks.
The album is Stipe's favorite from R.E.M. and he considers it the band at their peak.
Awards
New Adventures in Hi-Fi has since appeared on several lists compiling the best albums of the 1990s or all time:
It was also featured on several year-end best-of lists for 1996:
Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe:
- "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us" – 4:31
- "The Wake-Up Bomb" – 5:08
- "New Test Leper" – 5:26
- "Undertow" – 5:09
- "E-Bow the Letter" – 5:23
- "Leave" – 7:18
- "Departure" – 3:28
- "Bittersweet Me" – 4:06
- "Be Mine" – 5:32
- "Binky the Doormat" – 5:01
- "Zither" – 2:33
- "So Fast, So Numb" – 4:12
- "Low Desert" – 3:30
- "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."
Singles and B-sides
New Adventures in Hi-Fi consisted of material written during some of the same sessions as Monster and its following promotional tour; consequently, there were few outtakes or left-over tracks for inclusion as b-sides. The first three tracks were international singles, with "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us" being released only in Germany.
"Revolution" was also released from these sessions—initially on the Batman & Robin soundtrack and later on disc two of In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003.
"New Test Leper" and "The Wake-Up Bomb" were released as promotional singles for the album; the former had a music video directed by Lance Bangs and Dominic DeJoseph. All five videos from the album would later be collected on In View: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003.
The R.E.M. fan club releases a single every Christmas time, with two singles recorded during these sessions: 1996's "Only in America" (originally by Jay & The Americans)/"I Will Survive" (a Gloria Gaynor cover) and 1997's R.E.M. original "Live for Today" was backed with Pearl Jam's "Happy When I'm Crying".
Personnel
Chart performance
While New Adventures in Hi-Fi began the band's sales decline in the United States, it topped the charts in over 10 countries and reached #1 on the Top European Albums for 5 consecutive weeks. The album peaked at #2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and spent 22 weeks on chart. According to Nielsen SoundScan, it has sold 994,000 units in their homeland as of March 2007. The first single "E-Bow the Letter" received only modest radio airplay in the U.S. and peaked at #49 on the U.S. charts. In the UK, however, the single became the band's biggest hit at that point, reaching #4.
Release history
Like all R.E.M. albums since 1988's Green, New Adventures in Hi-Fi was released in a limited edition packaging containing a 64-page hardcover book designed by Chris Bilheimer and featuring photos from the Monster tour. In 2005, Warner Brothers Records issued an expanded two-disc edition of the album which included a CD, a DVD-Audio disc containing several new audio mixes of the album (5.1-channel surround sound, high resolution, AC3, Dolby Stereo, and DTS 5.1) done by Elliot Scheiner, and the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes. In addition, the DVD includes a video documentary, lyrics, and a photo gallery.
Songs
1How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us4:31
2The Wake‐Up Bomb5:08
3New Test Leper5:27