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New Adventures in Hi-Fi is the tenth full-length studio album by the American band R.E.M. It was their fifth major label release for Warner Bros. Records, released 1996-09-09. New Adventures in Hi-Fi was the last album recorded with founding member, drummer Bill Berry - who left the band amicably the following year - original manager Jefferson Holt and long-time producer Scott Litt.
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. Guitarist Peter Buck said that the band tried so hard to be a rock band again with Monster, but it just didn't quite work out. They stopped trying, and they ended up putting together their most rock and roll record to date. They have cited Neil Young's 1973 album Time Fades Away as a source of inspiration.
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 were supporting the band in 1994 and 1995. R.E.M. brought along 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 ended up appearing on throughout the album 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."
Although it reached #2 in the U.S., spending 22 weeks on the charts, and topped the UK Album Charts (20 weeks on chart) as well as #1 on the Australian Charts, New Adventures in Hi-Fi began the band's sales decline in the United States. The first single "E-Bow the Letter" was cited as an unusual choice for radio. It subsequently 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. As of March 2007, New Adventures in Hi-Fi has sold 994,000 units in the U.S.
In 2005, Warner Brothers Records issued an expanded two-disc edition of New Adventures in Hi-Fi which includes a CD, a DVD-Audio disc containing a 5.1-channel surround sound mix of the album done by Elliot Scheiner, and the original CD booklet with expanded liner notes.
Critical reception
Michael Stipe says that New Adventures in Hi-Fi is his favorite of their albums. According to Peter Buck, when Warner Bros. heard the album that was to take them to the top - Out Of Time - they were dumbfounded: "You think the one with the lead mandolin should be the first single?!" On hearing New Adventures…, he says, the same people proclaimed, "Hey, there's three Top 10 records on here!"
Critical reaction to the album was mostly positive. Several publications lauded the album for its rich diversity, including Rolling Stone, Q, and Mojo and Stephen Thomas Erlewine from All Music says "in its multifaceted sprawl, they wound up with one of their best records of the '90s." At the same time, however some publications including Melody Maker, criticized the album's empty and flat sound caused by recording in arenas and soundchecks.
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 Seattle Studio
- "The Wake-Up Bomb" – 5:08 Charleston
- "New Test Leper" – 5:26 Seattle Studio
- "Undertow" – 5:09 Boston
- "E-Bow the Letter" – 5:23 Seattle Studio
- "Leave" – 7:18 Atlanta Soundcheck
- "Departure" – 3:28 Detroit
- "Bittersweet Me" – 4:06 Memphis Soundcheck
- "Be Mine" – 5:32 Seattle Studio
- "Binky the Doormat" – 5:01 Phoenix
- "Zither" – 2:33 Dressing Room Philadelphia
- "So Fast, So Numb" – 4:12 Orlando Soundcheck
- "Low Desert" – 3:30 Atlanta Soundcheck
- "Electrolite" – 4:05 Phoenix Soundcheck
Like most R.E.M. albums, the vinyl release has custom side names. Side one (tracks 1-6) is called the "Hi side" and side two (tracks 7-14) the "Fi side."
Singles and b-sides
New Adventures consisted of material written during the same sessions and tour as Monster; consequently, there were few outtakes or left-over tracks for inclusion as b-sides.
"E-Bow the Letter"
- "Tricycle" – 1:59 Recorded during soundcheck at the Riverport Amphitheater, St. Louis, Missouri on September 22, 1995.
- "Departure" (Rome soundcheck version) – 3:35 Recorded during soundcheck at the Paleur, Rome, Italy on February 22, 1995.
- "Wall of Death" (Richard Thompson) – 3:07 Taken from the Richard Thompson tribute album, Beat the Retreat.
"Bittersweet Me"
- "Undertow" (Live) – 5:05 Recorded at the Omni Theater, Atlanta, Georgia on November 18, 1995. Taken from the live performance video, Road Movie.
- "Wichita Lineman" (Jimmy Webb) – 3:18 Recorded at The Woodlands, Houston, Texas on September 15, 1995.
- "New Test Leper" (Live acoustic) – 5:29 Recorded at Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, Washington; April 19, 1996.
"Electrolite"
- "The Wake-Up Bomb" (Live) – 5:07 Recorded at the Omni Theater, Atlanta, Georgia on November 18, 1995. Taken from the live performance video, Road Movie.
- "Binky the Doormat" (Live) – 5:01 Recorded at the Omni Theater, Atlanta, Georgia on November 18, 1995. Taken from the live performance video, Road Movie.
- "King of Comedy" (808 State remix) – 5:36
"How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us"
- "Love Is All Around" (Reg Presley) – 3:04 Previously released on the 1996 soundtrack for I Shot Andy Warhol.
- "Sponge" (Vic Chesnutt) – 4:08 Previously released on the Chesnutt benefit album Sweet Relief II in 1996.
- "Be Mine" (Mike on the Bus Version) - 4:54
"Revolution" was also released from these sessions - initially on the Batman & Robin and later on disc two of In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003.
Other singles
"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 Christmastime, 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
- "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us"
- Bill Berry – Drums, percussion, "ennio whistle"
- Peter Buck – Guitar, bass guitar, bouzouki, mandolin
- Mike Mills - Backing vocals, piano, synthesizer
- Michael Stipe – Vocals, synthesizer
- "The Wake-Up Bomb"
- Bill Berry – Drums and percussion
- Peter Buck – Guitar
- Nathan December – Guitar
- Mike Mills – Bass guitar, backing vocals, organ
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
- "New Test Leper"
- Bill Berry – Drums and percussion
- Peter Buck – Guitar
- Mike Mills – Bass guitar, backing vocals, organ
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
- "Undertow"
- Bill Berry – Drums and percussion
- Peter Buck – Guitar
- Nathan December – Guitar
- Mike Mills – Bass guitar, backing vocals
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
- "E-Bow the Letter"
- Bill Berry – Drums and percussion
- Peter Buck – E-Bow guitar, electric sitar
- Mike Mills – Bass guitar, backing vocals, organ, Moog synthesizer, Mellotron
- Patti Smith – Vocals
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
- "Leave"
- Bill Berry – Drums and percussion, acoustic guitar, synthesizer
- Peter Buck – Guitar
- Nathan December – Guitar
- Scott McCaughey – ARP Odyssey
- Mike Mills – Bass guitar, keyboards
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
- "Departure"
- Bill Berry – Drums and percussion
- Peter Buck – Guitar
- Nathan December – Guitar
- Mike Mills – Fuzz bass, backing vocals, Farfisa organ
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
- "Bittersweet Me"
- Bill Berry – Drums and percussion
- Peter Buck – Guitar
- Scott McCaughey – Piano
- Mike Mills – Bass guitar, organ, Mellotron
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
- "Be Mine"
- Bill Berry – Drums and percussion
- Peter Buck – Bass guitar
- Mike Mills – Guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
- "Binky the Doormat"
- Bill Berry – Drums and percussion, backing vocals
- Peter Buck – Guitar
- Nathan December – Guitar
- Scott McCaughey – Farfisa organ
- Mike Mills – Fuzz bass, backing vocals, keyboards
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
- "Zither"
- Bill Berry – Bass guitar
- Peter Buck – Guitar
- Nathan December – Tambourine
- Scott McCaughey – Autoharp
- Mike Mills – Bass guitar, organ
- Michael Stipe – Count in
- "So Fast, So Numb"
- Bill Berry – Drums and percussion
- Peter Buck – Guitar
- Scott McCaughey – Piano
- Mike Mills – Bass guitar, backing vocals, organ
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
- "Low Desert"
- Bill Berry – Drums and percussion
- Peter Buck – Guitar
- Nathan December – Slide guitar
- Scott McCaughey – Piano
- Mike Mills – Bass guitar, organ
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
- "Electrolite"
- Bill Berry – Drum kit, percussion
- Peter Buck – Banjo
- Andy Carlson – Violin
- Nathan December – Guiro
- Mike Mills – Piano
- Michael Stipe – Vocals
Technical crew
- William Field – assistant engineer, Athens
- Sam Hofstedt – assistant engineer, Seattle
- Victor Janacua – assistant engineer, Los Angeles
- Adam Kasper – recording engineer, Seattle
- John Keane – recording and mixing engineer
- Scott Litt – mixing engineer
- Bob Ludwig/Gateway Mastering – mastering
- Pat McCarthy – recording engineer, Los Angeles
- Mark "Microwave" Mytrowitz – technical assistance
- Joe O'Herlihy – tour recording engineer
- Jo Ravitch – tour recording engineer
- Eric Stolz – digital editing
- Jeff Wooding – tour recording engineer
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Billboard 200 | 2 |
| 1996 | UK Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1996 | ARIA Albums Chart | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "E-Bow the Letter" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 2 |
| 1996 | "E-Bow the Letter" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 15 |
| 1996 | "E-Bow the Letter" | Billboard Hot 100 | 49 |
| 1996 | "E-Bow the Letter" | ARIA Singles Chart | 23 |
| 1996 | "Bittersweet Me" | Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 6 |
| 1996 | "Bittersweet Me" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |
| 1996 | "Bittersweet Me" | Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 28 |
| 1996 | "Bittersweet Me" | Billboard Hot 100 | 46 |
| 1997 | "Electrolite" | Billboard Hot 100 | 96 |
| 1997 | "The Wake-Up Bomb" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 30 |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – U.S. | Gold | November 18, 1996 |
| RIAA – U.S. | Platinum | November 18, 1996 |
| BPI – U.K. | Platinum | September 1, 1996 |
References
- "allmusic (((New Adventures in Hi-Fi > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums)))". Retrieved 2005-08-07.
- ^ "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Retrieved 2005-08-07.
- "allmusic (((New Adventures in Hi-Fi > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles)))". Retrieved 2005-08-07.
- Gunderson, Edna (2007-03-07). "R.E.M.: A 25-year rockin' role". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
- Cooper, Colin (2004-06-01). "On Second Thought: R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
- R.E.M. New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Warner Bros. Records, 1996).
- The "Ennio Whistle" is the two-note main theme melody of Ennio Morricone's score for Sergio Leone's 1966 spaghetti Western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
External links
| Preceded byNo Code by Pearl Jam | Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album September 22 - September 28, 1996 |
Succeeded byThe Very Best of Toni Childs by Toni Childs |
