FEATURE:
Vinyl Corner
R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi
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THERE are a few R.E.M. albums that…
IN THIS PHOTO: R.E.M. in 1996/PHOTO CREDIT: Anton Corbijn
have divided critics and, whilst 1996’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi has split some, there has been a lot of praise for it. I have seen some reviews that felt New Adventures in Hi-Fi was inferior to previous albums like Automatic for the People (1992), and Out of Time (1991), but I think the legends of Athens, Georgia put out a stunner in 1996. 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. I love how, whatever is happening in music, R.E.M. do their own thing are sound completely different to anything else around. Big albums of 1996 include Beck’s Odelay, DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing….., the Fugees’ The Score, and Manic Street Preachers’ Everything Must Go. I think R.E.M.’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi is equal to them all – and it goes to show what a varied year 1996 was! New Adventures in Hi-Fi clocks in at over an hour and, in terms of running time, it is their longest album. Michael Stipe has said that New Adventures in Hi-Fi is his favourite album from the band, and I think R.E.M. are very proud of it – as they should be. More commercial albums like Out of Time, and Automatic for the People might contain more of the more memorable hits, but New Adventures in Hi-Fi feels deeper and more interesting.
Alongside instant songs like E-Bow the Letter are more nuanced songs like Undertow, and Be Mine. R.E.M. were on this golden run in the 1990s, and they followed the huge Monster in 1994 with New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Even though, arguably, New Adventures in Hi-Fi was R.E.M.’s last truly great record before a (natural) decline, I think they continued to produce great work until their split. Perhaps there were some in 1996 who were judging the album based on R.E.M.’s previous work or what was happening at the time. In years since, New Adventures in Hi-Fi has grown in status, and it is seen as one of R.E.M.’s classics; a natural evolution and album that should not be compared to Monster, Document, or Out of Time, for instance. Unlike a lot of longer albums, I think New Adventures in Hi-Fi is a truly rewarding listen and one is never bored. How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us is a stunning opening track, and Electrolite ends things superbly. There is a distinct contrast between the first and second sides of New Adventures in Hi-Fi. The first side is the ‘Hi’ side, whilst ‘Fi’ is the second half; we get a nice contrast of the Acoustic and Country sounds of albums like Out of Time with the more Rock-based sound of Monster. It means that, whatever period of R.E.M. you prefer, you get something that will satisfy you – rather than an album that was quite restricted in its sounds and genres. Since its release, New Adventures in Hi-Fi has been ranked alongside the best albums of all-time.
I think it is definitely in the top-three R.EM. albums, and it was an album I was aware of back in 1996 – even though I have dug deeper now than I did when it was initially released. In their review, this is what AllMusic had to say:
“Recorded during and immediately following R.E.M.'s disaster-prone Monster tour, New Adventures in Hi-Fi feels like it was recorded on the road. Not only are all of Michael Stipe's lyrics on the album about moving or travel, the sound is ragged and varied, pieced together from tapes recorded at shows, soundtracks, and studios, giving it a loose, careening charm. New Adventures has the same spirit of much of R.E.M.'s IRS records, but don't take the title of New Adventures in Hi-Fi lightly -- R.E.M. tries different textures and new studio tricks. "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us" opens the album with a rolling, vaguely hip-hop drum beat and slowly adds on jazzily dissonant piano. "E-Bow the Letter" starts out as an updated version of "Country Feedback," then it turns in on itself with layers of moaning guitar effects and Patti Smith's haunting backing vocals. Clocking in at seven minutes, "Leave" is the longest track R.E.M. has yet recorded and it's one of their strangest and best -- an affecting minor-key dirge with a howling, siren-like feedback loop that runs throughout the entire song. Elsewhere, R.E.M. tread standard territory: "Electrolite" is a lovely piano-based ballad, "Departure" rocks like a Document outtake, the chiming opening riff of "Bittersweet Me" sounds like it was written in 1985, "New Test Leper" is gently winding folk-rock, and "The Wake-Up Bomb" and "Undertow" rock like the Monster outtakes they are. New Adventures in Hi-Fi may run a little too long -- it clocks in at 62 minutes, by far the longest album R.E.M. has ever released -- yet in its multifaceted sprawl, they wound up with one of their best records of the '90s”.
There is no denying that R.E.M. did not want to repeat themselves and follow Monster with something that was very similar. That did, to an extent, alienate some critics, but most were thoroughly impressed and loved New Adventures in Hi-Fi. In their review of 1996, NME wrote this:
“Next up, 'New Age Leper' comes on more melancholy. Reminiscent of 'Man In The Moon', it sets religion against television and uses the chat show as symbolic of Stipe's predicament - he's worshipped as a superstar and yet it gives him no power and no influence. Even in the process of making this record, he feels morally bankrupt: "I know this show doesn't matter," he barely whispers, "It means nothing to me..." More horrific still is 'Undertow'. Hardly audible above the band's cacophony, he contemplates suicide and then trashes the romance of the option. "I don't need no heaven," he wails. "I don't need religion/I am in the place I ought to be/I am breathing water..." So there's no solace in the legendary way out then, no dumb notion of joining his friend Kurt Cobain in "that stupid club" which guarantees immortality through membership of the rock'n'roll hall of fame. Imagine, it's so dark there's no escape, even through death! And then hear 'E-Bow The Letter' where Stipe reads through a list reminiscent of 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)' only drained of all the energy and joy.
While Patti Smith mewls in the shadows like a vampire, Stipe basically just gives up on relationships. It's a deliberately perverse first single with which to launch an album, an act which once more indicates that REM have lost all inclination to play the game and pander to the promotional market.
'Leave' and 'Departure' follow, both ragged blow-outs. The former is continually punctuated by a siren that annoys like a persistent car alarm at the dead of night, as though the band are actually challenging us to stick with the song".
If you are a fan of R.E.M. but have not really listened to New Adventures in Hi-Fi, then I would urge you to give it a spin and discover an album that is not often spoken about as highly as Automatic for the People, but I think it is just as good. I love the fact that the band themselves rate the album so highly, and one can really hear them together and committed to each song. It is a shame that R.E.M. are no longer making music together, but we have brilliant albums such as New Adventures in Hi-Fi that remind us what they gave to the world. If you can buy it on vinyl then do so, as the record sounds incredible! As a caveat, I would have to warn people that the album is quite expensive, as it is a double album, and it is fairly rare. One can get a copy through Discogs for around £120 (not including packaging) and, whilst that it is very steep, I think an album like New Adventures in Hi-Fi is such a rewarding listen, and it is as much an investment as a simple purchase – if the vinyl is too expensive then, naturally, you can stream it or grab the album on C.D. I shall leave it there, but I wanted to proffer and highlight as 1996 classic from…
ONE of the most iconic bands ever.