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Bittersweet Me: R.E.M. Revisits 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi' for 25th Anniversary

August 25, 2021 By Joe Marchese 4 Comments

R.E.M. New Adventures in Hi Fi

BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM

Craft Recordings is continuing its ongoing R.E.M. reissue series with a 25th anniversary edition of the Georgia band's tenth studio album New Adventures in Hi-Fi.  On October 29, a 2CD/1BD Deluxe Edition will present the newly remastered original album, a disc of B-sides and rarities, and a Blu-ray with numerous features including a 64-minute outdoor projection film (originally shown on buildings across five cities in 1996 to promote the album release), a 30-minute EPK (Electronic Press Kit), five HD-restored music videos, and the album in both high-resolution stereo and 5.1 surround sound.  It's all housed in a 52-page hardcover book with liner notes by Mark Blackwell, archival photos, and reminiscences from all four band members plus Patti Smith, Radiohead's Thom Yorke, and producer Scott Litt.  The single "Leave (Alternate Version)," recorded for the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack, is streaming now.

New Adventures in Hi-Fi was R.E.M.'s fifth album for the Warner Bros. label and the final album with both Scott Litt and drummer/founding member Bill Berry.  Its inspirations were diverse - from Neil Young (with his blend of acoustic country-rock with harder sounds) to Radiohead (who toured with R.E.M. and from whom they borrowed the process of recording tracks during soundcheck, on the tour bus, and backstage to then utilize on the studio album).  Patti Smith added vocals to "E-Bow the Letter," a No. 2 Alternative Rock hit that also reached No. 4 on the U.K. Singles Chart.  "Bittersweet Me" did almost as well, making No. 6 Alternative Rock and No. 19 across the pond.  Both of those singles cracked the top fifty of the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 49 and No. 46, respectively; "Electrolite" squeaked in at No. 96 with a U.K. placement of No. 29.

The album, released in September 1996, fared even better than its singles.  While it stalled just shy of the top spot in the U.S. at No. 2, it topped the charts internationally in over a dozen countries including in the U.K., Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland.  R.E.M.'s longest studio album, it has since been certified double platinum in the United States and Gold and Platinum throughout the world.

Those looking for fewer Adventures than on the 2CD/1BD set will find a 2CD or digital collection without the Blu-ray content.  The 2CD iteration boasts an exclusive 24" x 24" poster and four postcards as well as a slimmed-down booklet.  The remastered album only will be available as a 2-LP set pressed on 180-gram vinyl with lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio.  A limited-edition pressing on clear and black marbled vinyl was briefly available at R.E.M.'s official store (limited to 1,000 units worldwide); it appears to have sold out within moments yesterday.

In the press release, Peter Buck looks back on New Adventures: "Most records, you go in the studio and you just do 'em. And years later all you really remember is vaguely where you stayed, and the songs and the recording process. But this one I remember every bit of it. It was an experience. It was f**king tough, but we made a record. And it was as challenging as anything I've ever done."

New Adventures in Hi-Fi is due in various formats from Craft Recordings on October 29.  You'll find pre-order links as well as the complete track listing with discography below!

R.E.M., New Adventures in Hi-Fi: 25th Anniversary Edition (Craft/Concord CR00440, 2021)

2CD/1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2CD (Discs 1 & 2 below only): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP (Original album only): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Disc 1: Original album (released as Warner Bros. 46320, 1996)

  1. How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us
  2. The Wake-Up Bomb
  3. New Test Leper
  4. Undertow
  5. E-Bow the Letter
  6. Leave
  7. Departure
  8. Bittersweet Me
  9. Be Mine
  10. Binky the Doormat
  11. Zither
  12. So Fast, So Numb
  13. Low Desert
  14. Electrolite

Disc 2: B-Sides

  1. Tricycle
  2. Departure
  3. Wall of Death
  4. Undertow (Live)
  5. Wichita Lineman
  6. New Test Leper (Live Acoustic)
  7. The Wake-Up Bomb (Live)
  8. Binky the Doormat (Live)
  9. King of Comedy (808 State Remix)
  10. Be Mine (Mike on Bus Version)
  11. Love is All Around
  12. Sponge
  13. Leave (Alternate)

Disc 2, Tracks 1-3 from "E-Bow the Letter" CD single - Warner Bros. 9 43763-2, 1996

  • Track 1 recorded live in soundcheck at the Riverport Amphitheater, St. Louis, MO - 9/22/1995
  • Track 2 recorded live in soundcheck at the PalaEur, Rome, Italy - 2/22/1995
  • Track 3 also available on Beat the Retreat: Songs by Richard Thompson - Capitol CDP 07777 95929 2 0, 1994

Disc 2, Tracks 4-6 from "Bittersweet Me" CD single - Warner Bros. 9 43790-2, 1996

  • Track 4 recorded live at The Omni, Atlanta, GA - 11/18/1995
  • Track 5 recorded live at The Woodlands, TX - 9/15/1995
  • Track 6 recorded live at Bad Animals Studio, Seattle, WA - 4/19/1996

Disc 2, Tracks 7-9 from "Electrolite" CD single - Warner Bros. 9 43810-2, 1997

  • Tracks 7-8 recorded live at The Omni, Atlanta, GA - 11/18/1995

Disc 2, Tracks 10-12 from "How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us" European CD single - Warner Bros. 9362-43851-2, 1997

  • Track 11 also available on I Shot Andy Warhol: Music from and Inspired by the Original Motion Picture - TAG Recordings/Atlantic 92690-2, 1996
  • Track 12 also available on Sweet Relief II: The Gravity of the Situation (The Songs of Vic Chesnutt) - Columbia CK 67573, 1996

Disc 2, Track 13 from A Life Less Ordinary (Original Soundtrack) - Inner-State Recordings/London 314 540 809-2, 1997

Blu-ray

  • R.E.M. Outdoor Projections
  • New Adventures in Hi-Fi EPK
  • New Adventures in Hi-Fi 5.1 surround and hi-res audio (from CD/DVD reissue - Warner Bros. R2 73950, 2005)
  • E-Bow the Letter (music video)
  • Bittersweet Me (music video)
  • Electrolite (music video)
  • How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us (music video)
  • New Test Leper (music video)

Categories: News Formats: Blu-Ray, CD, Digital Download, Digital Streaming Genre: Classic Rock, Rock Tags: R.E.M.

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

Connect With Joe: FacebookTwitter

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Comments

  1. Johnathan says

    August 25, 2021 at 11:37 am

    I've really been looking forward to the news of this deluxe edition because it's my second-favorite R.E.M. album, and well, the band certainly found a way to underwhelm. There is *no* unreleased audio to include?! No demos, no additional live recordings? I'll still buy it because I want the hardback book with stories of the album, but man, what a disappointment. And that marbled vinyl sold out way too fast, so maybe there should be an additional variant (of course, I know there's a backlog on vinyl production too).

    My only guess re: unreleased content is that they've decided there's enough left from that era to warrant a separate release, comprising a "lost" R.E.M. record featuring the four original members, at some future point. Otherwise, this makes little sense!

    Reply
    • Michael Grabowski says

      August 25, 2021 at 11:09 pm

      I have the same reaction. More than any other album of theirs, this was the one I have really anticipated, counting down the years for this fall to arrive. The surprisingly killer special edition of Monster (not counting the remixed album disc) really lifted my expectations for this one.

      After ignoring the B-side & rarity double-dip on most of the other special eds, why load up on them here? Let's hear some of those soundcheck and backstage recordings! Let's explore that "challenging" recording "experience" that Buck mentions.

      Reply
  2. wardo says

    August 25, 2021 at 12:43 pm

    As long as they're including all the B-sides and extras from the era, where's "Revolution"?

    Reply
  3. Adam says

    August 26, 2021 at 8:08 am

    What gets me is the other reissues HAVEN'T been including any b-sides. So if you want all the b-sides, you need to get the digital collection (or a future physical release of it)... And then you have all these songs twice. They would have been better off putting out another Monster live show than just this. Sigh.

    Reply

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