Wednesday, 28 Nov 2007
Driven by this, wrangled in here, and travel plans arranged because of this, we’ve reacquainted ourselves with the R.E.M. catalog, specifically with the 1996 release New Adventures in Hi-Fi.
Hi-Fi was the come down record from the soaring heights and new direction displayed on Monster. It was the representation of a band on the run, evident from many of the tracks recorded during sound checks over the course of the Monster tour. Critics of the album, many as there are, often cite the resulting lack of cohesion as one of their main reservations. The combination of sound checked recordings and studio work does allow for some critique because the album starts off brilliantly before somewhat meandering through the second half until the album closes with “Electrolite.”
It’s through that lost middle section that I’ve always found my favorites on the album. The earnestness in Stipe’s vocals on “Leave” splashed against a frantic and continuous siren sounding guitar, has always been my favorite track on the album. “Departure,” another favorite, follows behind only slightly overshadowed by the previous track making it one of the best back-to-back combinations in their body of work as far as I’m concerned. The instrumental and island vibe sound of “Zither” snakes its way to the fast paced “So Fast, So Numb.” The album closes in typical R.E.M. fashion with a reflective and thought provoking number.
My affection for New Adventures in Hi-Fi comes at a cost. After its release my undying appreciation for anything and everything the band released withered for no reason that I can identify today. Where Monster brought new direction and exposed me to new genres and artists that I’d never sought out before, Hi-Fi was a nice, long, drawn-out goodbye to a band that had for all intents and purposes meant the world to me before setting me free to explore a whole new world of musical discoveries. It’s possible that I knew this at the time and why I held the record so dearly, holding on for one more album when everyone else seemed to get off the R.E.M. train at the Monster stop.
This would be the last time that drummer Bill Berry would record an album with the group, and what a wonderful record to call your last.
Myspace: R.E.M.
Video: R.E.M. - “Bittersweet Me”
Video: R.E.M. - “E-Bow The Letter”
November 28th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Oh man, i couldn’t agree more with this.
New Adventures in Hi-Fi went virtually unnoticed & yet was arguably better than any of the previous 3 R.E.M. & certainly far better than anything they have released since.
excellent note on a great (sometimes forgotten) record
November 28th, 2007 at 10:20 am
I am sorry but I disagree. New Adventures In HF was not good. It was done on the road and was rushed. This can be thrown our the window with Monster and anything else they have done since 2000. If you like R.E.M. and want to hear “good” R.E.M then listen to Reckoning, Fables, Document, Murmur and even Automatic http://FTP. Dont waste your time with this album. Dude, it went unnoticed and was forgotten for a reason!
November 28th, 2007 at 10:40 am
My love for REM seems to mirror your experience, though I think it has proved to be cyclical. At times it’s near wild heaven, and other times feeling gravity’s pull.
A Perfect Circle, indeed.
December 3rd, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Great post - I have a similar experience with R.E.M. I had really started to lose faith after “Monster” and then they did this one. Damn, if they’ve never been as good since!
I was living in Athens at the time and the R.E.M. boys used to come in to the coffee shop I was working in because their office was upstairs. We were playing Hi Fi a lot at the time and it was always strange when Stipe came in at the same time. We always tried to subtly change the music which may have actually been worse.
I blasted it in my rickety old house on Boulevard though!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.