60 ALBUMS @ 60 : #12

New Adventures In Hi-Fi – R.E.M.(1996)

I know I’m in the minority when I make the statement that New Adventures In Hi-Fi is R.E.M.‘s best album.  Its numerous detractors feel it is a bit overblown, extending out to 14 tracks, and the inability of the band to settle down and record it in a single location and at a given point created an inconsistency in mood and tempo.

These, however, are precisely the sort of things that have made me increasingly love the album with each passing year.   I’m not going to say that it’s a flawless piece of work – indeed, for all that R.E.M. made many magnificent albums during their existence, including a couple towards the end of their career, they all contain something that could be nitpicked or criticised for one reason or another.

The album was recorded, for the most part, while they were out on a world tour in 1995, the first time they had undertaken such a venture in six years. It is quite strange looking back at things to fully appreciate that they had become global superstars on the back of Out of Time (1991) and Automatic For The People (1992) without ever playing what could be seen as a series of standard live shows in theatres or arenas.

It seemed a good idea at the time. The nightly set-lists would be packed with ‘the hits’, so what better way to alleviate the tedium of life on the road by using soundchecks and rehearsals to try out some new songs.

The intention was to make for a more relaxed way of recording a new record, one that the constant search for perfection in a studio would be avoided. The takes put down in the theatres could, if required, be fine-tuned at later dates with overdubs and the likes, but with these proving to be minimal, what came to be released was a double album which turned out to capture the original four members of R.E.M. at their performing peak.

Of the 14 tracks, five were recorded at soundchecks, two in Atlanta, and one in each of Orlando, Memphis and Phoenix.   Four were recorded live (but with no audience present) in Charleston, Boston, Auburn Hills and Phoenix. An instrumental track was captured in the dressing room of a venue in Philadelphia.   The remaining four, which all required a bit more technical input or contributions from musicians/singers not on the tour, were put down in the more traditional way in a recording studio in Seattle.

It all adds up to a fascinating listen. The songs were genuinely fresh and brimmming with ideas, and with much of the Monster tour set lists in ’95 heavily leaning on the three albums recorded in the early 90s, it is no surprise that the eventual contents of New Adventures In Hi-Fi proved to be a very fine blend of the acoustic and electric, as well as country rock and indie rock.

mp3: R.E.M. – Low Desert

Recorded at a soundcheck at the Omni Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.  In addition to Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe, the performance benefits from Nathan December on slide guitar and Scott McGaughey on piano.

My one regret looking back is that I only bought it on CD in 1996…..but then again, the old record deck, amplifier and speakers were in storage, and it was CDs or cassettes all the way, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to hear it.  But I did buy the 25th Anniversary re-release on vinyl and got to enjoy things all over again.

JC