Originally released September 9, 1996
Reissued October 29, 2021
Craft Recordings
2xLP
Recorded during soundchecks on tour during the peak of the band's popularity in the mid-90s, New Adventures in Hi-Fi draws one of R.E.M.’s greatest triumphs from a period marred by adversity, with drummer Bill Berry suffering a brain aneurysm during a show in Switzerland and frontman Michael Stipe reeling from the deaths of friends Kurt Cobain and River Phoenix (Phoenix’s death inspiring lead single “E-Bow the Letter”). True to its title, the album finds the band in an experimental and adventurous mode with all of the glam, country, dream pop and college rock influences that inspired the group back in their days slugging it out in the bars of Athens, GA, along with subtle electronic and spaghetti-western elements brought in throughout. Throughout its sprawling 65 minutes, New Adventures in Hi-Fi captures everything that made R.E.M. what they are, if it’s not their greatest album it is definitely their most R.E.M. album.