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All rights reserved.New Adventures in Hi-Fi - R.E.M. (CD 1996)
The story of my life in trying timesReview created: 04/11/08
by: pretzel_logic -- a member of Epinions
Pros:
Some excellent tracks, intriguing lyrical content and musical experimentation
Some excellent tracks, intriguing lyrical content and musical experimentation
Cons:
The rockers are terrible, many tracks are overlong, general lack of cohesion
The rockers are terrible, many tracks are overlong, general lack of cohesion
REM is...
Michael Stipe - Vocals
Peter Buck - Guitar
Mike Mills - Bass
Bill Berry - Drums
THE OPEN ROAD. It's a place that some find utterly attractive, while others are repelled by it. The idea of experimenting with new ideas, finding new places to go and see...There's an element of foolishness to it all; you could easily remain where you are and not lose a beat, or gamble your time and money for a chance at a thrill. Musicians spend their lives living like this, and New Adventures In Hi-Fi was recorded out on the road while on tour from 1995-1996. The cover says it all, really.
Meeting up and bonding over Velvet Underground and Patti Smith records, Peter Buck and Michael Stipe formed REM in 1980. Back then, the band's sound was made up of jangling guitars and moody atmospherics, but that would change throughout their tumultuous career. The band would eventually get signed to IRS Records after their demo grabbed the label's attention. Their EP Chronic Town was released in 1982 and the rest is history. Along the way to their eventual superstardom in 1992 with the thoughtful (and superb) Automatic For The People, the band were very popular on college radio, but really only broke through in the mainstream with "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and "The One I Love", which would go on to become staples of 80's rock radio.
New Adventures In Hi-Fi was released in September 1996 following 1994's failed pseudo fuzzy glam-rock experiment Monster. As I mentioned earlier, much of the album was recorded during that tour. Oh, and here's a piece of trivia: Radiohead recorded The Bends while touring with them during that period. I'm not entirely sure what the significance of that is at the moment, but I figured it would be intriguing to, like, two of you.
Part of what made the earlier REM albums so great for me is their brevity and their catchiness. It's what they've gone back to with this year's very good Accelerate album, and they're definitely all the better for it. Unfortunately, the band forgot this at some point, and albums like this one, Monster, and Up were created to mixed success. I must say that I very much enjoy the latter two, but even I must admit that they were a detriment to their legacy. Neither one sold incredibly well, and both were received to mixed critical reactions. That certainly isn't all there is to judge an album by, but there's a reason they went back to the drawing board.
New Adventures is pretty much what it says. It's an album filled with experimentation, but not in the most obvious sense. Seldom has Stipe opened himself up like he does here through his lyrics, and the band experiments with as many weird instruments as they can get their hands on. Plus, the shock of listening to a 7-minute REM song never quite wears off. However, in spite of all this, I find New Adventures to be one of the least enjoyable REM records I've heard, and not simply because it's "challenging". The main problem I have with this record is its density. For an album that claims to be so very experimental, it's really frustrating that there's only 14 tracks on it. It tries for a sprawling feel, but instead comes off as poorly-sequenced, choppy, and incoherent due to a number of unnecessarily long tracks that break up any flow the album may get going. Let's discuss those.
First offender is lumbering rocker "The Wake-Up Bomb". I already hate this track as it is; the lyrics are utter gibberish ("I look good in metallic sick/wraparound blackout tease/I scud along the horizon/I drink some sweet tree tea"), the guitars sound like crap, and the only thing that keeps me from skipping it every single time is its powerful, strutting chorus, which manages to reference both Queen and T. Rex in a 20-second time span, and appropriately at that. Regardless, it's still a terrible song, and one that simply refuses to end. At a sprightly 3 minutes, it could have been passable. As it is, it's the equivalent of watching a homeless man get drunk and fall down. Amusing, but very, very sad and, ultimately, a waste of time. Better, but equally unnecessary is the 7-minute runtime of "Leave". Its squealing, metallic backdrop is an intriguing change of pace, and its melody is strong. However, the band chooses brute force over finesse with walls of sludgy guitar riffage and strained, shouty vocals, thereby washing out that once solid melody. The other problem? The chorus simply isn't much of a payoff, and the song never climaxes. 7 minutes with no climax should be a crime. You know what I mean.
To be fair, indulgence isn't always the album's problem. Occasionally, the shorter tracks let it down as well. The 2.5 minute "Zither" is essentially the same set of riffs over and over again. Played on either a zither (obviously) or possibly a guitar with a ton of tremolo put on it, the track grates and adds nothing, but the melody of it is at least passable. I just don't care for the choice of instrument, whatever that may be. "Departure" is REM's own stab at making a "Heart Of Rock N' Roll"-esque road song, with Stipe naming off random cities in the first verse (and attempting to shout out whatever rhymes in second) as grinding guitars growl in a rather predictable manner. It's short and painless, but lacks a good hook.
However, not everything about this album sucks. In fact, I've mostly just dwelt on the negatives so far. One of the best things about this album is its fearlessness, both lyrically and musically, and many of its tracks highlight this.
Let's start at the top. Opener "How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us" is atmospheric, groovy, and nearly seductive. Keyboards color the track with warmth and melody, and Stipe provides some off-kilter verses that fit in well. I love the cacophonous piano breakdown in the middle. This is what the best stripped-down music sounds like; it provides the band with a clean, empty canvas to skilfully color yet, in spite of its subtlety, it never approaches dullness. "New Test Leper" is also really gorgeous. It's nothing more than a repetitive chord progression, but Michael Stipe pours his heart out on this track RE: religion, and the melody they choose to repeat is lovely. It's upbeat and unrelentingly positive musically, but the lyrics keep it grounded:
"You are lost and disillusioned!"
what an awful thing to say.
I know this show doesn't flatter.
It means nothing to me.
I thought I might help them understand
but what an ugly thing to see.
"I am not an animal"
subtitled under the screen
"Undertow" is also filled with religious discussion, and in an equally explicit manner, but is much darker and less passive both lyrically and musically. It's one of the few heavy alterna-rock tracks on the album that really works for me, as it has the guts to dabble in the avant garde, and the lyrical content, while not something that I personally agree with, is extremely ballsy and never feels contrived. It's overall a very strong effort, though I must say that it borders on overlong itself. I'm just positively biased I suppose.
"E-Bow The Letter" is one of the album's less transparent tracks. It's difficult to tell if they wanted to make a love song here or not. It's filled with the classic non sequiturs that made Stipe such a beloved writer to begin with. The music is equally obscure and mysterious, brooding over Stipe's half-rapped lyrics like a thick fog. Their hero Patti Smith adds a weary vocal melody to the chorus, one that I very much enjoy. The track has become a fan-favorite, and rightfully so. It's a clear highlight. More obvious relationship tracks include "Bittersweet Me" and "Be Mine". The former has a jangling, slightly quirky verse melody, but the song isn't particularly well-formed, as the verses, pre-chorus and chorus seem to aim for completely different goals. The chorus in particular takes the momentum away, launching into shouted, grungy rock n' roll seemingly out of nowhere. The lyrics in it aren't particularly strong either. However, I still believe that, with some extra thought, it could have been truly great. The latter is a sludgy power-ballad that isn't afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve. The biggest flaw of the track is the sheer amount of time it takes to get going but, once it does, it reaches a lumbering, yet rather epic climax that's excellent lighter-waving material. Good stuff, dewy-eyed romanticism and all.
The remaining tracks are all in the second half and are definitely a mixed bag. "Binky The Doormat" is a bizarre cross between Bittersweet Me (sludgy, "epic" chorus and all) and Wake-Up Bomb that goes nowhere; it hangs in this awkward mid-tempo rock limbo that saps the track of its melody, yet prevents it from being good material to rock out to. "So Fast, So Numb" isn't really any different in that regard. It's OK, but the passion in the lyrics doesn't come through in the music, and the band's choice to place an old-timey piano in this sludgy rocker is not a particularly good one. Like many tracks on the album, it lacks dynamics, but it means well, and has a pretty solid melody. It just doesn't come together well for me at all. "Low Desert" has no other aim but to sound badass, and does a solid job of it. A combination of New Adventures' grungy alterna-rock and the soundtrack to a western, it's filled with dusty slide guitars, a well-placed organ and, as an added bonus, a really kickin' bass line. It's a strange novelty, but feels authentic, and sticks out as a highlight in a very disappointing second half.
I want to make a separate paragraph for "Electrolite" because everybody adores this song, and I have one very large issue with it: it's a blatant, unapologetic rip-off of their own song "Nightswimming", except worse. I'm going to take some heat for this, but it's pretty obvious. You can sing the lyrics to that track over the offending one and not miss a beat. In the verses, the only difference, as far as I can hear, is a single chord. I can deal with a band stealing from themselves and others (I am an Oasis fan, after all), but the least they could have done is improve the song or, I don't know, use a different lead instrument than the song they're ripping off. What made Nightswimming so great was its intimacy; the lovely piano, the passionate vocal...songs about swimming around naked in the middle of the night have never sounded so good before or since. Electrolite isn't lyrically poor either...
20th century go and sleep
Really deep. We won't blink.
Your eyes are burning holes through me
I'm not scared, I'm outta here
...but the sugary, upbeat quality of the track completely ruins any passion it could have channeled from Nightswimming's grand melody. And the vocal? Weak sauce in comparison. Regardless, the song it draws from is truly brilliant, so I can't hate it that much.
OK, it's pretty clear that I have some issues with this record, and I would like to think that they're justified. This was a hard album to review since so many of the tracks have similar flaws, but I tried my best. To me, the obvious problem is that the band did not spend the time necessary to finish these tracks, and the flaws are there for all to see. Verses that don't connect properly to their respective choruses, rewrites of previous tracks, indulgent arrangements, and painful filler make listening to New Adventures In Hi-Fi a frustrating experience. Regardless, there are some really creative and excellent tracks here that show REM at their most vulnerable and experimental. The first half in particular is pretty strong. Therefore, I feel the rating I gave the album is justified in spite of its flaws.
Track listing
1. How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us (4:31) **** 1/2
2. The Wake-Up Bomb (5:08) ** 1/2
3. New Test Leper (5:26) **** 1/2
4. Undertow (5:09) ****
5. E-Bow The Letter (5:23) **** 1/2
6. Leave (7:18) *** 1/2
7. Departure (3:28) ***
8. Bittersweet Me (4:06) *** 1/2
9. Be Mine (5:32) ****
10. Binky The Doormat (5:01) ***
11. Zither (2:33) ***
12. So Fast, So Numb (4:12) ***
13. Low Desert (3:30) ****
14. Electrolite (4:05) *** 1/2
New Adventures In Hi-Fi (65:33) 6.5/10
Michael Stipe - Vocals
Peter Buck - Guitar
Mike Mills - Bass
Bill Berry - Drums
THE OPEN ROAD. It's a place that some find utterly attractive, while others are repelled by it. The idea of experimenting with new ideas, finding new places to go and see...There's an element of foolishness to it all; you could easily remain where you are and not lose a beat, or gamble your time and money for a chance at a thrill. Musicians spend their lives living like this, and New Adventures In Hi-Fi was recorded out on the road while on tour from 1995-1996. The cover says it all, really.
Meeting up and bonding over Velvet Underground and Patti Smith records, Peter Buck and Michael Stipe formed REM in 1980. Back then, the band's sound was made up of jangling guitars and moody atmospherics, but that would change throughout their tumultuous career. The band would eventually get signed to IRS Records after their demo grabbed the label's attention. Their EP Chronic Town was released in 1982 and the rest is history. Along the way to their eventual superstardom in 1992 with the thoughtful (and superb) Automatic For The People, the band were very popular on college radio, but really only broke through in the mainstream with "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and "The One I Love", which would go on to become staples of 80's rock radio.
New Adventures In Hi-Fi was released in September 1996 following 1994's failed pseudo fuzzy glam-rock experiment Monster. As I mentioned earlier, much of the album was recorded during that tour. Oh, and here's a piece of trivia: Radiohead recorded The Bends while touring with them during that period. I'm not entirely sure what the significance of that is at the moment, but I figured it would be intriguing to, like, two of you.
Part of what made the earlier REM albums so great for me is their brevity and their catchiness. It's what they've gone back to with this year's very good Accelerate album, and they're definitely all the better for it. Unfortunately, the band forgot this at some point, and albums like this one, Monster, and Up were created to mixed success. I must say that I very much enjoy the latter two, but even I must admit that they were a detriment to their legacy. Neither one sold incredibly well, and both were received to mixed critical reactions. That certainly isn't all there is to judge an album by, but there's a reason they went back to the drawing board.
New Adventures is pretty much what it says. It's an album filled with experimentation, but not in the most obvious sense. Seldom has Stipe opened himself up like he does here through his lyrics, and the band experiments with as many weird instruments as they can get their hands on. Plus, the shock of listening to a 7-minute REM song never quite wears off. However, in spite of all this, I find New Adventures to be one of the least enjoyable REM records I've heard, and not simply because it's "challenging". The main problem I have with this record is its density. For an album that claims to be so very experimental, it's really frustrating that there's only 14 tracks on it. It tries for a sprawling feel, but instead comes off as poorly-sequenced, choppy, and incoherent due to a number of unnecessarily long tracks that break up any flow the album may get going. Let's discuss those.
First offender is lumbering rocker "The Wake-Up Bomb". I already hate this track as it is; the lyrics are utter gibberish ("I look good in metallic sick/wraparound blackout tease/I scud along the horizon/I drink some sweet tree tea"), the guitars sound like crap, and the only thing that keeps me from skipping it every single time is its powerful, strutting chorus, which manages to reference both Queen and T. Rex in a 20-second time span, and appropriately at that. Regardless, it's still a terrible song, and one that simply refuses to end. At a sprightly 3 minutes, it could have been passable. As it is, it's the equivalent of watching a homeless man get drunk and fall down. Amusing, but very, very sad and, ultimately, a waste of time. Better, but equally unnecessary is the 7-minute runtime of "Leave". Its squealing, metallic backdrop is an intriguing change of pace, and its melody is strong. However, the band chooses brute force over finesse with walls of sludgy guitar riffage and strained, shouty vocals, thereby washing out that once solid melody. The other problem? The chorus simply isn't much of a payoff, and the song never climaxes. 7 minutes with no climax should be a crime. You know what I mean.
To be fair, indulgence isn't always the album's problem. Occasionally, the shorter tracks let it down as well. The 2.5 minute "Zither" is essentially the same set of riffs over and over again. Played on either a zither (obviously) or possibly a guitar with a ton of tremolo put on it, the track grates and adds nothing, but the melody of it is at least passable. I just don't care for the choice of instrument, whatever that may be. "Departure" is REM's own stab at making a "Heart Of Rock N' Roll"-esque road song, with Stipe naming off random cities in the first verse (and attempting to shout out whatever rhymes in second) as grinding guitars growl in a rather predictable manner. It's short and painless, but lacks a good hook.
However, not everything about this album sucks. In fact, I've mostly just dwelt on the negatives so far. One of the best things about this album is its fearlessness, both lyrically and musically, and many of its tracks highlight this.
Let's start at the top. Opener "How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us" is atmospheric, groovy, and nearly seductive. Keyboards color the track with warmth and melody, and Stipe provides some off-kilter verses that fit in well. I love the cacophonous piano breakdown in the middle. This is what the best stripped-down music sounds like; it provides the band with a clean, empty canvas to skilfully color yet, in spite of its subtlety, it never approaches dullness. "New Test Leper" is also really gorgeous. It's nothing more than a repetitive chord progression, but Michael Stipe pours his heart out on this track RE: religion, and the melody they choose to repeat is lovely. It's upbeat and unrelentingly positive musically, but the lyrics keep it grounded:
"You are lost and disillusioned!"
what an awful thing to say.
I know this show doesn't flatter.
It means nothing to me.
I thought I might help them understand
but what an ugly thing to see.
"I am not an animal"
subtitled under the screen
"Undertow" is also filled with religious discussion, and in an equally explicit manner, but is much darker and less passive both lyrically and musically. It's one of the few heavy alterna-rock tracks on the album that really works for me, as it has the guts to dabble in the avant garde, and the lyrical content, while not something that I personally agree with, is extremely ballsy and never feels contrived. It's overall a very strong effort, though I must say that it borders on overlong itself. I'm just positively biased I suppose.
"E-Bow The Letter" is one of the album's less transparent tracks. It's difficult to tell if they wanted to make a love song here or not. It's filled with the classic non sequiturs that made Stipe such a beloved writer to begin with. The music is equally obscure and mysterious, brooding over Stipe's half-rapped lyrics like a thick fog. Their hero Patti Smith adds a weary vocal melody to the chorus, one that I very much enjoy. The track has become a fan-favorite, and rightfully so. It's a clear highlight. More obvious relationship tracks include "Bittersweet Me" and "Be Mine". The former has a jangling, slightly quirky verse melody, but the song isn't particularly well-formed, as the verses, pre-chorus and chorus seem to aim for completely different goals. The chorus in particular takes the momentum away, launching into shouted, grungy rock n' roll seemingly out of nowhere. The lyrics in it aren't particularly strong either. However, I still believe that, with some extra thought, it could have been truly great. The latter is a sludgy power-ballad that isn't afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve. The biggest flaw of the track is the sheer amount of time it takes to get going but, once it does, it reaches a lumbering, yet rather epic climax that's excellent lighter-waving material. Good stuff, dewy-eyed romanticism and all.
The remaining tracks are all in the second half and are definitely a mixed bag. "Binky The Doormat" is a bizarre cross between Bittersweet Me (sludgy, "epic" chorus and all) and Wake-Up Bomb that goes nowhere; it hangs in this awkward mid-tempo rock limbo that saps the track of its melody, yet prevents it from being good material to rock out to. "So Fast, So Numb" isn't really any different in that regard. It's OK, but the passion in the lyrics doesn't come through in the music, and the band's choice to place an old-timey piano in this sludgy rocker is not a particularly good one. Like many tracks on the album, it lacks dynamics, but it means well, and has a pretty solid melody. It just doesn't come together well for me at all. "Low Desert" has no other aim but to sound badass, and does a solid job of it. A combination of New Adventures' grungy alterna-rock and the soundtrack to a western, it's filled with dusty slide guitars, a well-placed organ and, as an added bonus, a really kickin' bass line. It's a strange novelty, but feels authentic, and sticks out as a highlight in a very disappointing second half.
I want to make a separate paragraph for "Electrolite" because everybody adores this song, and I have one very large issue with it: it's a blatant, unapologetic rip-off of their own song "Nightswimming", except worse. I'm going to take some heat for this, but it's pretty obvious. You can sing the lyrics to that track over the offending one and not miss a beat. In the verses, the only difference, as far as I can hear, is a single chord. I can deal with a band stealing from themselves and others (I am an Oasis fan, after all), but the least they could have done is improve the song or, I don't know, use a different lead instrument than the song they're ripping off. What made Nightswimming so great was its intimacy; the lovely piano, the passionate vocal...songs about swimming around naked in the middle of the night have never sounded so good before or since. Electrolite isn't lyrically poor either...
20th century go and sleep
Really deep. We won't blink.
Your eyes are burning holes through me
I'm not scared, I'm outta here
...but the sugary, upbeat quality of the track completely ruins any passion it could have channeled from Nightswimming's grand melody. And the vocal? Weak sauce in comparison. Regardless, the song it draws from is truly brilliant, so I can't hate it that much.
OK, it's pretty clear that I have some issues with this record, and I would like to think that they're justified. This was a hard album to review since so many of the tracks have similar flaws, but I tried my best. To me, the obvious problem is that the band did not spend the time necessary to finish these tracks, and the flaws are there for all to see. Verses that don't connect properly to their respective choruses, rewrites of previous tracks, indulgent arrangements, and painful filler make listening to New Adventures In Hi-Fi a frustrating experience. Regardless, there are some really creative and excellent tracks here that show REM at their most vulnerable and experimental. The first half in particular is pretty strong. Therefore, I feel the rating I gave the album is justified in spite of its flaws.
Track listing
1. How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us (4:31) **** 1/2
2. The Wake-Up Bomb (5:08) ** 1/2
3. New Test Leper (5:26) **** 1/2
4. Undertow (5:09) ****
5. E-Bow The Letter (5:23) **** 1/2
6. Leave (7:18) *** 1/2
7. Departure (3:28) ***
8. Bittersweet Me (4:06) *** 1/2
9. Be Mine (5:32) ****
10. Binky The Doormat (5:01) ***
11. Zither (2:33) ***
12. So Fast, So Numb (4:12) ***
13. Low Desert (3:30) ****
14. Electrolite (4:05) *** 1/2
New Adventures In Hi-Fi (65:33) 6.5/10
Review ID: 10000000006854671
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