R.E.M. marks 25th anniversary of 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi' with expanded reissue

Craft Recordings celebrates the 25th anniversary of R.E.M.’s tenth studio album New Adventures in Hi-Fi with a special reissue, available for pre-order today and set for release on October 29.

The bonus-filled 2-CD/1-Blu-ray Deluxe Edition includes the newly remastered album, 13 B-sides and rarities, a never-before-released 64-minute outdoor projection film (shown on buildings across five cities in 1996 to promote the album’s original release), and a previously unreleased 30-minute EPK. The Blu-ray features New Adventures in Hi-Fi in Hi-Res and 5.1 Surround Sound audio, plus five HD-restored music videos including “Bittersweet Me,” “Electrolite,” and “E-Bow the Letter.”

Housed in a 52-page hardcover book, the collection includes archival photographs—many of which have never been published—plus new liner notes from journalist Mark Blackwell and reflections from all four original band members, as well as from Patti Smith, Thom Yorke, and producer Scott Litt.

An Expanded Edition is also available as a 2-CD or digital collection, including the remastered album along with B-sides and rarities. The 2-CD offers an exclusive 24” x 24” poster and four collectible postcards, as well as a booklet featuring new liner notes and archival photos. 

The newly remastered album will be available as a 2-LP set, pressed on 180-gram vinyl, with lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Fans can preview all physical formats via the official unboxing trailer here. A limited-edition pressing on clear and black marbled vinyl is also available exclusively at R.E.M.’s official store (limited to 1,000 worldwide), along with special New Adventures in Hi-Fi merchandise.

Available via digital platforms now is the advance single “Leave – Alternate Version.” Originally recorded for the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack saw Michael Stipe re-record the vocals this time.

Reflects Stipe, in a press release, “I actually might prefer this version to the one that's on the record… Well, I wouldn’t say I prefer it, it just tells a different story with the lyric.” Fans can stream or download the single now, and pre-save the album.

First released in September 1996, New Adventures in Hi-Fi achieved platinum certification in the U.S. and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Elsewhere, the album went to No. 1 in more than a dozen countries, including Australia, the UK, and Canada.

New Adventures in Hi-Fi was R.E.M.’s final album with drummer and founding member Bill Berry, who left the group amicably the following year. It was mostly created during their 1995 Monster tour.

The band traveled with a mobile recording truck, capturing new songs on an 8-track during soundchecks (as well as in various backstage areas and on the tour bus). The year-long outing, which began in January 1995, marked R.E.M.’s first tour in six years. 

That March, Berry collapsed on stage from an aneurism and spent the next month recuperating. Mills, meanwhile, underwent intestinal surgery in June. A month later, Stipe had emergency surgery for a hernia (which, he asserts, occurred while performing the song “Undertow”).

After the band returned from the eventful—yet highly successful—run of dates, they entered the studio with their longtime producer, Scott Litt, to record a few final tracks and put finishing touches on others.

Among them was the seven-minute-long “Leave;” “E-Bow the Letter,” featuring backing vocals from Patti Smith; “New Test Leper,” which Buck proclaims is his favorite R.E.M. song; and “How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us,” one of several songs on the album inspired by Stipe’s experiences living in Los Angeles.

Upon its release, New Adventures in Hi-Fi marked R.E.M.’s longest studio album, with a total run-time of 65 minutes. 

Click here to pre-order New Adventures in Hi-Fi on 2-CD/1-Blu-Ray, 2-CD or 2-LP, or to stream the single and pre-save the deluxe digital album.

NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI 25TH ANNIVERSARY TRACKLISTS:
Deluxe Edition (2-CD/1-Blu-Ray):

Disc 1 – New Adventures in Hi-Fi (remastered audio)

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 and Rarities

1. Tricycle (Instrumental)
2. Departure (Live Rome Soundcheck / Rome, Italy / 2/22/1995)
3. Wall of Death
4. Undertow (Live / Atlanta, GA / 11/18/1995)
5. Wichita Lineman (Live / Houston, TX / 9/15/1995)
6. New Test Leper (Live Acoustic / Seattle, WA / 4/19/1996)
7. The Wake-Up Bomb (Live / Atlanta, GA / 10/4/1995)
8. Binky the Doormat (Live / Atlanta, GA / 11/18/1995)
9. King of Comedy (808 State Remix)
10. Be Mine (Mike on Bus version)
11. Love Is All Around
12. Sponge
13. Leave (Alternate Version)

Disc 3 (Blu-Ray)

1. R.E.M. Outdoor Projections – Saturday Sept 7, 1996 – 5 cities (64:56)
2. New Adventures in Hi-Fi EPK – previously unreleased 30 min version (29:13)
3. New Adventures in Hi-Fi 5.1 Audio
4. New Adventures in Hi-Fi – Hi-Resolution Audio
5. E-Bow the Letter (Music Video)
6. Bittersweet Me (Music Video)
7. Electrolite (Music Video)
8. How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us (Music Video)
9. New Test Leper (Music Video)