Deluxe Edition includes previously unreleased material and more
Craft Recordings proudly celebrates the 25th anniversary of R.E.M.’s tenth studio album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, with a special reissue, set for release on October 29th. The bonus-filled 2-CD/1-Blu-ray Deluxe Edition offers a trove of audio-visual content, including 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. Additionally, the Blu-ray features the album in stunning 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. Additionally, the newly remastered album will be available as a 2 LP set, pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
Available ahead of the album is the advance single “Leave – Alternate Version.” Originally recorded for the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack, the single offers a haunting, sparse, siren-less version of New Adventures album track “Leave,” for which Michael Stipe re-recorded the vocals. Reflects Stipe, “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.”
First released in September 1996, New Adventures in Hi-Fi endures as one of R.E.M.’s most acclaimed albums and stands as a favorite among band members and fans alike. The album was a global success, achieving platinum certification in the US and reaching 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. Over the decades, the title has achieved cult status, with several press retrospectives ranking it among the top albums in R.E.M.’s rich catalog of releases.
Recorded at the height of their fame, New Adventures in Hi-Fi also marks R.E.M.’s final album with drummer and founding member Bill Berry, who left the group amicably the following year. Perhaps most remarkable, however, is that the album found the band taking a unique creative approach: writing and recording much of the LP on the road, during their 1995 Monster Tour.
The year-long outing, which began in January 1995, marked R.E.M.’s first tour in six years. As one of the biggest bands in the world, the quartet played to packed arenas across North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan, with support from acts like Sonic Youth and Radiohead. Filled with cinematic storytelling, haunting effects, and dissonant notes, New Adventures in Hi-Fi found R.E.M. exploring diverse sonic territories.
