R.E.M. have announced details of a 25th anniversary reissue of their acclaimed 1996 album, ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi’.
The reissue, set to be released on October 29, comes as part of the band’s 40th anniversary celebrations, and is being previewed by an alternate version of the song ‘Leave’, originally recorded for the soundtrack of A Life Less Ordinary.
The new expanded edition of ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi’ comes in a 2CD/1 Blu-Ray Deluxe Edition format, as well as an Expanded Edition 2CD version. Featured in the release are a newly remastered version of the album, B-sides and rarities from the era, an hour-long film only previously shown as projections on buildings to promote the album in 1996, and a hardcover book featuring photographs and memories of the album from the band, Patti Smith, Thom Yorke and more. Fans can pre-order the reissues here.
Of the newly released version of ‘Leave’, vocalist Michael Stipe said: “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.”
Drummer Mike Mills added: “We wanted to make a record about being on the road without singing about being on the road. The idea was that the feeling of being on the road would come through in the sound and feel of the record itself,” he added, with guitarist Peter Buck saying: “The idea was, ‘Let’s challenge ourselves’. My feeling was, it’ll show exactly where we’re at right now in a way that maybe some of the records don’t at all. This record was just an attempt to be who we were at that minute.”
Listen to the alternate version of ‘Leave’, watch an unboxing trailer and see the reissue’s tracklist below:
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)
R.E.M. Outdoor Projections – Saturday Sept 7, 1996 – 5 cities (64:56)
‘New Adventures in Hi-Fi’ EPK – previously unreleased 30 min version (29:13)
‘New Adventures in Hi-Fi’ 5.1 Audio
‘New Adventures in Hi-Fi’ – Hi-Resolution Audio
‘E-Bow the Letter’ (Music Video)
‘Bittersweet Me’ (Music Video)
‘Electrolite’ (Music Video)
‘How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us’ (Music Video)
‘New Test Leper’ (Music Video)
Earlier this year, R.E.M. announced the reissue of their debut single ‘Radio Free Europe’ to mark 40 years since the track’s initial release.
The 1983 version of the track is already well-known among the band’s fans, and the reissue allowed fans to experience the original 1981 recording when it arrived last month.
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