Deluxe Edition includes new hardware and more

Craft Recordings proudly celebrates the 25th anniversary of REM’s tenth studio album, New adventures in Hi-Fi, with a special reissue, scheduled for October 29. The bonus-packed 2-CD / 1-Blu-ray Deluxe Edition offers a wealth of audiovisual content, including the recently remastered album, 13 B-sides and Rarities, an unreleased 64-minute outdoor screening film ( shown on buildings in five cities in 1996 to promote the album’s original release), and an unreleased 30-minute EPK. In addition, the Blu-ray features the album in superb Hi-Res and 5.1 surround sound, along with five restored HD video clips, 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 – as well as new cover notes from journalist Mark Blackwell and reflections from the original four members of the group. , as well as Patti Smith, Thom Yorke, and producer Scott Litt.

An extended edition is also available as a 2 CD or digital collection, including the remastered album as well as B sides and rarities. The 2 CD features an exclusive 24 “x 24” poster and four collectible postcards, as well as a booklet with new accompanying notes and archival photos. In addition, the new remastered album will be available as a 2 LP set, pressed onto a 180 gram vinyl.

The single “Leave – Alternate Version” is available before the album. Originally recorded for the soundtrack of A Life Less Ordinary, the single offers a haunting, sparse, and siren-less version of the track from New Adventures’ album “Leave”, for which Michael Stipe re-recorded the vocals. According to Stipe, “I actually might prefer this version to the one on the record… well, I wouldn’t say I like it better, it just tells a different story with the lyrics. “

First released in September 1996, New adventures in Hi-Fi remains one of REM’s most acclaimed albums and is a favorite with band members and fans alike. The album was a worldwide hit, achieving platinum certification in the United States and reaching No.2 on the Billboard 200. Elsewhere, the album went on to become No.1 in more than a dozen countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada. Over the decades, the track has become cult, with several press retrospectives ranking it among the best albums in REM’s rich catalog of releases.

Recorded at the height of their glory, New adventures in Hi-Fi Also marks REM’s last album with drummer and founding member Bill Berry, who left the group out of court the following year. Perhaps most notable, however, is that the album allowed the band to take 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 REM’s first tour in six years. As one of the largest groups in the world, the quartet has performed in crowded arenas across North America, Europe, Australia and Japan, with the support of actors like Sonic Youth and Radiohead. Filled with cinematic narratives, haunting effects and dissonant notes, New adventures in Hi-Fi found REM exploring various sonic territories.