From the first notes of How the west was won it’s clear NAIHF is going to be much different than Monster. It’s seemingly made up of some songs left over from that album; Wake Up Bomb, Binky the Doormat, So Fast So Numb - but it also has some that sound more like the future REM like How the West was Won, Ebow and Zither. Most of the rest of the songs fall into the middle and turn out to be the majority of the best songs.
I had a bit of a tough time with NAIHF at first. I guess I was hoping for a return to the Pre-Mainstream days before Green, Out of Time and AFTP. But as I listened to it more (due to it being apparently permanently stuck in the green van’s cd player) I recognized it as an excellent blend of the harder edged sounds/songs of Green and Monster and the more pop-ish songs from Out of Time and AFTP. Some times a hybrid or compromise can be boring because it does not push boundaries, but this is not the case with NAIHF. Interesting songs and music are plentiful.The live feel of the recordings makes them seem less polished and sanitized than AFTP and less gimmicky than Monster - finding a happy medium.
As far as favorite songs go, New Test Leper, Ebow, Bittersweet Me, Be Mine and So Fast So Numb are highlights but I think they saved the best for last. Electrolite is classic REM, wistful, a little playful and one of the best album closing songs ever.
All in all NAIHF took the best ideas from Green through Monster and summed them up in a sprawling, totally original way, one of my favorite REM albums.I never understood the “blah” reception it got when it came out. I guess a lot of it was blamed on putting kind of an “odd” song - Ebow -out as the first single. I can see the fans who thought Out of Time and AFTP were all REM was not getting it, but to me the dichotomy of the road weariness expressed in some of the songs/vocals mixed with the energy of the “live” recording of most of the songs hit just the right spot. It’s a great “road” album, like Son Volt’s “Trace” - which also has a mix of styles and a sense of floating/disconnection - it’s one of my favorite road trip albums ever, and it was enjoyable spending time with it again.
To me New Adventure is a combination of Monster and Automatic for the People. It has the more rock feel that Monster had but the lyrics and songwriting seem to be of a deeper sort like those of Automatic for the People. You can tell by the lyrics that their rise into the spotlight as well as the constant touring has had an effect on their lives. Lines such as "this fame thing, I don't get it" and the song Departure, which begins by talking about arriving after a 26 hour trip speak to that idea. At the same time song like Be Mine and Zither give a look into what direction the next few albums would take, although I think we would have preferred if the future albums were a little more like these songs. According to some sources Bill Berry wrote Leave, which makes you wonder if he had already made his decision to leave the band at that point.
Overall, this is probably my favorite REM CD. I say probably because Automatic for the people has definitely risen on the list since I had not really listen to it that much before we did recently. I guess I can blame that on a certain family member that played New Adventures for a year or more straight. I like New Adventures more, even though Automatic for the People might have had overall better song writing, because of the more rock feel which I favor. If your are in a quiet mood then Automatic wins, other than that New Adventures is the choice for me. The album has great balance with rockers like The Wake-Up Bomb but also balances them nicely with more soothing songs like Be Mine. This was a great album that still holds up an sound current 15 years later.
Released in 1996 and recorded while on tour, New Adventures in Hi-Fi is what some people consider to be R.E.M.'s last "good" album.
From the first notes of How the west was won it’s clear NAIHF is going to be much different than Monster. It’s seemingly made up of some songs left over from that album; Wake Up Bomb, Binky the Doormat, So Fast So Numb - but it also has some that sound more like the future REM like How the West was Won, Ebow and Zither. Most of the rest of the songs fall into the middle and turn out to be the majority of the best songs.
ReplyDeleteI had a bit of a tough time with NAIHF at first. I guess I was hoping for a return to the Pre-Mainstream days before Green, Out of Time and AFTP. But as I listened to it more (due to it being apparently permanently stuck in the green van’s cd player) I recognized it as an excellent blend of the harder edged sounds/songs of Green and Monster and the more pop-ish songs from Out of Time and AFTP. Some times a hybrid or compromise can be boring because it does not push boundaries, but this is not the case with NAIHF. Interesting songs and music are plentiful.The live feel of the recordings makes them seem less polished and sanitized than AFTP and less gimmicky than Monster - finding a happy medium.
As far as favorite songs go, New Test Leper, Ebow, Bittersweet Me, Be Mine and So Fast So Numb are highlights but I think they saved the best for last. Electrolite is classic REM, wistful, a little playful and one of the best album closing songs ever.
ReplyDeleteAll in all NAIHF took the best ideas from Green through Monster and summed them up in a sprawling, totally original way, one of my favorite REM albums.I never understood the “blah” reception it got when it came out. I guess a lot of it was blamed on putting kind of an “odd” song - Ebow -out as the first single. I can see the fans who thought Out of Time and AFTP were all REM was not getting it, but to me the dichotomy of the road weariness expressed in some of the songs/vocals mixed with the energy of the “live” recording of most of the songs hit just the right spot. It’s a great “road” album, like Son Volt’s “Trace” - which also has a mix of styles and a sense of floating/disconnection - it’s one of my favorite road trip albums ever, and it was enjoyable spending time with it again.
To me New Adventure is a combination of Monster and Automatic for the People. It has the more rock feel that Monster had but the lyrics and songwriting seem to be of a deeper sort like those of Automatic for the People. You can tell by the lyrics that their rise into the spotlight as well as the constant touring has had an effect on their lives. Lines such as "this fame thing, I don't get it" and the song Departure, which begins by talking about arriving after a 26 hour trip speak to that idea. At the same time song like Be Mine and Zither give a look into what direction the next few albums would take, although I think we would have preferred if the future albums were a little more like these songs. According to some sources Bill Berry wrote Leave, which makes you wonder if he had already made his decision to leave the band at that point.
ReplyDeleteOverall, this is probably my favorite REM CD. I say probably because Automatic for the people has definitely risen on the list since I had not really listen to it that much before we did recently. I guess I can blame that on a certain family member that played New Adventures for a year or more straight. I like New Adventures more, even though Automatic for the People might have had overall better song writing, because of the more rock feel which I favor. If your are in a quiet mood then Automatic wins, other than that New Adventures is the choice for me. The album has great balance with rockers like The Wake-Up Bomb but also balances them nicely with more soothing songs like Be Mine. This was a great album that still holds up an sound current 15 years later.
ReplyDelete