R.E.M. announce ‘New Adventures in Hi-Fi’ 25th anniversary edition

R.E.M.'s New Adventures in Hi-Fi turns 25 in September, and to celebrate, they're giving the album a deluxe anniversary edition on October 29 via Concord Records.

It's available in three editions. There's a remastered vinyl LP, and 2-CD deluxe edtion featuring the original album — which includes singles "E-Bow the Letter," “Bittersweet Me,” and “Electrolite” — and a bonus disc with 13 b-sides and rarities. One of those bonus tracks is an alternate version of "Leave" originally recorded for the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack. “I actually might prefer this version to the one that’s on the record," says Michael Stipe. "Well, I wouldn’t say I prefer it, it just tells a different story with the lyric." You can listen to that below.

There's also a 2-CD + Blu-ray edition that includes a never-before-released 64-minute outdoor projection film (that was shown on buildings across five cities in 1996 to promote the album’s original release), a previously unreleased EPK for the album, videos for the album's singles, as well as Hi-Res and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes of the album. There's also a 52-page hardcover book, featuring never-before-published photos, and reflections from the band, producer Scott Litt and Patti Smith.

The band's 10th album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, was an unusual album for them in many ways. It was their last album with drummer Bill Berry, and much of it was written and recorded at soundchecks during the band's 1995 Monster world tour. "We wanted to make a record about being on the road without singing about being on the road," says bassist Mike Mills. "The idea was that the feeling of being on the road would come through in the sound and feel of the record itself.”

You can watch a trailer for the New Adventures in Hi-Fi 25th Anniversary Edition, and check out the full tracklist, below.

R.E.M. – NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDTION

CD 1 – New Adventures In Hi-Fi (remastered)
How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us
The Wake-Up Bomb
New Test Leper
Undertow
E-Bow the Letter
Leave
Departure
Bittersweet Me
Be Mine
Binky the Doormat
Zither
So Fast, So Numb
Low Desert
Electrolite

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

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)