• Sound & Vision

• 1 Feb 2022

• MIKE METTLER

R.E.M.’S lively, propulsive 1996 release New Adventures in Hi-fi gets the deluxe edition treatment in this lavish three-disc box set that includes two CDS plus a Blu-ray disc with a vintage Elliot Scheiner 5.1 mix culled from 2005’s Hi-fi CD/DVD-A combo release.

R.E.M. were the undisputed kings of American-bred alt-rock by the time the mid-1990s rolled around. Emerging from the college-town kudzu of Athens, Georgia, with the game-changing jangle of July 1981’s “Radio Free Europe” single and August 1982’s subsequent Chronic Town EP, the underground quartet perfected a more fully realized signature sound on their April 1983 full-length debut, Murmur. (Hmm, was lead singer Michael Stipe one of the foremost progenitors of mumblecore? A discussion for another time.) Soon enough, R.E.M. vaulted from indie-label darlings to major-label envelope-pushers, bringing their garage-and-club-bred sonics into the mainstream with bigger-budget production values best exemplified with March 1991’s Out of Time and most especially October 1992’s Automatic for the People. Following September 1994’s primal-driven Monster, R.E.M. wanted to reconnect with the charge they got from creating new music during their lengthy, rousing soundchecks— hence, the blueprint for the lively, propulsive feel of September’s 1996’s New Adventures in Hi-fi.

On point with the band’s predilection for recognizing 25th anniversaries, Hi-fi has recently been refurbished as a lavish three-disc box set including two Cds—one with the remastered album, the other with a baker’s dozen of B-sides and rarities—plus one Blu-ray, the latter complete with Elliot Scheiner’s vintage 5.1 mix culled from 2005’s Hi-fi CD/DVD-A combo release, plus scores of visual extras. The symmetrically inclined among us will grumble at the new set’s nonconformist dimensions, as no two R.E.M. boxes carry the same footprint—which may very well be the intention of the aforementioned Stipe, who oversees the band’s visual and physical presentations. The Hi-fi box measures 7½ x 7½ inches square and ⅝-inch deep— essentially comparable to a slim box for 45s. While I understand the philosophy behind this “no repeats” creative M.O., the grumpy voice accompanying my perpetual collector’s shelving dilemma doesn’t wanna hear about it.

Nevertheless, all three Hi-fi discs are nestled snug in quarter-moonshaped, full die-cuts positioned at the top center of each sturdy cardboard page near the back of this 56-page hardback collection. An extensive historical essay, photos, lyrics, and credits handsomely fill out the hardback’s contents.

Disc 1’s remastered one-two punch of the swirling siren call of the 7-minute Atlanta soundcheck epic “Leave” (dig those ARP Odyssey accents, courtesy producer Scott Litt) and the balls-out raucous slam of “Departure” (featuring Mike Mills’ fuzz bass and high-register counterharmony vocals) will re-attenuate you with the non-linear thrust of the core album. Disc 2’s additive gems, like the twangy acoustic interpretation of Richard & Linda Thompson’s “Wall of Death” and the shiny happy spin on The Troggs’ perennially hopeful “Love Is All Around,” reinforce R.E.M.’S penchant for piling on the bonus tracks in addition to making covers truly their own.

The Blu-ray ups the ante on what the older DVD-A offered—for the most part. New Hi-fi BD additions include 65 minutes’ worth of “outdoor projections” (though I dare anyone to sit through the entirety of this “looks better on paper” inclusion), an extended 29-minute EPK, and five videos. (Feel free to admire and/or wince at everyone’s steeped-in-the-’90s fashion choices and sartorial preferences.) In comparison, the 2005 DVD-A includes on-screen lyrics, photos, interactive discography and videography menus, album credits, and a weblink, as well as a somewhat shorter EPK. The DVD-A also sports a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround option, which the BD does not.

Though R.E.M. aficionados remain split on the 5.1 mixing approach Scheiner deployed on many key entries in the band’s studio catalog, I would submit his overall “let it breathe” methodology suits the Hi-fi vibe particularly well. Take the opening track, “How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us,” where the atmospheric nature of Stipe’s narrative rolls out like a sonic wagon train, with piano accompaniment circling both the front left and rear left quadrants, countered with buzzing organ lines tapped out in the rear right channel like a clandestine Morse code message from the Dust Bowl. The Elliot Scheiner style also suits the structure-averse “E-bow the Letter”—patti Smith’s haunting guest vocal is placed far enough back in the front stage to cast her as a sultry chanteuse nestled within your subconscious— not to mention the low-end hiss und drang of “Undertow.”

My one semi-rhetorical Q of sorts is, “Where be the Dolby Atmos?” Presently, only Automatic for the People has been granted full, and decidedly exciting, Atmos treatment on Blu-ray. (Its spatial audio equivalent is available for streaming via Amazon Music Unlimited.) Perhaps the sanctioning of an Atmos mix will be part of the conversation trail when the next R.E.M. historical release comes under discussion. Would I like to hear what, say, Chronic Town’s “1,000,000” and/or Document’s “Oddfellows Local 151” sound like in Atmos? (You bet your boxcars I would.)

R.E.M.’S mid-’90s Hi-fi adventures signaled that the band wasn’t quite done experimenting with their aural ethos, preferring not to remain trapped inside an endless garageband loop. Instead, to modify a line from “Electrolite,” the expanded edition of New Adventures in Hi-fi has the band in the place they should be—and we’re all the lucky beneficiaries.

R.E.M.— 全新高保真冒险：25 周年豪华版

R.E.M.的活泼，推进的1996年发行的《Hi-fi新冒险》在这个豪华的三碟盒装套装中获得了豪华版的待遇，其中包括两张CDS和一张蓝光光盘，其中包含从2005年的Hi-fi CD / DVD-A组合版本中挑选出来的复古Elliot Scheiner 5.1混音。

R.E.M.是1990年代中期美国另类摇滚无可争议的国王。从佐治亚州雅典的大学城葛根中走出来，随着1981年7月的"自由欧洲电台"单曲和1982年8月随后的Chronic Town EP的改变游戏规则的混乱，地下四重奏在1983年4月的全长处女作"Murmur"中完善了更充分实现的标志性声音。（嗯，主唱迈克尔·斯蒂普（Michael Stipe）是mumblecore最重要的祖先之一吗？另一个时间的讨论。很快，R.E.M从独立品牌的宠儿跃升为大厂牌的信封推动者，将他们的车库和俱乐部培育的音效带入主流，其大预算的制作价值最好地体现在1991年3月的《超时空》中，尤其是1992年10月的《自动为人民》（Automatic for the People）。以后1994 年 9 月的原始驅動的 Monster R.E.M. 希望重新聯繫起他們在漫長而激動人心的音效檢查中從創作新音樂中獲得的衝擊 - 因此，這是九月1996年《Hi-fi新冒險》的活躍，推動感覺的藍圖。

为了纪念乐队25周年纪念日的偏好，Hi-Fi最近被翻新为一个豪华的三碟盒装，包括两张CD - 一张是重新制作的专辑，另一张是面包师的十几张B面和稀有物品 - 加上一张蓝光，后者完成了Elliot Scheiner的复古5.1混音，从2005年的Hi-fi CD / DVD-A组合发行中挑选出来， 加上许多视觉附加功能。我们中间对称倾向的人会抱怨新系列的不墨守成规的尺寸，因为没有两个R.E.M盒子具有相同的足迹 - 这很可能是前面提到的Stipe的意图，他负责监督乐队的视觉和物理演示。Hi-Fi盒子的尺寸为71/2 x 71/2英寸见方，深5/8英寸 - 基本上可以与45秒的超薄盒子相媲美。虽然我理解这种"不重复"创意M.O.背后的哲学，但伴随着我永久收藏家搁置困境的脾气暴躁的声音并不想听到它。

尽管如此，所有三张Hi-Fi光盘都依偎在四分之一月形的全模切中，位于每个坚固的纸板页面的顶部中心，靠近这个56页精装本系列的背面。一篇内容丰富的历史文章、照片、歌词和致谢，精美地填写了精装本的内容。

Disc 1重新制作的7分钟亚特兰大声音检查史诗"Leave"的旋转警笛声（挖掘那些ARP Odyssey口音，由制作人Scott Litt提供）和"Departure"的球出喧闹的砰砰声（以Mike Mills的模糊低音和高寄存器反和谐人声为特色）将用核心专辑的非线性推力重新衰减您。Disc 2的附加宝石，如Richard & Linda Thompson的"Wall of Death"的twangy声学诠释，以及The Troggs常年充满希望的"Love Is All Around"的闪亮快乐旋转，加强了R.E.M.除了使封面真正成为自己的曲目之外，还喜欢堆积奖金曲目。

蓝光提高了旧DVD-A提供的赌注 - 在大多数情况下。新增的Hi-Fi BD包括65分钟的"户外投影"（尽管我敢于让任何人坐下来观看这个"在纸面上看起来更好"的内容），一个延长的29分钟的EPK和五个视频。（随意欣赏和/或欣赏每个人沉浸在90年代的时尚选择和服装偏好。相比之下，2005年的DVD-A包括屏幕上的歌词，照片，交互式唱片和摄像菜单，专辑信用和网络链接，以及一个稍短的EPK。DVD-A还具有杜比数字5.1环绕声选项，而BD则没有。

虽然R.E.M爱好者对Scheiner在乐队录音室目录中许多关键作品中部署的5.1混音方法仍然存在分歧，但我认为他的整体"让它呼吸"方法特别适合Hi-Fi氛围。以开场曲目"西方是如何赢得的，以及它在哪里得到了我们"为例，其中的大气性质 Stipe的叙事就像一列声波马车火车，钢琴伴奏在左前方和后左象限盘旋，在右后通道中嗡嗡作响的管风琴线像来自尘碗的秘密莫尔斯电码信息一样。Elliot Scheiner的风格也适合结构厌恶的"E-bow the Letter"——patti Smith令人难忘的客座歌手被放置在前舞台足够远的地方，将她塑造成一个闷热的吟唱者，坐落在你的潜意识中——更不用说"Undertow"的低端嘶嘶声和嘶哑声了。

我的一个半修辞Q是，"杜比全景声在哪里？目前，只有Automatic for the People在蓝光上获得了完全且绝对令人兴奋的Atmos处理。（其空间音频等效项可通过Amazon Music Unlimited进行流式传输。也许对Atmos混音的批准将成为讨论下一个R.E.M历史版本时对话的一部分。我想听听，比如说，Chronic Town的"1，000，000"和/或Document的"Oddfellows Local 151"在Atmos中听起来是什么样子的？（你打赌你的车厢我会的)

R.E.M.在90年代中期的Hi-Fi冒险表明，乐队还没有完全完成他们的听觉精神实验，宁愿不要被困在无休止的车库乐队循环中。相反，为了修改"Electrolite"中的一句台词，扩展版的《Hi-fi新冒险》将乐队放在了他们应该在的地方——我们都是幸运的受益者。