THE best things often happen by accident, and if R.E.M.'s 10th album turns out to be their best, then it will be one happy accident indeed. New Adventures In Hi Fi is the album's somewhat arrogant title - after all, hasn't the entire musical universe already been explored, excavated and exploited? But R.E.M. are not making grandiose claims of breaking new ground - for them, this really is a whole new adventure, and they embark on it with all the subjectivity and wide eyed wonder that keeps them vibrant and vital.
New Adventures In Hi Fi was written and recorded during R.E.M.'s Monster World Tour of 1995, and soundchecks became extended sessions during which many of the songs were worked out. The band had brought an eight track studio with them on tour to record live performances and new songs, and by the end of the tour they had brought their latest adventure to near completion.
"The idea was to graft together stuff that was recorded live with stuff that was done in the studio," quoth Michael Stipe in the official bumph. "We didn't want to lose the momentum of the stuff that we'd written and recorded during the tour, so it's kind of like we're still a little bit on the road, and when you're on the road, you do things fast, so we made this record a lot faster."
In this case, faster was better, and New Adventures has the spontaneity that R.E.M. were striving for in their 1994 album, Monster, but were unable to create. The album also has a looser, less uptight feel, and thus it seems to spread itself out more to embrace the band's vast creative horizons. There are echoes of Life's Rich Pageant's pioneering spirit, Document's ethical workmanship, and even Murmur's obtuse outlook. More than any of these, however, it is an album you can really immerse yourself in, getting lost in the thick undergrowth of R.E.M.'s unique atmosphere, and catching fleeting glimpses of dark shadows and dancing lights.
"If there's something thematic to this record, it's that it is very similar to our first album, Murmur," says Stipe. "When we were on the road for the first time, in 1982 and 1983, travelling from town to town and playing small clubs, the songs that emerged were about travel and movement and being away from home, wherever home is. And this record has at least a little bit of the same feel. The songs we wrote on the road have a feeling of movement, of passage, a feeling of being distant, whether it's geographic distance or otherwise."
So, is R.E.M.'s latest opus an excellent adventure or a bogus journey? Come with me into the woods, and we shall try to track dawn that elusive quality which makes R.E.M. the most important band in the world. Let's hope this is not their last great adventure.
. How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us
A salt, shuffling intro leads into some languid piano and lazy bleeps, and Michael Stipe's vocals sound nicely downtrodden as he sings a sad and sorry tale, ending each chorus with a sudden, sharp "aaaghh!" The pianos tumble over each other during the break, adding to the feeling of falling. A superb, surprising opener.
. The Wake Up Bomb
Stipe's vocals swagger over Buck's dirty, descending guitar riff, and you just know he's just taking the Michael out of something. In this case, it's overweening lame, and one of his targets seems to be a certain Mancunian band who like to rhyme "supersonic" with "gin n tonic". This one crushes Eyeliner into dust.
. New Test Leper
"I can't say that I love Jesus/That would be a hollow claim," sings Stipe in this upbeat, country folk tune which addresses some of the bigger issues of spirituality. The flanged guitars add some pretty shapes to the pathos.
. Undertow
Feedback guitars a la U2 grab you in their current before submerging you underneath wave after wave of riffola. Stipe's vocals are strong and soaring as he sings, "I'm drowning - me!" This is one to dive headlong into.
. E-Bow The Letter
This one is going to drive commercial radio programmers crazy. The first single lifted from the album, E Baw The Letter is unwieldy right dawn to its intriguing title, named after the guitar effect Buck uses to full, er, effect on this tune. Stipe's stream of consciousness is like a slower, more thoughtful It's The End Of The World As We Know It, and the dark vocals of Patti Smith emerge slowly from behind the orchestral arrangements and acoustic guitars. A masterpiece, but hardly a big smashtastic hit single, pop pickers.
. Leave
The melody line is established by a soft, acoustic guitar and organ intro, before a wild, frenzied electronic wail sets the pace for a hard, heavy grungy tune.
. Departure
A classic R.E.M. style rock tune, with Wire like guitars, wired up words, and wild harmonies from Mike Mills.
. Bittersweet Me
Another rich, mid tempo tune replete with layered acoustic guitars and insistent, urgent electric guitar riffs. This one looks like becoming my personal favourite.
. Be Mine
"I wanna be your Easter bunny/I wanna be your Christmas tree" sings Stipe, but this is no Bryan Adams tune, rather a charming, love struck song with a heartwarming, modulating refrain.
. Binky The Doormat
Who is Binky and why is everybody wiping their feet on his head? I don't know, but I do know that, even at their most whimsical, R.E.M. still manage to seriously rock.
. Zither
A pleasant little instrumental filler which features, well, a zither of course.
. So Fast, So Numb
We're really getting into some badlands here, with Stipe letting loose his vitriol like a suicidal punk in redneck bar. Once again. Buck's guitars are like runaway juggernauts.
. Low Desert
The penultimate tune is a dusty, low dawn epic which wouldn't sound out of place on a Neil Young & Crazy Horse album.
. Electrolite
New Adventures in Hi Fi bows out with a beaty, big hearted tune fell of shiny, happy images: "Hollywood is under me, I'm Martin Sheen, I'm Steve McQueen, I'm Jimmy Dean." No you're not, you're Michael Stipe and you're a wizard, a true star.
