R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996/2005) [Hi-Res]

For their tenth studio album, R.E.M. experimented with new sonic textures-the album is filled with cinematic imagery, dissonant notes and haunting effects. The band wrote and recorded much of 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi while on the road, and that vibe is reflected in themes throughout the album's songs. New Adventures was certified platinum in the US and the UK, and includes singles "E-Bow the Letter" (featuring Patti Smith) and "Bittersweet Me."

New Adventures, despite its studiocentric title, is a snapshots-from-the-road record in the tradition of Neil Young's Time Fades Away and Jackson Browne's Running on Empty. Like them, it captures a where-am-I-and-why ambience, even with its concert and sound-check material reworked in post-tour sessions. This is very much a transitional album, its feel somewhere between the chamber-folk sweep of Out of Time and Automatic for the People and the distortion-pedal party that raged on Monster. It's the work of a band pretty near its peak consolidating familiar sounds and styles while tinkering with the edges. --Rickey Wright