Hi Fi Way
Studio album by
You Am I
ReleasedFebruary 1995
RecordedMay – 22 September 1994
Studio
  • Greene St. Studios, New York City
  • Paradise Studios, Sydney
GenreAlternative rock
Length41:45
Label
ProducerLee Ranaldo
You Am I chronology
Sound as Ever
(1993)		 Hi Fi Way
(1995)		 Hourly, Daily
(1996)

Hi Fi Way is the second album by Australian rock band You Am I, released in 1995. Hi Fi Way was You Am I's first release with new drummer Rusty Hopkinson (formerly of Nursery Crimes) after the departure of former drummer Mark Tunaley.

Hi Fi Way reached #1 on the local albums chart and is one of the most influential and critically acclaimed Australian albums of the 1990s. In 2008, it was voted the sixth greatest Australian album of all time in The Age newspaper's 50 Greatest Aussie Albums poll. In October 2010, it was listed at No. 8 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.[1]

The album included the singles "Cathy's Clown", "Jewels and Bullets" and "Purple Sneakers".

You Am I's Tim Rogers later said of the album, "I was really high and really drunk the whole time. My ambition for it was always huge, but we're more suited to a scrappier sounding thing, with the way that I sing and play guitar. We had seven days to make it, living in New York."[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]

Rolling Stone Australia said Hi Fi Way was "a truly exceptional album, topping many people's list for Best of the Year. Period. Tim Rogers has a strong ear for melody, a telling eye for detail and the ability to make the listener feel a part of his somewhat solitary world."[4]

In a retrospective piece titled "You Am I Is the Longest Love Affair I Have Ever Had", FasterLouder writer A. H. Cayley singled out Hi Fi Way and Hourly, Daily as the two high points of the band's career, which You Am I fans speak of with a "hushed reverence".[5]

2013 reissues, concert tour

In 2013, You Am I reissued remastered versions of Sound as Ever, Hi Fi Way, and Hourly, Daily with bonus discs featuring B-sides, out-takes and live recordings.[6] In the winter of 2013, the band toured major cities of Australia on the Hi Fi Daily Double Tour, performing both Hourly, Daily and Hi Fi Way in their entirety, followed by an encore of other songs from these reissued collections.[5][7][8] Vinyl versions of the three albums were released for the first time to coincide with this tour.[9] In turn, a live recording from the 2013 tour was released as a vinyl/DVD box set titled Live Electrified in 2014.[10]

Track listing

All songs by Rogers/You Am I

  1. "Ain't Gone And Open"
  2. "Minor Byrd"
  3. "She Digs Her"
  4. "Cathy's Clown"
  5. "Jewels and Bullets"
  6. "Purple Sneakers"
  7. "Pizza Guy"
  8. "The Applecross Wing Commander"
  9. "Stray"
  10. "Handwasher"
  11. "Punkarella"
  12. "Ken (The Mother Nature's Son)"
  13. "Gray"
  14. "How Much Is Enough"

Someone Else's Crowd

Some copies of the album came with a live bonus disc, featuring songs recorded on tour in Seattle in 1994.

  1. "Sound As Ever"
  2. "Hi Fi Way"
  3. "When You Got Dry"
  4. "Forever and Easy"
  5. "Berlin Chair"
  6. "Adam's Ribs"
  7. "Cool Hand Luke"

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Hi Fi Way
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 1

Certifications

Certifications for Hi Fi Way
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[12] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ O'Donnell, John; Creswell, Toby; Mathieson, Craig (October 2010). 100 Best Australian Albums. Prahran, Vic: Hardie Grant Books. ISBN 978-1-74066-955-9.
  2. ↑ Dan Condon. "No Struggle, No Progress". Time Off. Fortitude Valley, QLD: Street Press Australia Pty Ltd (24 November 2010): 17.
  3. ↑ McDonald, Steven. "Hi Fi Way – You Am I". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Michael Dwyer (December 1995). "The Year in Recordings". Australian Rolling Stone Yearbook. Tilmond Pty Ltd. p. 123.
  5. 1 2 Cayley, A. H. (27 June 2013). "You Am I Is the Longest Love Affair I Have Ever Had". Faster Louder. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  6. ↑ Guppy, Sarah. "You Am I Announce Reissue & 2013 National Tour of Classic Albums". Tone Deaf. The Brag. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  7. ↑ "News page, circa-2013". You Am I. Archived from the original on 28 May 2013.
  8. ↑ Crawford, Anwen. "You Am I and the New Nostalgia". The Monthly. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  9. ↑ Cashmere, Paul. "You Am I to Release First Three Albums on Vinyl". Noise11. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  10. ↑ Cashmere, Paul. "You Am I to Release Live Electrified Limited Edition Box". Noise11. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  11. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – You Am I – Hi Fi Way". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1995 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
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