You Am I - Hi Fi Way

Hi Fi Way is the second studio album by Australian alternative rock band You Am I, originally released in February 1995 via Ra and WEA Records.

You Am I were formed in Sydney in 1989 by Tim Rogers on vocals, guitar, mellotron and Hammond organ; his older brother Jaimme Rogers on drums; and Nick Tischler on bass guitar. At an early gig, a fan provided "a big spiritual spiel about '.... I am you... you am i...'. The band took that as the inspiration for the working title" for the group's name. This initial line-up was short-lived, Jaimme left before the end of the following year and was replaced by Mark Tunaley on drums. In the band's 1993 song, "Jaimme's Got a Gal", Tim explained why his brother left.

By April 1992 Tischler had left the band "because he didn't think he could fulfill Tim's vision". He was replaced by their previous live sound mixer, Andy Kent, on bass guitar. In May they released a five-track EP, Goddamn, which was produced by Tom Kazas. By that stage, Rogers had established his credentials as a fine songwriter and the band a reputation as an exciting, dynamic live act.

They are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums, which have each debuted at the number-one position on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Hi Fi Way sticks to the raw and of their debut album but ups the anti. It’s not for nothing Hi Fi Way is consistently included in lists of great albums. It opens with “Ain’t Gone And Open” which starts off with a stuttering drum beat that stops and starts like the young and pimply drummer would on his first live performance.

You Am I kicks into full gear with the Who-esque track “Cathy’s Clown” which features a formula which becomes the norm on most You Am I singles. The strong rhythm with the unexpected key changes that somehow fit. The aptly titled track “Punkarella”continue on the high energy pace, driving the album onwards.

While this album has the unfortunate merit of ‘inspiring’ other Australian acts like Jet and Wolfmother and The Vines, Hi Fi Way marks the transition of the Punk-Grunge sounding You Am I to the mature, young adulthood sound of third album Hourly, Daily.

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".

This album is a 20^th Anniversary limited edition on blue coloured vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve with a printed inner sleeve, pressed in Australia via Sony Music.