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RADIOHEAD
RATING: 8
PLAY THESE: CREEP, STOP WHISPERING, LURGEE
SKIP THESE: ANYONE CAN PLAY GUITAR, BLOW OUT
A humble debut from a band renowned for over-the-top experimental musings, Pablo Honey is an enjoyable guitar-based indie-pop record that sounds quite unlike any other in Radiohead's impressive discography. The songs themselves are relatively straightforward pop tunes (at least by the band's infamously quirky standards), but still possess an beautiful ethereal quality that makes the band sound positively otherworldly. There are some amazing performances on this record. Singer Thom Yorke's melodies are a definite strongpoint, his vocal lines standing out independently of the music in a manner uncommon in contemporary rock. The singer's voice is also notable for its beauty and versatility, as his style ranges from fragile to venomous, angelic to caustic, and everything in between. Guitarist Johnny Greenwood's axe-work also impresses, his violent attack and sinewy guitar lines sounding refreshing and original in an age when precious few guitar gods dot the musical landscape.
All in all, it is a a great album, with little filler and a number of very strong tracks. Of particular note is the beautiful hit single 'Creep,' a statement so huge that for a time it even overshadowed the band itself, as its self-loathing lyrics struck a chord among Generation Xer's around the globe ("I'm a creep/ I'm a weirdo/ what the hell am I doing here?/ I don't belong here"). The vicious guitar lines are also a treat, with Greenwood's riffs reaching out and strangling the listener through sheer volume and emotional intensity. 'Stop Whispering,' too, is a showstopper of some magnitude, building to a mind-blowing climax in the coda that foreshadows 1997's 'Paranoid Android.' On the softer side of the equation, 'Vegetable,' 'Prove Yourself,' and 'Lurgee' are all pleasingly melodic ballads that equal the sheer emotional power of the group's louder material. In the end, Pablo Honey is a minor masterpiece that Radiohead has unjustly ignored and/or criticized in subsequent years. If you ever wanted to find out what Radiohead sounded like before Pro Tools software, be sure to check out this one out.
RATING: 9
PLAY THESE: MY IRON LUNG, THE TRICKSTER, PUNCHDRUNK LOVESICK SINGALONG
SKIP THESE: NONE
Fantastic. A stop-gap in between Pablo Honey and The Bends, this EP is the best Radiohead product that you likely haven't heard. Clocking in at over thirty minutes, the lengthy My Iron Lung could easily have been marketed as a full-length album, but instead was released as a mini-album. Apart from the title track and an acoustic version of 'Creep,' these are all-new songs, all of which could have easily fit in on The Bends. Of particular interest is 'The Trickster,' and hard-driving epic that makes esoteric references to a "perfect child facsimile," and 'My Iron Lung,' a chaotic masterpiece that starts off with a beautiful Beatlesque guitar line and builds to a frenetic sonic roar of chromatic power chords and screaming lead guitar. 'Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong' is a lovely ballad, as is 'Lozenge of Love,' both of which measure up to anything on the previous album. 'Lewis (Mistreated) is a fantastic up-tempo album with energy to spare - an obvious link between the indie pop of the previous album and the more refined sound of The Bends. Buy it today.
RATING: 10+
PLAY THESE: THE BENDS, JUST, FAKE PLASTIC TREES, HIGH AND DRY
SKIP THESE: NONE
Radiohead's guitar-driven masterpiece, The Bends is the band's breakthrough 1995 album and the all-important artistic statement that proved their was more to Yorke and company than so-called slacker anthems like 'Creep.' Unfortunately, England was far too preoccupied with Tony Blair's Cool Britannica and the "Blur vs. Oasis" controversy to really notice the album for what it is - the best album of the early 1990's. Indeed, it took a really long time for The Bends to capture the public's fancy. Luckily, the album's excellent fifth single, 'Street Spirit,' went on to become a massive hit, and Radiohead quickly leapfrogged past the other bloated, coked-out Britpop bands to become the premier musical group in England. And with each passing listen, The Bends only gets stronger; one can only sit back and marvel at how the band managed to create this perfect blend of innovation and strong, hook-filled song writing.
It would not even be a stretch to assert that this album stands up to anything that the Beatles ever came up with during their illustrious career. Sure, the Beatles were able to stay at a higher level longer that Radiohead ever managed to, but this album is beyond what we can expect from mere mortals. And it has everything going for it. You want loud, frenetic freak-outs with a little bit of soul and melody? Be sure to listen to 'My Iron Lung,' 'The Bends' and 'Just." You want understated ballads with fantastic vocals and musical arrangements you can really sink your teeth into? Check out 'Fake Plastic Trees,' 'Nice Dream,' and 'Street Spirit.' You want melodic pop with unusual production qualities a la OK Computer? Better take a listen to 'Planet Telex' and 'Sulk.' In short, every single song on this album has something to offer; the album has such fantastic songwriting and enough stylistic variation to keep anyone with ears - or at least anyone with good musical sense - smitten for life. The sequencing is fantastic, and the production is utterly amazing, as guitarist Johnny Greenwood and crew plug into their effects gear and create some truly otherworldly sounds - alien music, if you will.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that The Bends is pretty straightforward when compared to what Radiohead would attempt to do in later years. In fact, many longtime Radiohead fans still regard the album as a holy grail, a religious relic of untold importance to worship and hold dear while the band continues to embark upon increasingly esoteric projects of varying quality.
RATING: 10+
PLAY THESE: PARANOID ANDROID, EXIT MUSIC, KARMA POLICE, LUCKY
SKIP THESE: NONE
This is the pinnacle, the magnus opus, the masterpiece.....oh heck, there simply aren't enough adjectives to describe Radiohead's greatest achievement to date. Although its strange, otherworldly sounds may have initially baffled some Radiohead fans (most of whom were expecting The Bends Part II), OK Computer is the band's defining work, an album of such ambition and beauty that it dwarfs the groups subsequent material in almost every conceivable manner. After all, where can go possibly go after you've created one of the greatest concept albums in the history of rock music? Yeah, you heard right, OK Computer is a concept album. Although it may be difficult to define exactly what the concept might be at times, the album invariably returns to a single, overarching theme: modern technology, and the tendency of humans to both loathe and embrace it. In the case of OK Computer, Radiohead sneers at networking yuppie "pigs" while at the same time embracing modernity in the form of digital technology. Indeed, few rock albums have used technology to this extent, and while some rock purists may shrink at the cold, detached electronic sounds, it cannot be denied that the album goes where few others have dared to go in rock history.
With a few exceptions, OK Computer is generally slower and quieter than the previous two Radiohead albums. The band has clearly broken with its indie-pop past here - you're not going to hear any three chord power pop a la 'Killer Cars' on this album. Nevertheless, each of the songs carries such an emotional punch that it would be foolhardy to suggest that Radiohead is getting soft. 'Exit Music,' the album's most emotive track, is a perfect example of this, it's spooky violent-tinged lyrics ("we hope that you choke") combining with a slowly building arrangement to create a cathartic sonic experience by the final verse. 'Lucky,' 'The Tourist,' and 'Subterranean Homesick Alien' push all the same buttons, making one marvel at just how great the band has become. Even more interesting is 'Karma Police,' a 'Sexy Sadie' rip-off that - whisper it - may even eclipse the Beatles' original in all aspects; the strange feedback sound that segues into 'Fitter Happier' is a nice touch. Nevertheless, the album's centerpiece is the schizophrenic 'Paranoid Android,' the epic of all epics, a fan favorite of gargantuan proportions. Clocking in at over six minutes, the track akin to Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' without the dodgy operatic singing, an amazing hodgepodge of song snippets that references everything from "crackling pig skin" to "vomit" in a brilliant fashion. Wonderfully quirky.
AIRBAG:
HOW AM I DRIVING? [EP] (1997)
RATING: 7
PLAY THESE: PALO ALTO, POLYETHYLENE (PARTS 1 & 2), AIRBAG
SKIP THESE: MEETING IN THE AISLE, A REMINDER
A collection of seven OK Computer outtakes, Airbag: How Am I Driving? contains four brilliantly innovative cuts - and three aimless electronic noodlings that foreshadow the computer-generated ambience of the controversial Kid A. Indeed, 'Meeting in the Aisle,' 'A Reminder,' and 'Melatonin' would not have sounded out of place on Kid A - Radiohead's future experimental direction should have come as no surprise to fans who sussed out this interesting collection of largely forgotten castaways. Nevertheless, the EP does contain a fair number tracks that kick some serious buttocks. Among them, 'Palo Alto' is a grinding, dirty track with fantastically overblown riffing that sounds like a definite A-side contender, although its uptempo nature likely rendered it incompatible with the largely downbeat OK Computer. 'Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2)' chug along in a similarly bombastic vein, while 'Pearly' is an undeservedly neglected gem with some more great guitar work and spacey production. The best song, of course, is the title track, its swirling guitar motif, compressed drums, and morbid lyrical content rendering it almost unspeakably beautiful. All in all, this is a must-buy for any Radiohead fan. At this stage, the band had so much great material that they could afford to toss away great songs on EP's and the flip side of singles. It was almost criminal.
RATING: 9
PLAY THESE: OPTIMISTIC, HOW TO DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY, THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
SKIP THESE: TREEFINGERS, IN LIMBO
No other Radiohead divides its own fan base like the infamous Kid A. While some dismiss the album as digitally generated crap, others regard it as a breathtakingly original experiment that the band somehow managed to pull off in glorious fashion. And while I fall into the latter category, I must confess that I hated the album the first time I heard it. After all, is there any greater shock than a Radiohead album without electric guitars and real drums? After recovering from the initial surprise I gradually came to love the album for what it did have going for it: a wonderfully contradictory mixture of cool, detached electronica and unbridled emotion. In essence, Kid A disdains modernism while using its technology to express itself. Of course, this dichotomy lies at the heart of most of Radiohead's music, but this is the moment when they best expressed this inner struggle in musical form. True, Kid A is not as consistently great as, say, OK Computer, but it is still one of the band's most remarkable creations, if only for the fact that it is completely and utterly original. There simply isn't any music out there that sounds even remotely like this. Such a musical departure would almost certainly have sounded the death knell for lesser mortals, but Radiohead survived the inevitable backlash because of a single, undeniable fact: the music is still fantastic.
From the opening bars of 'Everything in its Right Place,' it is clear that Radiohead is exploring uncharted territory. Warm, pulsating keyboards (a staple on this album) kick things off, while Yorke stutters his way through the stanzas, his electronically altered voice sounding both alien and childlike. Stuttering Pro Tools enhanced voices on the disturbing 'Kid A' are even stranger, and the song's drum loops signal the reality that live drums play only a small role in the new Radiohead. Moving on, 'The National Anthem' is the ultimate Martian freakout, with freestyle horns embellishing a minimalist bass riff and a catchy melody; the song would open up Radiohead's live shows over the coming years. Things slow down a bit for "How to Disappear Completely," a relatively straightforward acoustic ballad with a beautiful melody and some emotionally detached lyrics that conjure up images of an out-of-body experience ("I'm not here/ this isn't happening"). However, the proceedings get weird once again with the electronic instrumental 'Treefingers,' which eventually gives way for the majestic 'Optimistic.' A classic Radiohead guitar rocker, 'Optimistic' is a dirty, swampy sounding track with a good riff and real live drums - a rare event on this album, to say the least. 'In Limbo' is a another throwaway experimental piece, while the fantastic 'Idioteque' is a dance oriented track with a repeating keyboard ostinato and looped drums that sounds like a Martian rave party gone awry. Closing the album is the beautiful 'Morning Bell,' while 'Motion Picture Soundtrack' ends the proceedings just as they began - with Thom Yorke being accompanied by a stark keyboard arrangement. It is the perfect ending to an otherworldly listening experience.
RATING: 8
PLAY THESE: PYRAMID SONG, KNIVES OUT, YOU AND WHOSE ARMY?
SKIP THESE: PULL/PULK REVOLVING DOORS, DOLLARS AND CENTS, MORNING BELL/AMNESIAC
A companion piece to Kid A, Amnesiac was recorded at the same time as the infamous 2000 album, which would probably explain why the two records sound so similar. However, I must confess that Amnesiac is somewhat of a letdown after the experimental glory that is Kid A. While Kid A succeeds largely because of its brilliant sequencing, Amnesiac sounds like an uneven hodgepodge of lost gems, outtakes, and experimental pieces - which, of course, is exactly what it is. After all, this album exists only for one reason: these songs did not fit into Kid A.
All of this is not to suggest that Amnesiac is a bad album. On the contrary, it is teeming with half a dozen great songs, some of which are as good or even better than the Kid A's strongest selections. The main problem is that the entire second half of the record consists of nothing but throwaway material - some of it listenable, most of it not. All of this raises an important question: how could the band have avoided this situation? Many fans have suggested that the group should have released a single album consisting of only the strongest tracks from the Kid A sessions, instead of distributing the material on two separate albums. The main problem with such a plan, of course, is that the addition of the Amnesiac tunes would have disrupted the ebb and flow of the perfectly sequenced Kid A. Granted, 'Knives Out' is a far better song than 'In Limbo,' but the latter track sounded good in the context of Kid A, and deserved to make the cut. Taking this into consideration, Radiohead would probably have been better off making Amnesiac an EP, keeping only the six strongest cuts on the record: the groovy electronica of 'Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box,' the somber, Eastern-tinged fan favorite 'Pyramid Song,' the jazzy George W. Bush-baiting 'You and Whose Army?,' the menacingly groovy 'You Might Be Wrong,' the beautiful guitar anthem 'Knives Out,' and the drunken horn swoon of 'Life in a Glasshouse.' The rest of the tracks on Amnesiac are what could be referred to as "atmospheric" mood pieces, and are essentially throwaways. The inclusion of the pointless, revamped version of Kid A's 'Morning Bell' also raises the possibility that the band was scraping at the bottom of the barrel in order to fill up space. However, it must be reiterated that the album is still an essential purchase for any Radiohead fan.
I
MIGHT BE WRONG: LIVE RECORDINGS [EP] (2001)
RATING: 9
PLAY THESE: THE NATIONAL ANTHEM, EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT PLACE, TRUE LOVE WAITS
SKIP THESE: NONE
Hmmm...........maybe all of those darned experimental Eno-style tracks on Amnesiac weren't so weird after all....Affirming once and for all why Radiohead is the greatest live band on the planet, I Might Be Wrong is a aural snapshot of the band's 2001 world tour, and one of the best live recordings in recent memory. The big surprise here is just how seamlessly the band has managed to transform formerly tuneless experimental tracks such as 'Like Spinning Plates' and 'Dollars and Cents' into show-stopping "arena rockers," dropping much of the electronic gibberish that adorned the studio versions in favour of real instruments and actual melodies. I mean, who knew that there was a real song lurking behind 'Dollars and Cents?' Who indeed? All kidding aside, this EP contains some fabulous performances. Take, for instance, 'Idioteque,' which packs a far bigger punch in a live setting, and 'Everything in its Right Place,' which uses a dizzying array of vocal samples and live vocals to baffle the listener into submission (I mean this in a positive way!). It's pretty heady stuff, to say the least. The inclusion of the previously unreleased mid-1990's ballad 'True Love Waits' is a welcome addition, its disarmingly simple acoustic guitar/vocals arrangement sounding for the world like Radiohead is finally coming to terms with its glorious past. Good stuff. Good stuff.
RATING: 8
PLAY THESE: A WOLF AT THE DOOR, A PUNCH UP AT A WEDDING, 2+2=5
SKIP THESE: WE SUCK YOUNG BLOOD, MYXOMATOSIS, I WILL
Billed before its release as "OK Computer Part 2" and anticipated to be a return to Radiohead's guitar-based alternative rock roots, Hail to the Thief largely fails to live up to its billing. Yes, there are a few more guitars this time around, but rarely do we here the kind of inspired fretwork that we have come to expect from guitar hero Johnny Greenwood and company. In essence, this album is a compromise for the fans: the group continues with its infatuation with European electronica, while throwing in a few more guitars to please the fans.
Another striking feature of this album is that unlike any previous Radiohead release, there are simply no songs that stand out as being all-time classics (at least at this point in time). Sure, almost every song is still interesting, but there is a definite absence of catchy hooks at work here. The melodies are slightly less interesting than in the past, which raises the possibility that the band is using elaborate production techniques to deflect attention away from the fact that the songs just aren't as good as they should be be. Oh, it should also be mentioned that Hail to the Thief is a bit on the long side; the album probably would have sounded more cohesive if a few of the tracks (take your pick, there are precious few songs that absolutely have to be here) were eliminated.
But enough of the whining...after all, this album is still more interesting than 99.99% of the music that is currently out there. Highlights include Johnny Greenwood's medieval sounding 'A Wolf At the Door,' which features an unusual lower-register "rapping" vocal performance from Thom, and the funky, drum-looped 'A Punchup at a Wedding,' which is probably the group's best electronic track to date. The Bends lovers should find solace in 'Go to Sleep,' a good old-fashioned guitar-based roots rocker embellished with some funky riffs and interesting soloing; truth be told, this is probably the closest thing to the classic Radiohead sound that can be found here. Also enjoyable are the piano based ballads 'Sail to the Moon' and 'Scatterbrain,' while '2+2=5' is has a great rave-up coda that contains the infamous George W. Bush-mocking "Hail to the Thief" line (in case you missed it, its a parody of the American presidential "Hail to the Chief" tradition"). And while the album's more experimental tracks ('Myxomatosis,' etc.) are somewhat weak, there is every possibility that Radiohead will once again pull them off in a live setting. And since I will be seeing the band play live in two days time, I have absolute faith that Radiohead's performance will improve my opinion of this album. They're just that good.
UBC THUNDERBIRD STADIUM, VANCOUVER, 8:00 PM, 30 AUGUST 2003
RATING: 10+
HIGHLIGHTS: 2+2=5, LUCKY, THERE THERE, KARMA POLICE, YOU AND WHOSE ARMY
Radiohead singer Thom Yorke entertains the Vancouver crowd on Saturday night.
Setlist: 2+2=5/ sit down. stand up/ where i end and you begin/ kid a/ backdrifts/ myxomatosis/ lucky/ paranoid android/ sail to the moon/ you and whose army/ go to sleep/ i might be wrong/ like spinning plates/ the gloaming/ idioteque/ no surprises/ there there/ the national anthem/ a wolf at the door/ airbag/ street spirit/ karma police/ just/ everything in its right place.
Everything in its right place, indeed......
Radiohead's first live show in Vancouver in just over two years, Saturday's concert once again confirmed the band's standing as the most important band in the world. As expected, Thom Yorke and company delivered a stellar performance that drew heavily on the band's latest album, Hail To The Thief, while at the same time pleasing long-time fans by delving into a few of the older classics. The overall effect was awesome. Playing for over two hours, the band sounded better than ever, with a surprisingly good humored Thom Yorke entertaining the faithful with his trademark spastic movements and - of course - his amazing singing voice. Shaggy-haired guitarist Jonny Greenwood was also a sight to behold, as the talented musician effortlessly played everything from a glockenspiel to a laptop computer. Overall, the band sounded very tight. There were only a few bum notes and off-kilter tempos to be heard, and although Jonny's trademark aggressive guitar lines occasionally sacrificed perfection for energy, the guitarist wowed the crowd by producing some truly amazing otherworldly sounds.
The overall atmosphere was amazing, as Thunderbird Stadium once again proved to be the perfect venue for the group. An unbeatable combination of unusually warm weather, a beautiful purple sunset, great stage lighting, and a large crowd (approximately 20,000) combined to create a magical evening. Apart from a bit of pushing and shoving on the stadium floor and a brutally lackluster set from opening act Stephen Malkmus, the vibes were mostly good, and the crowd was very energetic (at least by notoriously laid-back Vancouver standards). At times flocks of Canadian Geese flew directly over the stage, which elicited spontaneous cheers from the audience and bemused looks from the band, who obviously had no idea why the crowd was going crazy.
The band's song selection was solid, and the set was almost perfectly sequenced. The quintet played what could be described as "mini sets," alternating three or four songs from the new album with an equal number of older, more familiar fan favorites. Overall, the audience responded quite well to the new material, especially some of the more energetic sample-laden tunes like the George W. Bush baiting '2+2=5,' and the electronic track 'The Gloaming,' which featured samples of Yorke chanting "Alistair Campbell' while the singer goose-stepped across the stage. Another new track that really stood out was 'There There,' a dark song that greatly improved upon the flat-sounding studio version with its sheer percussive power and mind-blowing dynamics. In one of the concert's highlights, Jonny Greenwood and guitarist Ed Harcourt accompanied drummer Ed Selway on the tom-toms, creating a thunderous, deliciously sinister pagan beat that summoned up disturbing images of the Lord of the Flies, while Yorke mesmerized the audience with his ethereal, wailing voice.
As was previously mentioned, the band set aside time to perform a few of its older classic tunes, including the schizophrenic epic 'Paranoid Android,' the eerie hit single 'Fade Out,' a menacing interpretation of 'Just,' and an absolutely killer version of the OK Computer era ballad 'Lucky' (Yorke dedicated the song to REM). The group also played some of the stronger cuts from their more recent albums, Amnesiac and Kid A. Among them was the jazz-tinged 'You and Whose Army,' during which an animated Yorke, with his back to the audience, playfully grimaced and glared at the video camera - much to the delight of the crowd. An energetic reading of the icy-sounding trip-hop number 'Idioteque' and a revamped, melodic version of 'Kid A' were also highlights, the latter of which was wryly introduced as a "happy song about heads on sticks."
As for missteps, there were only a few. A piano-based reworking of Amnesiac's experimental soundscape 'Like Spinning Plates' was intriguing but slightly dull; the band appeared to lose a bit of momentum until they got into a few of the faster numbers. In addition, the concert's finale, 'Everything in its Right Place,' proved to be somewhat of an anticlimactic ending, with the band leaving the stage as the samplers played on, the sounds gradually dissipating until the house lights went back on. Although this finale was interesting, the band would have been better off closing the show with a bang rather than a whimper.
But despite these few problems, the concert was a huge success. The band generously played two encores, the first of which included a surprise guest appearance from REM frontman Michael Stipe, who tried and failed to harmonize with Yorke on 'Karma Police.' And even though the shockingly undernourished alternative rock icon sounded awful (and looked even worse), his mere appearance onstage elicited the largest crowd response of the evening. Later on when the audience sang along with Yorke and Stipe during the spine-tingling "for a little while I lost myself" bit, it was just one of those special moments you can't even begin to describe on paper.
At the end of the night, one could not help but marvel at Radiohead's greatness. They not only recreated their complex, effects-laden album tracks onstage, but they took things one step further by making them sound even more powerful and emotive than on their studio albums. By changing things up just a little bit, they somehow managed to avoid the common pitfall of merely recreating studio recordings onstage, instead of keeping the music fresh and vibrant by reinterpreting their own songs in order to improve them. As such, the band always keeps the fans - and, by extension, themselves - interested in their music. Unlike so may other contemporary bands, Radiohead is never predictable. You never know exactly what you're going to get at one of their gigs, but one thing's for certain - you will never forget the experience.