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If there was an award for most shocking CD, "Hail to the Thief" would win it
for sure. I had never really listened to Radiohead before, I never planned on buying it, I found it for 5 bucks at a
used CD store, then it ended up becoming my favorite CD as of right now. You might not like these Brits, but they
at the least deserve a listen. Radiohead is Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano), Ed O'Brien (guitar, effect, backup vocals),
Philip Sedway (drums, percussion), Colin Greenwood (bass, string synth, sampler) and Johnny Greenwood (who does basically
everything besides cooking, according to the CD book.....guitar, analog systems, ondes martenot, laptop, toy piano, and get
this, a glockenspiel).
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| "Hail to the Thief" 2003 |
* * * * "Hail to
the Thief" 2003
Here's the common situation that arises when the subject of Radiohead is brought up: either
love 'em or hate 'em. That is, unless you're me, a person who had only listened to one Radiohead song ever (Karma Police).
So in order for me to write a review on thier newest album, I would actually have to purchase one. Miraculously, I went
to a Disk Replay and found a brand new one for only 5 bucks. After listening through the CD about 5 times in the last
2 days, I have reached a conclusion: I love 'em. Thom Yorke's unique voice sets the tone for the band's originality;
I have never heard a voice similar to his, EVER. Unlike most alternative albums, this one relies less on the meat and
bones of the intruments and more on the electronic sound effects, scratches, whispers, chimes, and electric drum sets.
There are still the perfectly harmonized acoustics that I recall from their earlier efforts, but now it seems like each
strum of the strings has more purpose than just a single riff or note. Some songs you definately have to hear are "2+2=5",
"Sit down. Stand up.", "Backdrifts", "Scatterbrain", and "The Gloaming". Try as I might, I simply can't describe any
of these songs to you....THAT'S how unique and original they are. If you have heard their song "There There" on the
radio and didn't like it for some reason, I still recommend downloading at least 2 of the songs I mentioned (perhaps even
the first 2). For this reason, I'll give "Hail to the Thief" 4 stars. I'd give it 5, but I will admit it is not
exactly music you hear everyday. Still, I recommend checking it out.
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| "OK Computer" 1997 |
* * * * * "OK Computer"
1997
Check the date on this CD, and you'll find it was made sometime during 1997. It took
me until Chirstmas of 2003 to finally see what all the fuss was over this album. Let me start off by saying #1:
I should have bought this a loooong time ago, and #2: I think I understand why some people have christened "OK
Computer" as the CD of the 1990's. Recently, the knock on Radiohead has been that they use so much electronic noise
in their music that it could hardly be deciphered as music anymore. While that may ring true for "Hail to the Thief",
"Kid A", and "Amnesiac", I am going to state for the record that this CD is a PERFECT blend of intruments
and sound effects. For instance, the opening track entitled "Airbag" features an arcing guitar, nice random bass line,
jingle bells, and a 3-second drum soundbite that was mixed and looped throughout the entire song. If you had already
heard the song and thought something was strange about the percussion, well now you know the story. The very next
song, "Paranoid Android", begins with what seems a myriad of acoustics playing there own thing, yet with a simple pluck
of a string, it all comes together beautifully into a catchy rhythym; you HAVE to download it. One of the
best songs of "OK Computer" and one that practically symbolizes the entire album is called "Subterranean
Homesick Alien". I know, I know; these song titles all sound like something from a psycho techno dance revolution, but
don't expect any techno. Anyway, it is basically an interpretation of how Earth would look to an alien; would we
be beyond it's comprehension, even if it was supposedly more advanced? My favorite part of this song would have
to be the awesome chorus as the bass climbs up like a ladder, following with Thom yelling "up-tight.......up-tight".
Dowload this funky song too. Another cool song is "Cimbing Up The Walls" which begans with a deep bass effect and nifty
drum beat; it's a grungy sounding song, but just goes to show the overall greatness of Radiohead in that they seemingly pull
off anything they want. The song entitled "No Surprises" is a melody played by literally a little toy guitar, but listen
to it and hear it's dominance. Well that's a lot of music for you to check out, and considering the only song they put
on the radio was "Karma Police", if you have still neglected to hear this CD, then you're in for a hell of an awakening, quite
like what I experienced.
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