"Thomas Yorke, you have been bought before this court on the charge of perverting the course of good experimental rock music with your release Amnesiac, which the prosecution feels is an overblown, masturbationary effort to please yourselves, distance your band from melody and alienate your ... Read review
Amnesiac - Radiohead
Though the songs on Amnesiac were recorded at the same time as those on its predecessor, ... more
Kid A, the gap between the releases of the pair suggests a determination on Radiohead's part that the two should not be perceived as halves of the same whole. Howe...
Amnesiac - Radiohead
Though the songs onAmnesiacwere recorded at the same time as those on its predecessor,Kid ... more
A, the gap between the releases of the pair suggests a determination on Radiohead's part that the two should not be perceived as halves of the same whole. However...
Amnesiac (2CD) - Radiohead
Though the songs on Amnesiac were recorded at the same time as those on its predecessor, ... more
Kid A, the gap between the releases of the pair suggests a determination on Radiohead's part that the two should not be perceived as halves of the same whole. Howe...
Kid A, the gap between the releases of the pair suggests a determination on Radiohead's part that the two should not be perceived as halves of the same whole. Howe...
Amnesiac - Radiohead
Though the songs onAmnesiacwere recorded at the same time as those on its predecessor,Kid ... more
A, the gap between the releases of the pair suggests a determination on Radiohead's part that the two should not be perceived as halves of the same whole. However...
Amnesiac (2CD) - Radiohead
Though the songs onAmnesiacwere recorded at the same time as those on its predecessor,Kid ... more
A, the gap between the releases of the pair suggests a determination on Radiohead's part that the two should not be perceived as halves of the same whole. However, there is little in the way of meaningful stylistic divergence between the two albums--Amnesiacshares withKid Aan atmosphere of defeated, vengeful paranoia, a heavy reliance on electronic noises and distorted vocals, a somewhat frustrating absence of Jonny Greenwood's guitar and the song "Morning Bell", which reappears onAmnesiacin a slightly less mournful arrangement. It may just be that Radiohead felt that it might have been a bit much to ask anyone, even Radiohead fans, to consume this entire lugubrious trove at once.Amnesiac, likeKid Ais heavy going. And, also likeKid A,Amnesiacrewards repeated listenings generously. The more acute Thom Yorke's lyrical biliousness grows, the harder the band work to redeem matters with some moments of astonishing beauty. "You and Whose Army?" contains gorgeous knelling piano evocative of "Karma Police", "Like Spinning Plates" deploys a backwards backing track to bewitching effect, and the closing track, "Life in a Glasshouse", is an exuberant Laughing Clowns-style wig-out, featuring veteran jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttleton. Once again, it is not so much that Radiohead have not put a foot wrong, but that they're walking where nobody else has trodden.Amnesiacis another giant leap. --Andrew Mueller
A review by Dick_Dangerous on Amnesiac - Radiohead June 13th, 2002
Author's product rating:
Originality
Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics
Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks
Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Good
Value for Money
Advantages:
It's great ! It's mad ! It even has a couple of guitars on it . . .
Disadvantages:
Should have featured Humph and the band playing Mornington Crescent !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
"Thomas Yorke, you have been bought before this court on the charge of perverting the course of good experimental rock music with your release Amnesiac, which the prosecution feels is an overblown, masturbationary effort to please yourselves, distance your band from melody and alienate your fan-base. These are indeed serious charges, and if found guilty of them, you will be led from this courtroom, to a place of prog-jazz-rock, where your head will be ceremonially thrust between your own buttocks. How do you plead?"
Yorke: "Not guilty."
Case For The Prosecution - Johnny Cochran "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Aphex Twin is an avant-garde recording artist who makes electronic music of a high standard. Aphex Twin does not make sense. Radiohead have consistently recorded albums which attempt to emulate Aphex Twin, which does not make sense. Radiohead do not make sense, and Amnesiac certainly does not make sense. I aim to prove that by making the electronic wibblings on this record, Mr. Yorke may have made a record so terrible that even the Stereophonics would have difficulty plumbing these depths of despairingly bad music."
Defence: "Objection your honour - my client feels that comparisons between his band and the Stereophonics are totally unjustified as Kelly Jones is still unable to spell "Sampler".
Objection upheld.
"Your honour, I would like to present to the jury exhibit A, Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors. Mr. Yorke, exactly what were you attempting to do with this track. Give people a bad headache?"
Yorke: "Well actually..."
"This track has actually captured the sound of a bad migraine, and I think you will agree that no-one in their right mind wants to hear this sound."
Defence: "Objection. Surely the harsh velocity and vocodered voices speaking of being trapped bring out the uncertainty and fear in my clients mind. This song is, as my client has said on numerous occasions, like standing in the fire and is more the sound of an electron rushing round a circuit, going through a variety of electronic components. Even the sound of a thought, with the doors representing communicative blocks?" - Objection upheld.
"Your honour, I would like to call to the stand my first witness, Mr. Humphrey Lyttleton. Mr. Lyttleton, is it true that in the year 1999, Mr. Yorke approached you to help make his 'concept album about withdrawal from society'?"
Humph: "Yes, that is true. He wanted me to play trumpets on the final track, Life In A Glasshouse."
"And you agreed to do so without question. Did Mr. Yorke ever tell you that he was planning to pervert the course of rock music?"
Humph: "Er no. He just said he liked jazz. We ended up making an excellent jazz finale which captured the feeling of living as a celebrity, everyone being able to see what you do and passing comment. My flurry of jazz trumpet turned it from a dirge about paranoia to a swinging piece of jazz-rock."
"Mr Yorke, do you have anything you would like to say?" Yorke: "Leicester square..." Humph: "King's Road." Yorke: "MORNINGTON CRESCENT!"
Mr. Yorke, Mr. Lyttleton, if you persist in playing faux-board-games with cult status from Radio 4 panel games, you will be found in contempt of course. I think Mr. Yorke, you will also find you were out of Froop, and couldn't take the swingbridge to Mornington Crescent.
Yorke: "Damn..."
"I would now turn your attentions to exhibit B, Hunting Bears a two minute instrumental which appears not to do anything apart from fill a gap. I put it to you that this is the most pointless piece of music ever recorded."
Yorke: "On the contrary, the sparse guitar sounds, and arabesque distortion whisk the listener away to the far north of Siberia and puts them in mind of a couple of lonely bears chasing lemmings, or whatever else they eat, across the wastes."
"I now direct the courts attention to exhibit C, Morning Bell / Amnesiac. Mr. Yorke why have you included a song that already appears on a previous album? Don't you think you're ripping off your fans?"
Yorke: "Oh no, the Amnesiac version is far superior, full of warmth and life and, I think you'll notice, guitars. The change from the spooky sounding verses to the reassuring chorus is a lovely sequence I feel."
"I call my second witness to the stand. Mr. Divine Cheese. Mr. Cheese, I believe that you found the next track, Like Spinning Plates to be reminiscent of a dream you once had in which you report to have not seen anything apart from velocity."
Cheese: "Er, yeah... I thought the plate captured the intense feeling of that particular episode perfectly, with the synthesised noises travelling backwards, sounding just like what's on the packet. Hey! If you play it backwards, you get a message from Thom asking to be let out of somewhere. I read this great description of that particular track in the NME, where they said it sounded like his voice was being dragged backwards out of his mouth by a centrifuge."
"I rest my case your honour. The traumatic experience this listener has had is proof enough of the abhorrent nature of this album. Such records should not be allowed a release, and this is damaging to the future of good honest rock music, made by bands such as Cast and Ocean Colour Scene."
The court notes that Mr. Cheese makes a bolt for the toilet, wretching as he runs, at the mention of Cast in the same paragraph as Amnesiac.
Case For The Defence - Jarred Rebechhi "G'day ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I put it to you that in fact, Amnesiac is a vast improvement on Kid A and the experimentation on this album works a right treat. Through my previous objection and the testimonies of the witnesses, we have already seen that the prosecution has no real case to dismiss this album other than liking luddite Britpop hangover bands and feeling animosity towards Mr. Yorke for daring to have a hit record when Ocean Colour Scene can't even hit the top 40."
Prosecution: "Objection your honour - Ocean Colour Scene recently had a top 40 hit."
Objection over-ruled - no-one cares about Ocean Colour Scene any more...
"I present to the court, exhibit D, Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury may recognise the kinship between the techno beats and the track on Kid A, Idioteque. Using the same technique of relying totally on cut up beats and synthesised sounds, Radiohead have created another warped and excellent song that stands comparison with any of their previous work. The percussion sounds could even be people trapped inside a sardine tin."
Yorke: "I'm a reasonable man, get off my case!"
"Also your honour, this album relies a lot more on the traditional guitars that all the poms were whinging for after Kid A. I Might Be Wrong shows the perfect mixture of the synths, dance beats and a driving guitar line which almost pumps the whole thing along. It has all the elements of melody that the public had been wanting, and relies equally on dance rhythms and rock guitar. The theme of withdrawal and also doubt weighs heavy on this song, making it possibly one of the strongest in the Radiohead repertoire."
"Pyramid Song, which was the first single released, and a lot of people complained about the lack of singles from the last album, is one of the most emotionally moving songs ever written. It's simple, shonky piano line is gradually accompanied by skewed beats and swirling washes of Egyptian sounding strings building slowly while synths drift around in the background. When the beat finally kicks in, the first time I heard this song I came out in goose bumps, and the layers of sound almost move me to tears. And the lyrics are a real return to Radiohead's glory days. Allow me to recite them:"
"Jumped into the river what did I see? Black-eyed angels swam with me A Moon full of stars and astral cars And all the things I used to see
All my lovers were there with me All my past and futures And we all went to heaven in a little row-boat And there was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt"
"Mate, these lyrics of resigned apocalyptic terror are a warning to all of us to be careful of our planet. And the computerised video of the guy swimming through the drowned city is incredibly eerie. These nightmarish visions have been realised to an incredible degree, which is what makes this album so compelling - the way that every song can convey a very real emotion to the listener."
"There's even political protest in the form of You And Whose Army which starts out understated like Mr. Yorke is waving his stick at the whole western world asking them to "Come on if you think you can take us all on." Then eventually him and his lightly strummed guitar are joined by the bass and drums, before the mighty crescendo."
Prosecution: "Objection - there is a very blatant attack on the prime minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair when Mr. Yorke sings: "You and all your cronies.""
Objection over-ruled - maybe the smug git won't go back on his election pledges this time.
"Jazzy track, Dollars and Cents makes an excellent accompaniment and sister song to You And Whose Army? albeit in a more jazzy string washed way. And then finally mates, there's Knives Out which even sounds like Paranoid Android at the start. It's a drear, bleak, scary song which casts allusions to canibalism as my client asks us to "Put him in the pot." It even has all the interesting chord sequences which Radiohead patented."
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, if you believe in excellent forward-facing music, then you will cast this charge right out of court, where it belongs."
The Verdict Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, how do you find the defendant? Guilty or not Guilty?
"Not Guilty your honour."
Mr. Yorke, it would appear that you are to be acquitted of the charge of making yet another deranged techno album, and allowed to go free, safe in the knowledge that you have created yet another work of absolute genius which will be remembered well by the world. Despite being from the same sessions as Kid A the court believes this to be the better album, but equally we see why the songs herein are not on the previous album. However, you are guilty of the lesser charge of ripping off the BBC Radiophonic workshop...
"Quick Johnny! To The Radiohead-mobile."
- Oh well... next case. Damon Albarn you are charged with the offence of making world music without a license...
Standout Tracks: Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box, Pyramid Song, I Might Be Wrong
Advantages: Experimental in a good way, Intresting textural construction Disadvantages: Sometimes experimental in a bad way,
...to find very little on Amnesiac that will change their minds that Radiohead have completely lost the plot. Those who saw Kid A as a brave step into new territories where anything is sonically possible will embrace Amnesiac with open hands and minds.
The rumours surrounding Amnesiac were mainly centred on the fact that it was going to be the logical follow up to OK Computer with Radiohead switching the emphasis back towards a more guitar orientated ... ...the rumours were misguiding as Amnesiac sees Radiohead continuing their journey into experimentation with only the smallest concessions to the sounds they produced on OK Computer. Guitars are scarce in their appearance with the concentration aagain placed on more electronic and computer generated sound.
Amnesiac begins with the sound of metallic percussion and a deep electronic bass line of 'Packt like Sardines in a crushd tin box'. These elements ...
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Advantages: Sheer brilliance from the greatest band of our time - a ground-breaking, flawless, beautiful masterpiece. Disadvantages: None. Honest.
...people. Contrary to pre-release rumours, Amnesiac does not become much more mainstream (although admittedly, some tracks eg Knives Out are far more commercial than anything on Kid A). Indeed, although traditional instruments are used a lot more, there’s some stuff on Amnesiac that makes Kid A’s title track sound like S Club 7.
Before I review the tracks, an interesting piece of trivia: the songs are in chronological order of composition: ... ...he says that some of Amnesiac sounds like “broken machinery” – this track especially. I hate comparing artists in reviews unless something is blatantly ripped off (see Muse), but to give you an idea of what this sounds like, think of Canadian band “Board of Canada”. Although you probably won’t have heard them. Think of Kid A’s title track, make it twice as weird and very angry. This one will probably have ...
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...The limited edition CD of Amnesiac is housed within a false library book, and along with the stamped dates of the near future and past (26 Jun 1996 up to 07 Oct 2005) there is a note that simply says, "This book is to be hidden", but from what? My theory suggests that it is hidden from the unknown force, or the all controlling government. This album might be hinting on what conspiracy theorists have believed for the last few years. The lyrics, however ... ...guitar since Kid A then Amnesiac may offer a small solution, as there is more of a feeling of guitars on this album, but it's certainly not the answer to your problem. In the middle of Amnesiac are Knives Out and Dollars & Cents and could easily have been on OK Computer, the styles aren't that much different. I do, however, feel that although they will always have such great songs as Creep, Street Spirit, Lucky, Karma ...
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Originality
Lyrics
Quality and consistency...
How does it compare to ...
Value for Money
very helpful
04.12.2002
Radio rock... Review ofAmnesiac - Radioheadby
dreamerz
Advantages: some excellent tracks, atmospheric, Disadvantages: Too many peverse experimental moments
...From here on in Amnesiac proceeds to take us on a slightly messy tour through Radiohead’s back catalogue. ‘Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors’ evokes memories of ‘Kid A’ at its most perverse, a bizarre slowed down dance track, with unintelligible vocals and little melody to speak of. Whilst ‘You and Whose Army’, ‘Knives Out’ and ‘I Might Be Wrong’ are dark bluesy guitar numbers. Of the three ... ...with Thom’s vocal sounding rather like its being played on an old gramophone, building to an epic swirling climax. ‘Knives Out’ is perhaps the albums biggest disappointment, sounding rather like an Ok Computer out take. Its almost certain to be a single however, as it is the closest thing to Radiohead’s traditional sound here. ‘I Might Be Wrong’ reminds of ‘Optimistic’, Kid A’s sole concession ...
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Advantages: Small Fragments Of Inspiration. Disadvantages: Large Tracts of Insipidation (sic).
...Radiohead. Quite a bit of Amnesiac shouldn't even have the Radiohead brand. There are few guitar moments and a lot of the time Thom Yorke's wonderful voice is distorted beyond recognition. The album was recorded at the same studio sessions that produced 'Kid A' and in reality, Amnesiac is the sequel to that mixed up affair. Where Radiohead could have developed on that tatty mess and produced something more worthwhile they instead opt for an altogether ... ...plethora of creative guitar waves. Amnesiac arrived on cue but I'm afraid for the most part it is an exercise in ordinariness. From the word go something is amiss. 'Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box' could easily be a cut from a chilled out trance album. Why Radiohead would ever wish to outdo someone like Ferry Corsten is beyond me. Are they simply bored by their musical roots, are they trying to cash in on the dance craze, have they completely ...
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Advantages: There are a few good tracks and nice cover art Disadvantages: A big disapointment musically and lyrically
...After the cold electronic direction taken by Kid A and Amnesiac, Radiohead fans were holding out for a return to the more guitar friendly and less abstract follow up. The result is somewhat disapointing. The guitars and more traditional rock arrangements are back,but in a very limited sense.
Opener '2+2=5' is the nearest Radiohead come to making a punk record, snarling buzzsaw guitars and sneering vocals make it a great openner. Unfortunately its followed by 'Sit down, Stand up', a repetitive piece of pseudo electronica that is mind numbingly tedious. 'Sail to the moon' is quite pretty but pretty unimpressive considering this is Radiohead. 'Backdrifts' is more slightly dreary electro rock. 'Go to sleep' has some nice guitar work, but never really builds into anything. 'When I end and you begin' and 'We suck young blood' are two...
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Advantages: radiohead-back with a vengance Disadvantages: no good if you like 'happy music'
...opinions vary on the massive change of direction taken by radiohead during the kid a/amnesiac recording sessions and despite being a big fan myself I have'nt always been convinced (mainly large parts of amnesiac and hail to the thief).
In rainbows launched itself on the public with the novelty selling point of paying what you want to download it (before hearing it-obviously) and you have to wonder if that was masking a continued downturn in quality-it wasn't.
The album plays best when listened to from start to finish (whether the one disc or two disc formats) and is amazingly consistant (easily there most cohearant work since ok computor).Highlights do abound though and my personal favorites are bodysnatchers (a right old knees up in the vien of old school radiohead),nude (old tune thats been kicking around for years that simply...
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Advantages: It's a Radiohead live album Disadvantages: It's a Radiohead live album
...What an interesting idea: a collection of tracks recorded from Radiohead's Amnesiac / Kid A tours. Capturing and selling live recordings from this band is like harvesting drunkenness and flogging it down the market; whatever the outcome, the experience will be diluted.
The songs are sublime and the band are on top form; a consistently stunning recorded group of artists who seem to get better when put in front of a few thousand equal eccentrics.
The material is mostly from the last two 'experimental' albums released in 1999 & 2000 and the highlight has to be Thom Yorke's chilling vocals on 'Like Spinning Plates', an acoustic version with piano and strings which supercedes the backwards dance track on Amnesiac.
The album also features a version of 'True Love Waits', a song which has been doing the rounds for a while but has never...
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Album Notes: Includes a 28-page color booklet. Radiohead: Thom Yorke, Ed O'Brien, Jon Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Phil Selway. Additional personnel: Jimmy Hastings (clarinet); Humphrey Lyttelton (trumpet); Pete Strange (trombone); Paul Bridge (double bass); Adrian MacIntosh (drums); St. John's Orchestra. Engineers: Nigel Godrich, Dan Grech-Marguerat. AMNESIAC was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. This second helping from the sessions that produced the preceding KID A will probably strike close listeners as a bit more structured, though it'll be difficult to determine whether that's simply because the peregrinations of the last album have prepared them for the trips to the outer limits taken here. Those expecting a U2-like return to tuneful, anthemic guitar-rock will have their hopes dashed upon a rock of colorful electronic experimentation and moody, studio-enhanced madness. The piano-based "Pyramid Song" and the Martian-gospel-choir ballad "You and Whose Army?" might placate verse-chorus-verse traditionalists slightly, but the sampler-in-a-trash-compactor "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" and the pointillistic ambience of "Hunting Bears" attest to Radiohead's continued nonconformist tendencies. AMNESIAC opens with the claustrophobic, synth-bedecked "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" and closes with the Dixieland funeral march "Life in a Glass House." Along the way, the band engages in the kind of fearless, pretension-risking (but highly successful) sonic experimentation that made a cultural artifact out of SGT. PEPPER. There are less apt comparisons.
Album Reviews: Rolling Stone (1/03/02, p.119) - Ranked #10 in Rolling Stone's "Top 10 2001". Spin (1/02, p.76) - Ranked #2 in Spin's "Albums of the Year 2001". Alternative Press (2/02, p.64) - Ranked #1 in AP's "25 Best Albums of 2001". The Wire (1/02, p.40) - Ranked #18 in Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2001". Mojo (1/02, p.69) - Ranked #10 in Mojo's "Best [40] Albums of 2001". Magnet (12-1/02, p.57) - Included in Magnet's "20 Best Albums of 2001". NME (12/29/01, p.59) - Ranked #25 in NME's 50 "Albums Of the Year 2001". Rolling Stone (6/21/01, pp.74-5) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Clear proof that the progressive-rock impulse survived the 20th century....full of computerized clicks and hums...and of instruments and voices so heavily filtered they sound alienated even from themselves....It's like ZZ Top kidnapped by Autechre..." Spin (7/01, pp.123-4) - 7 out of 10 - "...Lullabies for the compressed present...abandoning verse-chorus-verse motion to let the tracks just roll out, like bolts of cloth..." Q (7/01, p.118) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Similarly shy, textural and embroidered by electronica, but where it differs vitally from KID A is in being 1) better balanced, 2) more emotionally intelligible and 3) even more grimly beautiful..." Vibe (8/01, p.160) - 4 discs out of 5 - "...Populated with skittish techno beats, water-damaged samples and the kind of vocal mastery you would hear from a wounded donkey....If genuises are slightly mad, then Radiohead is stark, raving bonkers..." The Wire (6/01, p.52) - "...It works for as long as you can keep other - weighted, braver, graver - examples or exemplars out of your mind, The moment you summon Jeff Buckley or John Cale, PiL or Can, Talk Talk or David Sylvian, the spell is broken..." Alternative Press (7/01, p.79) - 9 out of 10 - "...Quintessentially Radiohead, full of existential rock songs powered by Yorke's delicate, aching, soaring vocals..." Mojo (7/01, p.104) - "...Deliriously provocative....as splendidly other and awkward as its sister album [KID A]..." NME (6/2/01, p.37) - 8 out of 10 - "...It complements KID A beautifully....the jazz spasms and electronic pulsings, the chill blood, and most of all, the chronic hypersensitivity to the world outside..." CMJ (6/4/01, p.5) - "...Another adventuresome, aloof, non-rock joint that's more an album of concepts than a concept album..."
Titles on disc 1
1.: Packt Like Sardines In A Crushed Tin Box
2.: Pyramid Song
3.: Pulk/pull Revolving Doors
4.: You And Whose Army
5.: I Might Be Wrong
6.: Knives Out
7.: Morning Bell/Amnesiac
8.: Dollars And Cents
9.: Hunting Bears
10.: Like Spinning Plates
11.: Life In A Glasshouse
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