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Member since:15.01.2001
Reviews:15
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Kid A, while being excellently good, was rather a large leap towards electronica from OK Computer, and therefore disappointed a lot of 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: “Packt like Sardines…” was the last track to be written, and “Life in A Glass House” the first, way back in 1997 – an early version featured on the documentary “Meeting People is Easy”.
“Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box”, originally known as “Po Pad”, is the opening track. Like “Everything In It’s Right Place” on Kid A, this song gives no clues to what the rest of the album is going to sound like. It’s been described as a less-panicky “Idioteque”, but I think it’s much more, and much better. There a skittering electronic beat in the background, and a great bassline – not Colin’s, as it’s also electronic. If you don’t like this at first, I’m sure it’ll grow on you. Excuse the Slade-style spelling in the title, and this is a great song.
“Pyramid Song” follows. The band say that this is the best thing they’ve ever done, and I might have to agree with them. This track debuted
on the tent tour last year, under different names, including “Egyptian Song”. (Incidentally, another, much older version called “Nothing To Hide” was played several years ago by Thom at the Tibetan Freedom Concert). It starts off just with Thom singing over three jagged piano chords. The reason for the song’s title soon becomes clear – there’s obvious eastern melodic influences. Drums, bass and strings enter about halfway through. There’s no initially discernible time signature, but my guess is that it’s a mixture of 4/4 and 2/4 to create odd sounding 10 bar phrases. But there’s a lot of rubato, so the song never keeps a really steady pace. Simply awesome; a Radiohead classic.
“Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors” is track number 3. Here Thom’s Warp Records fixation comes to the fore. There’s a heavy distorted electronic beat, a lot of whirring noises, and completely inaudible vocals – some of the voice samples are randomly removed, so there’s no complete lyrics. The song keeps stopping and starting. Thom is completely right when 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 to grow on you.
“You and Whose’s Army” is next. The closest thing to an OK Computer song since OK Computer. Again, it starts with Thom and piano chords. Then in comes fat, plunking double bass pizzicato, an organ and strings, which drive the song. There’s a slight jazz influence. I like this song a lot – it’s slightly reminiscent of Karma Police, especially the chorus, with Thom’s yearning cry of “Come on, come on…”.
“I Might be Wrong” is one of my favourites. After a few listens, it becomes a classic song. It starts with a blues guitar riff with an almost country/western feel, but an electronic beat kills anything of that sort. Some strangely beautiful keyboard noises. It’s possibly best described as a clash of US Roots Rock and UK Indie Dance. Thom’s falsetto is stunning. A great, beautiful song.
“Knives Out” is astonishing; not because it’s strange, but because you never thought that Radiohead would do another song like this. Their old trademark three guitar, bass and drums line-up is back for the first time since OK-C, and indeed, this song wouldn’t have been too out of place on that album. There’s a bluesy guitar from the start, and then, just after 2 minutes in, you nearly faint from the shock as there’s a… guitar solo! This is prime contender for the highest-charting single from this album. Still, very different from previous live versions of the song.
“Morning Bell/Amnesiac” is a strangely appealing song. It’s quite a lot different from the Kid A version. Most noticeably, no drums - only a tambourine. There’s also a choir, keyboards and an acoustic guitar. The lyrics are exactly the same. The bass guitar comes in near the end, but it’s different from the Kid A version. At first you might wonder why they did this, but it’s a really good version and deserves to be on the album.
“Dollars and Cents” is quite similar to “The National Anthem” from Kid A, in that there’s a freakish brass part. There’s also swarms of violins from start to finish, and a drum part similar to that of “Optimistic”. It’s a very fast moving, busy song.
“Hunting Bears” is like a more sophisticated Treefingers. No vocals or drums; the pulse is provided by a chopped up sample of a repeated bass note. Strange, drawn out sounds from guitar samples, and the sound of waves crashing on a beach; it’s a random, laid-back song.
“Like Spinning Plates” is a strange but entertaining song. There’s a pedal organ, similar in sound to the one on Motion Picture Soundtrack, and the beat is made up of turntable scratching and a little of Phil's cymbals. But the vocals are incredible. When recording this, Thom sang the vocals backwards – literally, so, for example, he would have sung the word “but” as “tub”. Then, this recording was played in reverse, so the vocals and lyrics come out the right way round. Why they did this I have no idea, but it does give an interesting sound to the song. The vocals have loads of effects piled on, lots of reverb and echoes.
“Life In a Glass House” closes the album. When I first heard this, it blew me away. This song is similar in feel to The Tourist – quite sleepy and jazzy. Indeed, it’s far more jazzy than The Tourist – there’s a brilliant jazz trumpet part played by renowned jazz musician Humphrey Lyttleton, written by Jonny. There’s also a woodwind/brass group playing, including horns, a clarinet, a trumpet, a trombone, and who knows what else. A great vocal performance from Thom – back to the good old days! - it’s a beautiful, epic track, and a great finish to what is a truly great album.
This is one of Radiohead’s best albums, in my opinion definitely bettering Kid A, which I loved! It’s possibly even as good as OK Computer; only time will tell. If you didn’t like Kid A, the chances are you won’t like this. But if you’re one of the many lucky people who buys this album and loves it, spare a thought for the poor misguided Limp Bizkit lovers who’ll give it not one thought.
Hi, i thought that your review was very good, and it sounds like its another Kid A, which i love, although i am a little dubious of claims it could be better than Ok Computer, because i adore that album, but i definitely may by this, after what you have said. check out my reviews,
cheers
BORIS
Crazy-Christian 19.05.2001 01:48
I absolutely hated Radiohead and was really surprised that I loved Kid A. If this one is anything like that, count me in! I much prefer this type of sound and I think it suits them. Thanks for the op, Jonathon
DiazX 20.04.2001 09:34
Cooo, I managed to download most of the tracks and I think I have to agree with you. Good preview-review.
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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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!
Dick_Dangerous 13.06.2002 (13.06.2002)
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Review of Amnesiac - Radiohead
Apr 10th, 2001
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