Ciao review formatting seems tottally screwed, sort it out guys its making it hard to read anything
Ciao review formatting seems tottally screwed, sort it out guys its making it hard to read anything
Member since:29.08.2002
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Having made a new head way with Ok Computer, Radiohead were left having to come up with something special to follow on. So they went away and came back a few years later with Kid A, the most experimental album heard in a long time. Its a move away from the usual Radiohead stuff in as much it isn't as driven by the guitars and strong Bass but instead by samples and a new sound.
The new sound of Radiohead didn't go down to well with the loyal fan base that had followed the band since the release of Pablo Honey in 1994. Personally I wasn't too keen on this one to start with but having heard little parts of it here and there I decided it was worth a gamble when I saw it in HMV's 3 for £20 offer.
A lot of people who didn't like the album at first revisited it after the release of Amnesiac and the sound that Kid A ultimately moved on to be. The album grows on you quickly and all of a sudden you realise you do actually like the new Radiohead sound.
The new sound of Radiohead, still contains the distinctive vocals of Tom Yorke and nowhere is this more evident than in the first track, "Everything In Its Right Place". It opens with the Keyboard and Yorke's vocals being sampled over the top of the keyboard before he actually comes in singing the name of the title in different sections. The song has a very haunting feel and in places you feel the lyrics sound a little silly such as;
"Yesterday I Woke Up Sucking A Lemon"
However the actual musical element does sound like Radiohead are trying to lift the barrier for modern bands to try and lift them selves to.
The next track is the title track of the album "Kid A". It is another track that sounds completely
different to normal Radiohead tracks. It starts with a strange symbol and what sounds like a xylophone. The song builds up using the sample and the keyboard over the top. Yorke comes in with vocals that are barely audible but this does add to the overall feel of the song. When they do eventually come in a little louder it sounds almost computerised as a drum machine carries on a beat in the background and the samples and keyboard really take a grip on the song.
The next track starts a bit quicker and is called "The National Anthem". The bass brings it in with the drums and again a sample being used for a long intro. The real feel of this album is more towards the instrumental side. The vocals come in with;
"Everyone Around Here"
Repeated a few times over while the actual beat of the song carries along and the vocals kept on in a similar style. The bass really is the driving force behind this track and when the trumpets and other wind-based instruments join in it adds another factor, which is hardly ever heard in Radiohead songs.
From there we move on to "How To Disappear Completely". Another song well into the 5 minutes in length, which starts with a quiet guitar and a sample easing into the track. The vocals come in very quiet but in typical Tom Yorke style, which can't be confused for anything else. This is another haunting sounding track but the vocals are sublime and actually set a picture as you listen to the music. This is chill out Radiohead at their best. The mellow beat of the song continues throughout and the samples used instead of masking it sound a little bit tacky in fact really do add something to the track.
Moving on to track 5 we come to the rather strangely named "Treefingers". It starts in a similar way to the other tracks with what sounds like a bass sample echoing along to form the intro with a bit of guitar mixed in with it. The vocals never really getting going and the song just has a long instrumental section where the bass is used well but the guitars are used sparingly and this does add a little extra mood to the song. In fact there are actually no vocals at any point in the song, but to be honest that doesn't really take anything away from it.
So on we go again, to be honest this has got to be the first album I have ever listened to that actually leaves you emotionally drained, so here we are at "Optimistic". It starts a lot more upbeat than anything else so far with the bass and guitars playing a huge part in the introduction to the track. The vocals are sampled along side it but really come into their own and make this sound like it could have been plucked from any of the three albums that have gone before. The guitar and bass carry along well with the drums providing superb backup,
"You can try the best you can, Best you can is good enough"
The musical element of the track blows you away just as much as anything on the album, and the vocals just have to be Tom Yorke's. It's still quite a mellow song, good for relaxing too but like everything else on the album it really sets you thinking.
The next track is called “In Limbo”, it starts quite quietly but straight out of track 6. There really is no gap and in theory it is just part of the same song. The guitars carry on with a similar sound to the way they finished with the vocals sounding quite distant and far away. The samples are used a great deal throughout the song and the echo on the vocals does sound brilliant. This really captures the new element of Radiohead’s work and is another example of what I was talking about before, with the songs leaving you emotionally drained.
The last track drifts away and then it comes to what is probably my favourite track on the album “Idioteque”. It is almost a dance tune but still has that Radiohead feel to it. It starts with a drumbeat mixed in with samples and what possibly sounds like a drum machine. When the vocals come in the beat changes slightly but its almost as if Yorke has distorted his vocals enough to sound more in keeping with the track.
This is a new side of Radiohead and one that although at first sounds like a really bad idea, they have actually pulled it off. The song goes into instrumental mode after a short time and with everything mixing together well. Parts of the earlier vocals are mixed in using small samples at various points, but like everything else on the album there isn’t much to sing along to.
The next track “Morning Bell” again follows straight on and really there hasn’t been any sort of gap between the tracks for about 4 songs. It leads out of Ideoteque with the guitar and drums before the keyboards join in. The vocals come in quite quickly compared to the other tracks but again its hard to tell exactly what the lyrics are. The vocals sound quite bizarre and the odd words you can pick out do sound rather strange, but again the musical part of the song just keeps you sat there in awe, wondering how they have managed to make an album like this.
We have finally reached the summit so to speak and the last track on Kid A, “Motion Picture Soundtrack”. It starts with what sounds like a church organ, playing the first part of the intro before the vocals come in with almost a matching style to the organ. It sounds a little bit creepy and again you can hardly hear the vocals but they do keep good time with the organ. After almost two minutes a few samples come in and add a bit of light into the song. This is probably the weakest track on the album, but it still sounds good.
So there we go that is Kid A, available now from your local HMV along with all the other Radiohead albums in a 3 for £20 deal. It’s not an album for all Radiohead fans, some may find it a bit too different but it is still good and although the vocals aren’t always loud enough they still add something to the track. Right Well I’m off on me Holidays so I’ll see you all in 2 weeks.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Ah this album is great isn't it. Although I'm not sure what's going on with the 3 minutes of silence at the end of Motion Picture Soundtrack. Excellent review.
emmaclaire 10.08.2003 19:15
I've not listened to this one either! Good review, Emma x
Coldplayer 19.06.2003 22:10
I didn't like it the first time I heard it. I haven't listened to it since. As it's Radiohead and your opinion speaks highly of the album, I'll just have to try harder. Good Op! Coldplayer :)
Radiohead may well be the most courageous band in Britain. Their second album, The Bends, ... more
was a success both critically and commercially, and they followed it up with an album of epic prog-rock, OK Computer, that would have destined a lesser band to co...
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Radiohead may well be the most courageous band in Britain. Their second album,The Bends, ... more
was a success both critically and commercially, and they followed it up with an album of epic prog-rock,OK Computer, that would have destined a lesser band to comm...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Radiohead may well be the most courageous band in Britain. Their second album, The Bends, ... more
was a success both critically and commercially, and they followed it up with an album of epic prog-rock, OK Computer, that would have destined a lesser band to co...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Radiohead may well be the most courageous band in Britain. Their second album, The Bends, ... more
was a success both critically and commercially, and they followed it up with an album of epic prog-rock, OK Computer, that would have destined a lesser band to co...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Beautiful, ambient, innovative...especially the innovative part. I love new stuff! Disadvantages: Thom Yorke's vocals are tough to understand sometimes (and they aren't in the CD booklets either)
rawduu 21.04.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Kid A - Radiohead
Jun 4th, 2003
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