Yes, true, this is a way for their former label to cash in on the band's years of success. But, nonetheless, it is still a very nice collection of the band's videos.
For me, all of the Radiohead videos that I have are on VHS and not all on one cassette either so having this DVD is a great upgrade to what I already have. There are also some videos that I don't have or have never seen so that makes it worthwhile for me to own this.
Radiohead have always pushed the envelope of creativity with every new release and their videos parallel that progression. From the no frills video for "Creep" to the Hi-Tech concept videos of the latter albums, it's nice to see the progression of their music and video styles. For the Pablo Honey videos, most are somewhat forgettable but I do like the video for "Stop Whispering". Even though the band says they didn't like how that one came out, I still think it's very stylish compared to the videos for "Pop is Dead" and "Anyone Can Play Guitar".
For the Bend's videos, It was nice to have both versions(UK and US) of "High And Dry" included. It would've been nice to have all 3 versions of "Just" on there though. It's also nice to have the full version of "Fake Plastic Trees" on there instead of the shortened version that was run on MTV. The video for "Street Spirit" is just incredibly beautiful.
All 3 of the OK Computer videos are superb. "Paranoid Android" is a great animation following Robin and Benjamin, from the Swedish cartoon "Robin", in an adventure through the city as they come across flashers, drunks, bullies, an S&M clad businessman who dismembers himself and Robin playing a round of ping pong with an angel. An animated version of the band even make an appearance in the bar as they watch a man dance on their table with a small head popping out of the man's stomach..hilarious.
The KidA/Amnesiac videos are visually stunning. Most are CG based and incredibly done. "Pyramid Song" always has me transfixed every time I watch it. The last 30 seconds of the video where the points of light are in the red sky, flying around in unison with each other over a world that has met it's demise is both sad and mesmerizing. The video for "Push Pulk / Spinning Plates" is also incredible. Another predominantly CG animated video which is conceptually remarkable.
All in all, yeah, this was shamefully released by their former record label to capitalize on the band's success, but for a fan, it is a nice collection of videos bundled up on one DVD. The visual quality is good and the sound quality far surpasses what I had on the VHS version of the videos I have. I give this 4 stars instead of 5 mainly because there are no extras (except for a live version of "2 + 2 = 5") or any band commentaries which would've really added to the release.
In my opinion, this is surely worth getting, and I'm very happy to have this in my way too large collection of Radiohead stuff. Thanks Randy for getting me this for my Birthday ;)
