It was lucky that when I heard this (samples, off this site) I was listening out for some different music to my usual diet of not very subtle rock or I might not have been so receptive of the extraordinary splicing of two very different styles. As far as I know, bluesy, Billy Holiday-esque vocals have never been splashed across a background of Morricone-esque electronica before. Even more surprising is how wonderfully it works, creating an atmosphere of cool euphoria akin to some of Radiohead's work (I'm thinking Subterranean Homesick Alien or Kid A here). Not surprising considering the supposed main inspiration for O.k Computer was Morricone. Although sometimes the singing occasionally borders on schmaltzy, it never actually crosses that line because of the harsh wall of noise behind it, which offsets the smoothness, providing a balance. Admittedly, on pilots, as some other reviewers have pointed out, it gets a bit thin, but this is really the only criticism I can offer. After only hearing the SAMPLES, I voted it the fifth greatest album of the last fifteen years in a poll Q magazine are running at the moment and spent the next two days agonizing because I had no opportunity to get myself a copy of the album. So now I've got one, yes, it is one of my very favourite albums ( and I have a lot). I would recommend it to everyone, only I'm aware that most so-called lovers of music seem to set themselves fixed musical parameters and aren't open minded enough to embrace anything as unusual as this. Forget the random screaming that, these days, gets called alternative music, this is the real alternative and to like it, an open mind is needed. But then thats true for most of the best music. By the way, it isn't recommended for any recently berieved people. It wouldn't cheer them up, put it that way.