Go To Sleep (Cd2) [CD 2] [Single, Maxi]

When you listen to Go To Sleep, Gagging Order and I am a Wicked Child back to back to back, you begin to hear the guitar based rock and roll albumn we were promised. If you're curious about what that apparently imaginary albumn might have sounded like, start here.

Gagging order is an incredibly beautiful song. It's the sort of "Secret Radiohead" only those who have all their singles know about. Think of Lozenge of Love or How I made My Millions. It's that good.

It's sort of a Big Star type make you cry softy... and I love it.

I am a wicked child is also excellent... though much more of a sing along type track. This is more along the lines of a Molasses or Bishop's Robes type... lyrical and melodic slow dance.

While both of these are excellent and easily albumn worthy for most bands, those fans of Radiohead singles will not be surprised.

The band seems to have a secret side which they reserve just for songs like these and which they leave aside of B Sides.

Those of us who bought the pyramid song and knives out singles (or any of their singles from previous albumns for that matter) will no doubt pick this up anyway, so I don't need to try to sell you on it.

For those of you who don't have all or any of these, I highly suggest you look into them. If you love Radiohead, but are basing your love for them on the albumns alone, you're missing out on a while different dimension to the band... and contrary to what you might think, these B-Sides are typically less experimental and more poppy than the albumn tracks. (I said Typically... there's no accounting for the experimental ambient brilliance of paperbag writer and where bluebirds fly )

Anyway, long story short. If you like radiohead, first make sure you have enough to eat, then pay your student loan, but after that, don't hesitate to buy this single.

Keep in mind that these are b-sides, and the recording quality is such. It's fuzzy, improperly mixed, and imbalanced ever so slightly in the left and right ears. But the music is beautiful. "Gagging Order" is Thom solo on an acoustic guitar, and the song has the slow somber feel of Radiohead's best ballads, with a slight folky touch. There's something particularly haunting about this track as Thom moans, "Move along / there's nothing left to see / just a body / nothing left to see," to a rolling, dirty guitar strum. Simply mystical.

"I am a Wicked Child" is pure blues, with harmonica (!) and all. It sounds like the band woke up one morning and just started grooving on their instruments, and this song came out of it. It has the feel of an old Beatles cover of some bluesy song, and it's a good listen. I just wish I knew for sure who was on that harmonica.

To all fans of the band, don't hesitate to pick this up.