Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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58 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique, moving, brilliant., 25 Jul 2001
A friend of mine once said that Radiohead were the kind of band who it was easy to admire, and yet difficult to like. I always agreed, preferring the accessibility of bands like Oasis and The Stereophonics to the intensive coolie labour it could sometimes take to listen to Radiohead. Then, last summer, I went to see Radiohead play at Victoria Park in London. And I saw the light. This album can ask a lot of the listener, but if you can really give into the music and just let it carry you off, you can become so consumed by these songs that you find yourself suddenly opening your eyes at the end of a track, blinking in surprise at the fact that you are actually back in the real world. They tear your soul open, and force you to confront those feelings for which you probably don't even have a name. Despair perhaps, numbness perhaps, but above all, the way it can sometimes feel just to be a human in the 20th Century. It's hard to pick a stand out track (even the pretty much tune free "Fitter, Happier" makes for compelling listening), but "Exit Music (for a film)" is one of the most touching, fragile and beautiful songs you will ever hear. When you consider Thom Yorke wrote it as a soundtrack to the end of Romeo and Juliet, the lyrics become even more intense; "Today, we escape, we escape". "Don't lose your nerve. I can't do this - alone". If you have ever felt alone, disenfranchised, pointless or depressed, this record will connect with you in a way you may have never thought possible. And that contact will make you feel better. Less alone. It makes you feel like there are other people out there who feel like this. It's a record which takes you on a journey through the darker parts of the soul. A record about how it feels to be human. Oh, and it's very, very good (did I mention that?).
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why'd I leave it so long?, 12 April 2008
After being a fan of music and in particular rock music for many years i finally decided to give radiohead a chance and bought ok computer, i'm not really sure why I waited so long but they never seemed to appeal to me, maybe it was a lack of instantly catchy tunes, who knows. So i insert the CD, first listen i was moderately impressed and went and bought 'the bends', having now listened to both albums uncountable times i have really been drawn in by the radiohead spell and find every listen reveals something new, either in the lyrics or music, a new understanding is achieved, it onlys leaves me wondering why the hell I left it so long before I conceded. For people who may face the same situation the two albums mentioned are definitely the places to start and give them at least 6 or 7 listens each, if you're not appreciating the music by then maybe try 10 or 20 listens, it will happen eventually. Overall a monumental record which quite rightly is widely regarded as one of the best of all time, personal favourites are 'Airbag' and 'Karma Police'. 10 out of 10.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A truly sonic musical experience for a surprised doubter, 25 Feb 2004
One of the greatest surprises of my life came when I loved this album on first listen. As a devoted follower of conventional, mostly mainstream music I wasn't expecting to at all, nor am I in as settled a position to rate it amongst all musical greats, not being as deeply familiar with many of its apparent indie influences (Costello, The Cure etc) as many others will be. But it strikes even me that this is quite unlike most other albums ever heard, and it clearly represents a stylistic hybrid unmatched by most all of their peers.
Lyrically, Thom Yorke draws up tainted, self-hating landscapes with more than a passing nod to Bowie, complete with some beautifully twisted and timeless touches. Musically, they're perfectly sound with Godrich's production weaving everything spectacularly - as a drummer I particularly picked up on the gifted rhythmwork of Phil Selway. (Airbag and SHA are great examples of abstract beat experimentation)
Highlights? Paranoid Android - undoubtedly one of the greatest tracks to come out of the 90's, with its Bohemian Rhapsody-esque amalgamation of three separate songs and its scathing, powerful taunts pervading throughout its lyrical structure. Exit Music (for a Film), arguably the album's most beautiful composition, is the last desperate scrape for dignity of a person who, crippled by the pain of love, has tumbled inescapably into self-destruction. To listen to the build-up into a high-pitched tormented wail with Yorke descending almost pathetically into "we hope that you choke" is a truly heartbreaking sound. No Surprises similarly is a festival of tiredness and hopelessness, with an almost ironic use of child-like xylophone and a more obvious political edge made clear right in the middle.
Lows? Well, no bad tracks to speak of ultimately - Climbing Up The Walls, while similarly playing on a childhood nightmare-type theme, didn't do as much for me as the rest of the album, it has to be said. Does not detract from the fact that it's essentially as well-structured a song as any other here.
A wonderful foray into a richly textured musical world, if slightly bleak, yet paradoxically with mild optimism hidden in there somewhere; the album can't fail to disappoint anyone with an open mind and an ear for imaginative, often dreamlike melodies. Certainly an all-time great; perhaps not as wildly original as many might claim, but certainly a glowing demonstration of the boundaries which music can be stretched to. Essential!
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