Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A review for Jonny's Film Score., 5 Nov 2003
By A Customer
Radiohead has always been a band built of its own reincarnations. Rumors have always persisted about Jonny and Thom's creative control, and compromise, ultimately producing great record after great record. As a fan of Radiohead, I was particularly interested in Jonny's venture - hoping to further decipher Radiohead into its parts, searching for clues as to which decisions were his and which weren't.Fans expecting to do the same will be disappointed in a sense, in that this record is not at all a pop record. Rather, its an amolgum of jazz, synthes, and tribal music. There are no lyrics, this album is fused together (the one thing consistent with the Radiohead records) in such a way that one is never really certain where the track breaks are. Which is fine. Judging from what I know of the film, a mapping of the human condition, there are similarly never any concrete breaks in the lifecycle, so the approach is consistent with the story line. Ultimately, I think this is a record that will want to make people see the film, will satisfy Radiohead fans, and will get better with more and more listenings. Sound familiar? And because I just cannot resist the temptation- this album is one part Lurgee, one part National Anthem, and many parts the Kid A era B-sides.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An album that builds and destroys itself., 4 Feb 2004
Broadly speaking, and I suppose that this will apply to most readers’ concerns, this album has the essence Radiohead’s post OK Computer fare, insofar as it moves between styles (usually with a decidedly ‘indie’ sensibility) and textures evoking to the listener an uncertain mood, atmosphere and place.
Most importantly, and again, this is broadly speaking; it is successful in what it sets out to do and how it goes about it. The bludgeoning sequencing places squawking Jazz (Splitter) after the profoundly smoother Peartree, that cannot ever feel smooth as what has preceded it has been anything but. Therefore the record intends to evoke an uncertain atmosphere; that is such that as the record proceeds, anything that does feel decidedly placid (such as the synth washes in ‘Milky Drops’) carries with it a sense of being done away with at the drop of a hat.
For people who like songs in the strictest sense, it is doubtful that it will be worth the while. However, people who enjoyed songs such as ‘Pyramid Song’ and ‘treefingers’, and were perhaps hoping the album would be some kind of halfway house between Aphex Twin’s Ambient Works and those aforementioned songs, will be satisfied, at least in part. ‘Moon Trills’ could well be an appendix to ‘Pyramid’, and, instead of merely washing over the piano chords with analog synths, there is a keener sense of melody than in the earlier song. However, both share a fantastical otherworldly quality.
Although the opener does rather stand alone in the sense that it is the only ‘immediate’ or ‘obviously like Radiohead’ song here, it is not the only song that would perhaps interest people who like this style, as it is repeated, albeit in a more atmospheric-centred fashion latterly in ‘Clockwork’, ‘Peartree’ and ‘Bode Radio’. It would probably be more accurate to surmise that the album is essentially a breaking down of the continuity, almost stability of ‘Piano Trills’ into its composite parts. In this respect, it works well. In the respect that it offers to the listener a rewarding listen, it does also. In the respect that it offers ‘songs’, it doesn’t. But it is definitely an album worth listening to, in particular if you enjoy albums as being artistic endeavours in which you lose the sense of it being ‘by’ someone; as within this work there is no sense of a particular genre. Rather an appreciation of differing genres, interpreted, then spat out onto celluloid, creating a work that delineates the artists own methods of invention alongside those he appreciated.
Very good.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
multi-sounded music from multi-talented musician, 9 Feb 2005
i dont think i have to say who this is...should be obvious, but i dont want to draw comparisons...so for now forget that band. so bodysong is jonny's first solo outing. and what to expect? well...for a start this isnt easy listening background coffee shop glamour music.on first listen i didnt know what to expect. a hybrid of guitars/computers/violins/trumpets/tapes maybe? well, i think that almost hit the spot...the songs are based around classical pieces, ambient sounds and chaotic free jazz improv. so there is quite a broad range of sounds here. the first piece [moon trills] is really simple but beautiful piano led piece, with violins sneaking around quietly. but then cut to track six [convergance] and your are treated to a percussion frenzy...a simple beat gradually gets covered in loads of instruments all beating out what seems like a random and chaotic drone.but you realise that there is order to the piece...and as things progress and the track gets louder but more ordered. its very very simple..but its stunning and incredibly well arranged. its things like this that really catch your ear and force you to listen. there are so many little things about this album that are fantasticly well written and thought out..but somehow its not the sort of thing that is comfortable to listen to.the nearest thing i can think of to this is the montréal collective set fire to flames. but even then it is nothing like that. its far noiser...the whole album is noisy. from the crazed jazz sections to the dark organ pieces. but then there is a little pop sensibility too... there really is a huge range of ideas and sounds and feelings here. just well hidden. a special mention must be given to the artwork. im not a fan of the jewel case. its horrible..and so i dont like the packaging..but.the artwork is really really good. stanly donwood has again done some brilliant scribbles and blobs. it really works well with the idea [uhm.body..] of the album. but please..next time use something instead of the jewel case! [i know im just rambling, but i just wanted to say how i felt]. so in all fairness this is a beautifully loved and played piece of work by an absolute sonic genius. but it is hard going and it does take time to get into...im still not sure what i think and half of this may just be what i feel now..tomorrow it could be different...
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~ Jonny Greenwood
~ Various Artists
~ Thom Yorke
by Stanley Donwood
~ Thom Yorke
![Bodysong [VINYL]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TcCLa04NL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
