OK Computer (©1997 Parlophone)

the songs: Airbag / Paranoid Android / Subterranean Homesick Alien / Exit Music (For a Film) / Let Down / Karma Police / Electioneering / Climbing Up The Walls / No Surprises / Lucky / The Tourist

Ok Computer was the first album I bought by Radiohead. I'd heard a few songs on the radio and liked what I heard. The music here is somewhat reminiscent of James, The Adventures, and the Silencers, (some have said the wandering quality of the music reminds them of Pink Floyd, but I don't hear it) it has that same brooding quality.  From the opening to the last cut, the music takes you on a journey that leaves you wishing there was one more song to go.  You may have heard Karma Police, be assured that it's not the best song on the album.

KID A (©2000 Parlophone)

the songs: Everything In Its Right Place / Kid A / The National Anthem / How To Disappear Completely / Treefingers / Optimistic / In Limbo / Idioteque / Morning Bell / Motion Picture Soundtrack

Uh. This is either five stars for being so out there they're off the radar, or none for being a complete betrayal to their fan base. Some days I hate this record, some days I think it borders on unbelievable (I can't believe they were able to release this; I can't believe they took the chance - this is brilliant). I bought this one after I got Amnesiac, so I knew what I was in for. Hard to believe that this is the same band that blew me away with The Bends and Pablo Honey.

This is their "new" sound according to lead nebbish Thom Yorke. So get used to it. Oh boy. Having said that, I find my heading bobbing and toes a tapping to the noise of The National Anthem, and getting sucked in to their near hypnotic rhythms. The boys are still there, they're just harder to find.

Sigh, if only it wasn't so hard.

Reviewed November 27, 2001

Hail To The Thief (©2003 Parlophone)

1: 2+2=5 (The Lukewarm) 2: Sit Down, Stand Up (Snakes & Ladders) 3: Sail To The Moon (Brush The Cobwebs Of The Sky) 4: Backdrifts (Honeymoon Is Over) 5: Go To Sleep (Little Man Being Erased) 6: Where I End And You Begin (The Sky Is Falling In) 7: We Suck Young Blood (Your Time Is Up) 8: The Gloaming (Softly Open Our Mouths In The Cold) 9: There There (The Boney King Of Nowhere) 10: I Will (No Man's Land) 11: A Punch Up At A Wedding (No No No No No No No No) 12: Myxomatosis (Judge, Jury & Executioner) 13: Scatterbrain (As Dead As Leaves) 14: A Wolf At The Door (It Girl. Rag Doll)

I'm somewhat at a loss here. Once again the lads have emerged after a couple of years and delivered another cacophonic masterpiece. Rumours were rampant prior to the release of Hail to the Thief that the boys were going back to their rock roots, and that the arty noodly electronic farty messiness of their last two efforts was finally out of their system. Cheers were heard around the world.

Well guess what kiddies? This is more of the same meandering stream of conscious music that at times converges into something listenable - but for the most part sounds like something a million monkeys hacking away with midi enable systems would come up with.

I still think that for my money if I want to listen to meandering weirdness I'll put on James' Wah Wah. However, after a few years of listening to their noise, there's something undeniably appealing in a twisted way about Radiohead's new stuff. In fact, Hail to the Thief is more of a merging of old and new than is first evident. A number of really good songs are lurking here: 2 + 2 = 5, Go to Sleep, We Suck Young Blood, and There There to name a few. Truly the more I listen the more it starts to reveal itself. Heck, maybe a million monkeys, excluding Mike Nesmith, really could write some good tunes if given enough time.

Once again I'm struck by this strange yet wonderful stuff. I'm still not sure if this is worth five stars for going boldly where few have gone before, or zero for being a complete load of crap.

Either way, they got my money. Hail to the Thief indeed.

Reviewed April 11, 2004

Note to the wankers at Parlophone and others who insist on this copy control nonsense. Good thinking there. This will really cut down on piracy by punishing the end user - you know, the consumer (oh don't give me this peer to peer shit argument). You think the big time illegal duplicators and people who really want to pirate your music will be deterred? What short sighted idiocy. Wankers.