Radiohead - In Rainbows
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Free Music Notes for In Rainbows
Free Music Review: Talk About The Passion!
Hit: 5 Stars
I really can't write a long review on this one because In Rainbows is such a monumental achievement in my eyes that I find few words that truly express how I feel about it. It's the only album that matters to me right now and I haven't felt that way about a Radiohead release since OK Computer. I've loved the albums in between but none satisified me so completely as In Rainbows has. Being an agnostic, music is the closest to being religious as I get and so, for me, this album feels like the soundtrack to someone's soul if one exists.
I've always been objective on people's opinions regarding music but in this instance I truly feel like the those who don't like this album either didn't give it enough time to sink in or were never fans in the first place. It stands shoulder to shoulder with OK Computer in my book and might even be better though I probably shouldn't say that while still so enraptured with it. The bottom line is that this album has space. Each song is allowed to have its own flow and it does take several listens to fully embrace every track. Don't put in on while driving or reading a book, it demands your full attention and would be honored if you threw on the headphones while your at it.
We don't live in an age of unlimited attention spans so I can see why many would lose patience with it. Even the Amazon review called it a bit lethargic but I never heard anyone say the same thing about Pink Floyd even though they rarely rose above 30 bpm. In Rainbows contains a full spectrum of sound and even manages to rock out pretty hard in places. I'm not going to analyze each song because I keep finding different reasons why I like them with every listen. Anything I say may be the exact opposite reason why someone else digs the same track.
Key songs for me are Bodysnatchers, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, All I Need and Reckoner. Although I will note that what stands out the most for me on this album for some reason is the drumming by Phil Selway. At first listen he almost seemed buried in the mix but slowly but surely I felt his work was the subdued lynch pin of the whole album. He truly deserves as much credit as possible for the beautiful work he has turned in.
As others have mentioned, the packaging is a bit unwieldy so be careful opening it. I'm not going to ding it one star because of this fact as another reviewer did because in the end the music is what should really be judged hear and five stars doesn't seem like enough. Oh look, I guess I was able to find the words to express how I felt about this record. Silly me for making such bold commitment in the beginning.
Free Music Review: 9.8/10
Hit: 5 Stars
For many fans, waiting for a new Radiohead album is like being a seven year old on Christmas Eve, with the anticipation stretched across nearly five years. For the most obsessive fans, this interim period marks a distinct chapter in life, making the stakes high and leaving a lot of room for disappointment. Fortunately, Radiohead's In Rainbows does not disappoint.
Rainbows starts off with a bang, as Radiohead albums do. "15 Step" is Radiohead at their most joyful, its combination of tribal beats and Jonny Greenwood's subtle but melodious guitar line make this track infectious. Next comes "Bodysnatchers," a relentless interplay of scathing guitars growl while Thom Yorke's urgent, paranoid vocals struggle to assert that "he's alive," that he's "seen them coming." This song will literally push you backwards
After "Bodysnatchers," the mood of the album changes dramatically in the direction of masterfully crafted and intimate beauty that is simultaneously sparse and lush. Yorke's delicate vocals on "Nude" and "Arpeggi's" slow-burning drive will trigger your endorphins and send shivers down your spine. The crescendo of "All I Need" is exceptionally strong, even for Radiohead who has made a living off of unconventional rising song structures.
There are two wholly new songs on Rainbows and both tracks stand out. "Faust Arp" is a mesmerizing two minutes reminiscent of Elliott Smith or the Beatle's "Julia." "Reckoner" contains some of Yorke's best falsetto, beautiful orchestration, and a hypnotic guitar line. It is a fan favorite and one of the Radiohead's most impressive moments.
The weakest track on Rainbows is "House of Cards," a reggae influenced pop song which drones on for too long and drenches Yorke's otherwise pristine vocals in heaps of reverb. But where "House of Cards" falters, "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" triumphs. This rock song, though tamer than "Bodysnatchers," rounds out the album nicely. At the climax, Yorke's voice and his intriguing lyrics switch from collected to clamorous, leading into the haunting funeral dirge that is "Videotape."
"Videotape," though different from the lauded live version, perfectly encapsulates the mood of the entire album, best likened to reconnecting with an old friend, or recalling a lost loved one. The experience doesn't always line up with your expectations, but it is warm and pleasant with a tinge of sadness. Rainbows represents Radiohead's strongest collection of songs since OK Computer, and their most cohesive album since Kid A.
Free Music Review: Relevant. Primal. Pensive. Sublime. This is Essential Radiohead.
Hit: 5 Stars
"It's about that anonymous fear thing," Thom Yorke says about In Rainbows, "sitting in traffic, thinking, 'I'm sure I'm supposed to be doing something else' . . . it's similar to OK Computer in a way. It's much more terrifying. But OK Computer was terrifying too."
There is nothing like the excitement of listening to a new Radiohead album for the first time. I'll never forget the experience of hearing OK Computer--my favorite Radiohead album--for the first time. Radiohead's seventh release, In Rainbows, was completed in June 2007 and mastered in July and August 2007 in a New York City studio. The album marks the band's first album after ending its contract with EMI and the end of Radiohead's longest gap between studio albums. (Hail to the Thief was released in June 2003.) Radiohead first released In Rainbows in October 2007 as a digital download for which customers could choose their own own price. 1.2 million copies were sold on the day of its release. I waited patiently until after all the marketing hype settled to purchase my own copy of In Rainbows in its standard CD format. (I don't know what the average digital download selling price was in October, but I paid about $8 for my CD.) It was worth the wait. In Rainbows is essential Radiohead. It is among the best of the band's recordings, and in my opinion, the best album of 2007. The strong, mulitlayered (like a rainbow) tracks includes:
1. 15 Step (3:57) (features the children's choir of the Matrix Music School).
2. Bodysnatchers (4:02) (recorded in a period of "hyperactive mania," Yorke describes the song as "a little bit like Neu! meets dodgy hippy rock").
3. Nude (4:15) (premiered live during the OK Computer world tour, and was finally released on In Rainbows).
4. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (5:18)
5. All I Need (3:48) (the primal white noise of Radiohead playing loudly in a room).
6. Faust Arp (2:09)
7. Reckoner (4:50)
8. House of Cards (5:28)
9. Jigsaw Falling into Place (4:09) (the album's first single).
10. Videotape (4:39) (a sublimely minimal piano ballad).
G. Merritt
Free Music Review: In Rainbows
Hit: 5 Stars
Thom Yorke and co. have been making an incessant buzz ever since early October of last year when the world damn near stopped turning at the announcement of their forthcoming album, "In Rainbows." It was all there: the "return to form" comparisons with "OK Computer".....the "screw the record industry" web site release style.....the rumors of a love song.
Admittedly, in the frenzy of it all, I somehow missed the memo about an eventual CD release in early 2008. On October 10, I happily logged onto Radiohead's website, did my little currency conversion, and proudly clicked "submit order" on what I thought was $9 well spent on a band whose innovation and creativity was worth what I would not receive in stellar sound quality and abstract liner notes. So when the fog finally lifted and I realized that 128 kbps sound and a Staples CD-R would not be my only means of enjoying this album (and it is indulgently enjoyable), I made a conscious decision to stick to the original intentions of the band. I would not spend $12 more for a hard copy. It was an Internet-only release, and I was hell bent on absorbing it that way.
Not that it really matters. "In Rainbows" is too good with or without fancy accessorizing. But make no mistake: there is little original material here. Some of it harkens back to the "Bends" days, while other tracks preserve the glitch-happy moments of "Kid A." More likely though, what you'll hear is a hybrid of the band's 15 year catalogue. And ultimately, isn't that what we want? Not a band trying to reinvent the wheel, but rather some reliably (if not expected) outstanding tunes from one of popular music's saving graces?
On the whole, "In Rainbows" is mellow. Get past the first two tracks of "15 Step" and "Bodysnatchers", and you'll find the band at their ethereal and atmospheric best. A Thom Yorke coo on "Nude" sends shivers up the spine. The dark synth textures on "All I Want" are captivating. The cheeky love lines of "House Of Cards" are a welcome reprieve from the usual sturm und drang lyrical themes. And "Videotape" will freak the hell out of you, if you'll let it.
Rogue release tactics and clumsy packaging aside, all you really need are the 10 songs anyhow. If you like Radiohead in the least, you will like this album, and it deserves your hard earned cash, one way or the other. You'll listen at least a dozen times through the album before the trance even begins to lift anyhow.
Free Music Review: The beat goes round and round
Hit: 5 Stars
Sonically, I think _In Rainbows_ is the most interesting Radiohead album. There is a lot of depth and quite a startling amount of originality here, for a band fairly well into their career, even a band as revered and with the proven track record Radiohead possesses. Some have summarized the sounds on offer here by painting this album as a kind of intersection between the experimental, sound collage electronica phase of their career and the vaguely arena ready, immaculately inward looking rock of old. While I think this misses the mark somewhat (Rainbows veers towards the former more and has new elements), this is a fairly good guide to what to expect.
'15 Step' explodes with a heavily distorted beat, which is gradually infiltrated by a delicate, lush guitar lick, and then embellished by Yorke's lilting, melancholy vocals. The melodies are strong but subtle, the structure unconventional, and as such quite a lot of listens are required to get a hold on the track. This certainly sets the tone for the album, although we are thrown an immediate curve ball with 'Bodysnatchers' which is almost visceral compared to much else here: suffice to say it washes out the speakers like a poweful jam and feels more aggressive then any other song. Elsewhere, 'Nude' channels 'Exit Music' and displays a fragile beauty, while 'All I Need', with its hot car metaphors, driving, pulsing organic beat and claustrophobic atmosphere functions as an effective centrepiece of sorts, quite striking in its intensity and dense menace.
The second half of the album is even better. 'Faust Arp' is a gorgeous bridging piece, with am ingenious melody and hordes of entrancing guitar licks. 'Reckoner' is my favourite track, a firm beat anchoring an impossibly emotive melody, Yorke's practically wordless vocal only adding to the mystery. A sparse, affecting masterpiece. Add to this the angular magic of 'Jigsaw Falling Into Place', which feels confrontational and almost out of place, and the thoughtful 'Videotape' and you have the landscape of perfection.
So each track has something to offer, and the record as a whole just shines with ideas: the well placed, syncopated beats behind everything, the great guitar interplay and the admirable restraint and invention in the playing, the powerful vocals and the subtle touches of sound and texture which add so much to the whole. Insular, memorable, addictive beyone belief and oh-so assured, _In Rainbows_ is one for the ages.