Just wanted to get people's opinions on this band, who I feel are often misunderstood, and dismissed as "music to slash your wrists to".
When you mention Radiohead to most people they'll more than likely think of 'Creep', a song which doesn't show the more creative side of this quintet. From the simple beginnings of 'Pablo Honey' they've become arguably the most creative and thought-provoking band in the UK, their sound has shown progression in every album released.
'Pablo Honey' is an often overlooked album, it is more britpop-driven than subsequent efforts, although it has it's rock moments aswell, and isn't really representitive of Radiohead's true sound. The album's most well-known track is undoubtedly Creep, although the band tend to distance themselves from it. My personal standout tracks are 'You', 'Blow Out' (the acoustic version of this is awesome), 'Thinking About You', and 'Ripcord'.
The band's second album, 'The Bends' showed a massive progression from 'Pablo Honey's more generic offering, the content of the album varied from alternative rock to massive guitar anthems, and also showed Radiohead's first forays into experimentation that would become common-place in their later work. The album has many standout tracks, my top 5 would be - 'High and Dry', 'Just', 'You', 'Fake Plastic Trees', and 'Street Spirit (Fade Out). Street Spirit is probably my favourite track by the band, absolutely awesome.
'OK Computer' is the band's most critically-acclaimed album, and it's not hard to see why, it contains some of their best work, and further continues with the experimentation that began with 'The Bends'. The album had a darker feel to it then previous albums, 'Climbing Up The Walls', 'Karma Police', and 'Lucky' are examples of this, whereas only 'Electioneering' resembled the rockier sound of 'The Bends'. 'Paranoid Android' is the most experimental track on the album, at over 6 minutes long it's the longest track on the album, and has several layers, seeming like several songs rolled into one.
Radiohead's fourth album, 'Kid A', is their best work in my opinion, with their experimentation reaching a new level. 'Kid A' showed a new direction of sound for the band, this led to some critics immediately dismissing it, simply because it wasn't "OK Computer Mark 2". They took influence from the techno-gurus such as Aphex Twin, Autechre and Boards of Canada, and tracks like 'Idioteque', 'How To Disappear Completely', and 'The National Anthem' were different to anything Radiohead had attempted previously. This album is an example of why I feel Radiohead are the most important band in the UK, and have been for several years, not many bands could have changed their general sound so dramatically. I would use Oasis (sorry Jonny) as an example of this, they tried to change their sound with the release of 'Be Here Now', but that album was an overdrawn, disappointing affair. Standout tracks from Kid A - 'Optimistic', 'The National Anthem', 'Idioteque', and the beautiful 'How To Disappear Completely'.
'Amnesiac' represents Radiohead's most disappointing album, in which the band's previous experimentation continued, but lacked something special that 'Kid A' had. It also has some of the band's darkest moments, these include the only two standout tracks from the album; 'Knives Out', and 'Pyramid Song', apart from these two I really struggle to find tracks which I like. Every band has moments which they would rather forget, and I feel 'Amnesiac' is Radioheads.
After the slight let-down of the previous album, 'Hail To The Thief' showed a rapid return to form, showing elements of the band's previous sucesses. '2 + 2=5' is a rock-driven anthem that bursts into life, 'Sail To The Moon' is a another of Radiohead's beautiful tracks, 'The Gloaming' and 'Myxamotosis' show their experimental side once again. I would class this as neither Radiohead's best or worst work, it certainly isn't a bad album considering it's their 5th release.
How I view their albums:
1. Kid A
2. The Bends
3. OK Computer
4. Hail To the Thief
5. Amnesiac
In my view there's not many bands that can match the originally and creativeness of Radioead, and I feel they are the best act to come out of this country in 15 years. I know a lot of you will disagree with that statement, but that's what forums are for.
So then, how do you view Radiohead?
