Wow, this is a good CD. I just heard it a couple of times, but this is good. Maybe not as innovative as
OK Computer or
Kid/A, but reaches heights in beauty, cohesion and completion as a work of art. The string accompaniments by Johnny are fantastic, and the voice of Thom Yorke is again incredible, giving infinitely refined textures to all the songs, which again do not follow the typical structure, but always start somewhere and end up somewhere completely different. Here is a song-by-song review:
01.- 15 steps: already a favourite. The initial mess is meant to wake you up. Thom starts complaining about something when Johnny comes in to bring the melody, and the Thom follows with a beautiful voice melody on top. And then the glorious bass enters. And so the songs starts growing on you, and you feel better and better, feeling even like dancing. The kids shout, and all is joy. Then, towards the end, dreamy guitar sounds, together with a gorgeous bass again, take you around the universe and back. Love the distortion in the guitar towards the end. A highlight.
02.- Bodysnatchers: dirty sounds to start this fast, energetic song. It grows on you. It has some National Anthem hidden in it in the
synth landscapes. Thom performs angrily to follow the drums, in speed. At the end, the airy guitar and the voice of Thom begging let loose and we reach the climax, among incredible chords. before the song dies not without putting up a good fight.
03.- Nude: as romantic as
Radiohead ever got. The guitar is a pleasure throughout, so delicate. And the voice of Thom, always remarkable. The melody, though, lacks simplicity, directness, and it feels more like a succession of grand chords. Beautiful as it is, it will need several more listens to grasp it as a whole. The last voice crescendo is a moment to remember.
04.- Weird fishes / Arpeggi: it starts a bit like
Song 2 of
Blur, but it suddenly becomes so melancholic that it hurts. The guitar melody is just overwhelming, and Thom makes it feel so hopeless. The drums help you keep up the pace, while you just want to cry. And then everything stops and some hope arises.
Weird fishes starts. And the song enters then an alarm stage, with Thom singing at low pitch, while the guitar is begging for escape with Thom, slightly reminding
Knives out. Amazing ending.
05.- All I need: first time I heard this one I was not entirely convinced by the sound they've chosen for the melody notes, as I had only heard it with grand piano. But after a couple of times, it starts to work out fine with me. The tickling bells are a nice contrast to the sound that seems to get closer to a plain piano as the song advances. When the drums let loose, the crescendo is like a warm embrace, and then Thom wraps it up with his crescendos. Sweet.
06.- Faust Arp: this is a clear homage to
Beatles. Even the initial
One, two, three, four reminds us of
Taxman. The rest of the songs has some
Blackbird and some
Dear Prudence in it, even in the length of the song. To me, another highlight in the album. The combination of acoustic guitar and strings works just great. I may be stretching it, but I hear some
Nick Drake there too.
07.- Reckoner: this song has been there forever, although I didn't know it too much. The echo throughout the song give it a dreamy touch, which Thom helps as well with his whining. As always, the piano brings completeness to the composition. When it all stops and the voices come in, we can intuit
2+2=5 just before the
you have not been paying attention part. But the song soon deviates from there to finish up quite
poppily, with some more string work from Johnny. Is it me or I hear the same sound effects as in
Pull pull revolving doors?. Not the strongest song in the album.
08.- House of cards: moody song, with a
nice'n'slow pace, to lay back and enjoy. Echoing here and there help that effect. It is possibly the song in which Thom voice leads the most, above all other instruments. Everything else seems to float around it to keep it warm, but it's Thom who brings the action. Not a personal favourite, but very enjoyable.
09.- Jigsaw falling into place: this is a completely new song for me, and I love it. Starts fast and you feel like jumping on a running train. The voice goes up and down as in a
roller coaster. Then, Thom starts singing a bit
a la Edge in
Numb, in contrast with the melodic background vocals. Guitar interlude and Thom gets crazy, jumps on the chair and starts shouting as the guitar brings some help. Nice familiar
Radiohead structure. And the the guitar draws again a beautiful melody, together with the strings, while Thom says goodbye to the song.
10.- Videotape: as many other people, I've not been pleasantly surprised by this version of the song, as I considered the live version far far better, with the guitar crescendo and decrescendo, while Thom's voice wonders around. But again, what do I know what Thom and Co had in mind here. It is true, however, that this version is appealing on its own. The naked piano in the
beginning gets you real deep, and the percussion work is, well, puzzling, until Phil comes in and makes a bit of sense with the cymbal. I'm still trying to figure out the background nonesense with the repetitive drum. As a reference, I attach here the live version:
