Urban Hat€monger ?

You won`t be finding OK Computer on this list.
Why? , well 2 reasons really
1. I think this is Radioheads best album
2. OK Computer wasn`t even the best album to come out in 1997 , What was? ... well you`ll find that out when I do the entry for No 4
Amnesiac seems to be a very misunderstood album. I think one of the reasons for that is nobody was really knowing what to expect before it was released. I think a lot of fans at the time were expecting something along the lines of The Bends. Given that the band themselves said that Amnesiac would be darker & harder there was a school of thought that all the experimentation would be on Kid A , and that Amnesiac would be more like the old Radiohead............WRONG!!!!!!!
I find it sad that some people view Amnesiac as a Kid A leftovers album , it`s nothing of the sort. I think it stands up perfectly on it`s own merits. It was always planned that there were 2 albums going to be released.
Having said that if you listen to Radioheads progression from one album to another it makes a lot more sense to listen to Amnesiac between OK Computer & Kid A rather than in the order they were released. It just seems to me that Amnesiac is more of a natural successor to OK Computer than Kid A was. I think the band screwed up big time releasing Kid A first , I think releasing Amnesiac first would have soften the blow so to speak about how people would take to Kid A. In fact i`m still not 100% on Kid A myself.
It took me a good while to get into Amnesiac , my reaction on hearing it when it was released was lukewarm to say the least. I didn`t hate it I just wasn`t sure if I liked it. Slowly I began to pick up on things , the first being Knives Out which is probably the most 'trad' Radiohead song on there.Then I Might Be Wrong , You And Whos Army and Pyramid Song soon became favourites.
I think releasing a live album of the Kid A / Amnesiac stuff really helped getting into this album , as did seeing the band live myself (Best gig i`ve ever been to ) These songs, although very technically enhanced , sometimes too much if i`m honest really work well in a live setting. Thats because the basics of these songs is great songwriting , great lyrics and a with good platform to build on. When you realise that then you realise that under all the studio trickery there are song really really great songs and that all the overdubs , samples , loops & all the rest of it just enhance them , on most occasions anyway. In fact thats how I discovered what a great song Like Spinning Plates was after hearing it live for the first time.
And thats why I rate this album so highly. Even 5 years on i`m STILL discovering new things on this album. In fact just listening to it today it suddenly struck me how i`d never noticed what a good song Dollars & Cents was.For some reason that song has always past me by , yet listening to it on it`s own without hearing the rest of the album to judge it by I was blown away by the sheer quality of it.

Anyway , I have a confession to make ...... I LOVE Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors. I`m sorry but it needs saying. I`ve seen this dismissed as being utter rubbish and I think it`s sad. I also think it`s the opinion of the 'idiot' contingent of Radiohead fans who think Creep is their best song (I hate Creep , just thought i`d throw that in) and who constantly go on about how the Bends is a great album (It`s good but it`s also really dated in my opinion). In other words Radiohead fans who also listen to Coldplay & U2 rather than DJ Shadow & Aphex Twin ...HA!!
Are these people deaf? it`s a f*cking great song. It`s funky as hell , it`s like the bastard offspring of Can & Kraftwerk for the 21st century and you know how much I adore Can & Kraftwerk .It`s a bloody highlight of the album not a detrement. You want a detrement listen to bloody Electioneering on OK Computer a song that smacks of 'I can see this album is going to be a bit challenging to some people so we`ll stick an riff based uptempo rock song to make them happy even though it doesn`t fit the tone of the album whatsoever and sticks out like a bloody huge sore thumb '
(I wonder how many people I can upset with this review)
It`s not a perfect album by any means ,but then again it would be No 1 in my list if it was. I`ve never liked Morning Bell much but it`s a slight improvement on the Kid A version , Hunting Bears is just a glorified intro to nothing & Life In A Glasshouse , well it`s a good idea having Thom Yorke sing something thats approaching 1940s style jazz , but I can`t help think his voice doesn`t suit it at all. But props for attempting it.It would be interesting to hear a better singer cover this , somebody like David McAlmont or Luke Haynes would be ideal.
I think if you take those 3 songs off and replace them with A National Anthem , Idioteque & Everything In Its Right Place you`d have the greatest album ever made. But on it`s own merits I think 5 does nicely.

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