Joy-Nir-Pix-Head
08-17-2004, 08:01 PM
Hello this my first time so i hope i'm doing the right thing.
This is basically an album of b-sides from the Hail To The Thief singles but being Radiohead (the greatest, most groundbreaking band around at the moment) it's still a good album to listen to. Although it doesn't quite live up to any of their full albums (bar Pablo Honey, perhaps) for any loyal fan, it is a must have.
Tracklisting:
1. 2+2=5 (Live At Earls Court, London, 26/11/03) (3:34)
2. Remyxomatosis (Christian Vogel RMX) (5:06)
3. I Will (Los Angeles Version) (2:12)
4. Paperbag Writer (3:56)
5. I Am A Wicked Child (3:04)
6. I Am A Citizen Insane (3:30)
7. Skttrbrain (Four Tet RMX) (4:24)
8. Gagging Order (3:33)
9. Fog (Again) (Live) (2:16)
10. Where Bluebirds Fly (4:23)
Track 1:
This is a great live version of the first song off Hail To The Thief, and just makes you love this song even more than you did in the first place. I've heard that this song sounds amazing when played live, and this recording completely proves that. The start is as hypnotic as it is on record, and at the 'Because' bit, it just totally explodes. Thom sounds amazing, and the desperation in his voice is quite incredible. My two favourite parts to this recording, is Thom gasping for breath after each line later on in the song, and the way he literally turns into Jonny Rotten at the 'don't question my authority or put me in the dock' part (I don't know if this is deliberate but it is just the coolest thing I have ever heard!).
(5/5)
Track 2:
This is the first of two remixes on Com Lag, so technically they are not by Radiohead, but I'll review them anyway. This starts with the last roar of applause from 2+2=5, before they fade out and some kind of fuzzy keyboard noises begin, before a simple drum beat arrives. This slowly builds up before Thom's voice begins. The track slowly builds up, still keeping the same drum beat, with Thom sounding angrier as it goes on. This does exactly what a remix should do, which is to take the song into a new direction, and doesn't
sound much like the original at all. This is one of the grooviest tracks on Com Lag, and for anyone who (criminally) didn't like Myxomatosis may find this version an improvement, but personally I prefer the original.
(4.5/5)
Track 3:
This is an alternate version to I Will, and is definetly as good, if not better, than the version on Hail To The Thief. It is basically the same except for the edition of drums and some slightly different backing vocals (I think). Radiohead seem to have messed around with this song quite a lot so perhaps this will not be the last version we will hear. Like the original I Will I reckon it could be about a minute longer, but is still a very good alternate version.
(4/5)
Track 4:
This is a brilliant, haunting song and I think would fit perfectly on Kid A, Amnesiac or Hail To The Thief. I read something stupid in Q recently putting this in the top five worst Radiohead songs (they did also say that Everything In It's Right Place was their best so I'm not that suprised) and said it sounds like Pink Floyd... is that a bad thing? This begins with a distant drum rhythm and a stop/start string part before a techno drum begins and Thom appears. I would definetly put this in my top 5 Radiohead songs not to listen to in the dark. This song also has a great bass part, one of my fav Colin bass bits in fact, and makes the song very catchy. This is the first of two Beatles referances on Com Lag, this one being the title, Paperbag Writer, which is obviously taken from the Beatles song Paperback Writer.
(5/5)
Track 5
This is the second Beatles referance: the first line is 'mother Mary come to me', which is a line from Let It Be. I am not 100% sure that these referances are deliberate but I would be very suprised if they weren't. This is a slightly dreary song with a slightly annoying guitar part, but is still well worth listening to. Thom once again gives a great vocal performance, and the harmonica part makes this song sound slightly western. I definetly feel that if they'd spent slightly longer on the guitar part this song could be improved. It sounds very distant on record and for some reason reminds me of You And Whose Army? It finishes with Thom muttering 'ok'.
(3.5/5)
Track 6
A very good instrumental to rival Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors. Its starts gently with some kind of a keyboard part that sounds like a little like a whale, before a big, driving, thumping bass drum appears and the song takes shape. This song makes me smile and should be listened to in sunny weather. The only vocal part is someone shouting "Hey!' and it generally doesn't change much after that, except a brief pause in the music before it starts up again. It would be interesting to know whether Radiohead write something like this together as a band or whether it is just a specific member of the band. If it is it is probably Jonny I reckon, but I may be wrong.
(4/5)
Track 7:
Another remix, not as good as Remyxomatosis, and is completely unrecognisable from the original Scatterbrain on Hail To The Thief. It does give the song a new shape, although isn't as successful as the other remix, and certainly isn't as groovy. It's a little long and halfway through an ochestra starts getting beaten up, which is a little irritating (listen to the song and you'll understand what I mean). Scatterbrains certainly wasn't my favourite track on Hail to The Theif so if you loved that you might like this a little more than I did.
(3/5)
Track 8:
I absolutely adore this song and is easily the best on Com Lag (not counting the live version of 2+2=5). It's dripping with emotion and just makes you want to break down with tears of joy. I'm looking forward to Thom's first acoustic album because I think it would be completely brilliant. This perhaps isn't quite as good as the mesmerising True Love Waits but is definetly one of Thom's best solo performances. I mean this is a b-side for christ's sake! I'm trying to decide which b-side is better: Talk Show Host or this, and I'm finding it pretty **** difficult. I tried this one out on my dad who is completely and utterly indifferent to Radiohead, and he said that the guitar-playing was a bad Donovan impression, and when Thom started singing it just turned into another tuneless Radiohead song. I really have given up on trying to get him to like them after I heard that.
(5/5)
Track 9
Another Yorke-only song, this time with the ol' fella on piano, this one played live. A very pretty song with an attractive melody, but isn't really in the same league as Gagging Order. It's also terribly short and feels quite rushed. It does, however, have the best line on Com Lag: 'baby aligators, in the sewers, grow up fast'. Wierdly enough I actually preferred this to Gagging Order the first time I listened to the album, but after a couple of listens to both of them it becomes clear which is pretty and which is genius. But still an impressive song. It finishes with Thom muttering happily 'goodnight everybody', and should have been the last song on the compilation.
(4/5)
Track 10
This is the only song here that I genuinely don't really like. It's haunting, I'll give them that, but is also very irritating. Its basically just a tiddly dum drum beat with Thom doing some long wailing, and to my ear there isn't much else going on. It sounds and smells like filler to me, which is something I think you very rarely get with Radiohead. Its a very disapointing end, I think.
(2/5)
So thats Com Lag. Its a very impressive compilation and if you were to compare b-side albums with lots of other bands there really wouldn't any comparision at all. This one is really only for familiar Radiohead fans, so if your considering this as your first Radiohead album think again. In my opinion its really worth it just for Gagging Order.
Overall Rating: 4/5
This is basically an album of b-sides from the Hail To The Thief singles but being Radiohead (the greatest, most groundbreaking band around at the moment) it's still a good album to listen to. Although it doesn't quite live up to any of their full albums (bar Pablo Honey, perhaps) for any loyal fan, it is a must have.
Tracklisting:
1. 2+2=5 (Live At Earls Court, London, 26/11/03) (3:34)
2. Remyxomatosis (Christian Vogel RMX) (5:06)
3. I Will (Los Angeles Version) (2:12)
4. Paperbag Writer (3:56)
5. I Am A Wicked Child (3:04)
6. I Am A Citizen Insane (3:30)
7. Skttrbrain (Four Tet RMX) (4:24)
8. Gagging Order (3:33)
9. Fog (Again) (Live) (2:16)
10. Where Bluebirds Fly (4:23)
Track 1:
This is a great live version of the first song off Hail To The Thief, and just makes you love this song even more than you did in the first place. I've heard that this song sounds amazing when played live, and this recording completely proves that. The start is as hypnotic as it is on record, and at the 'Because' bit, it just totally explodes. Thom sounds amazing, and the desperation in his voice is quite incredible. My two favourite parts to this recording, is Thom gasping for breath after each line later on in the song, and the way he literally turns into Jonny Rotten at the 'don't question my authority or put me in the dock' part (I don't know if this is deliberate but it is just the coolest thing I have ever heard!).
(5/5)
Track 2:
This is the first of two remixes on Com Lag, so technically they are not by Radiohead, but I'll review them anyway. This starts with the last roar of applause from 2+2=5, before they fade out and some kind of fuzzy keyboard noises begin, before a simple drum beat arrives. This slowly builds up before Thom's voice begins. The track slowly builds up, still keeping the same drum beat, with Thom sounding angrier as it goes on. This does exactly what a remix should do, which is to take the song into a new direction, and doesn't
sound much like the original at all. This is one of the grooviest tracks on Com Lag, and for anyone who (criminally) didn't like Myxomatosis may find this version an improvement, but personally I prefer the original.
(4.5/5)
Track 3:
This is an alternate version to I Will, and is definetly as good, if not better, than the version on Hail To The Thief. It is basically the same except for the edition of drums and some slightly different backing vocals (I think). Radiohead seem to have messed around with this song quite a lot so perhaps this will not be the last version we will hear. Like the original I Will I reckon it could be about a minute longer, but is still a very good alternate version.
(4/5)
Track 4:
This is a brilliant, haunting song and I think would fit perfectly on Kid A, Amnesiac or Hail To The Thief. I read something stupid in Q recently putting this in the top five worst Radiohead songs (they did also say that Everything In It's Right Place was their best so I'm not that suprised) and said it sounds like Pink Floyd... is that a bad thing? This begins with a distant drum rhythm and a stop/start string part before a techno drum begins and Thom appears. I would definetly put this in my top 5 Radiohead songs not to listen to in the dark. This song also has a great bass part, one of my fav Colin bass bits in fact, and makes the song very catchy. This is the first of two Beatles referances on Com Lag, this one being the title, Paperbag Writer, which is obviously taken from the Beatles song Paperback Writer.
(5/5)
Track 5
This is the second Beatles referance: the first line is 'mother Mary come to me', which is a line from Let It Be. I am not 100% sure that these referances are deliberate but I would be very suprised if they weren't. This is a slightly dreary song with a slightly annoying guitar part, but is still well worth listening to. Thom once again gives a great vocal performance, and the harmonica part makes this song sound slightly western. I definetly feel that if they'd spent slightly longer on the guitar part this song could be improved. It sounds very distant on record and for some reason reminds me of You And Whose Army? It finishes with Thom muttering 'ok'.
(3.5/5)
Track 6
A very good instrumental to rival Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors. Its starts gently with some kind of a keyboard part that sounds like a little like a whale, before a big, driving, thumping bass drum appears and the song takes shape. This song makes me smile and should be listened to in sunny weather. The only vocal part is someone shouting "Hey!' and it generally doesn't change much after that, except a brief pause in the music before it starts up again. It would be interesting to know whether Radiohead write something like this together as a band or whether it is just a specific member of the band. If it is it is probably Jonny I reckon, but I may be wrong.
(4/5)
Track 7:
Another remix, not as good as Remyxomatosis, and is completely unrecognisable from the original Scatterbrain on Hail To The Thief. It does give the song a new shape, although isn't as successful as the other remix, and certainly isn't as groovy. It's a little long and halfway through an ochestra starts getting beaten up, which is a little irritating (listen to the song and you'll understand what I mean). Scatterbrains certainly wasn't my favourite track on Hail to The Theif so if you loved that you might like this a little more than I did.
(3/5)
Track 8:
I absolutely adore this song and is easily the best on Com Lag (not counting the live version of 2+2=5). It's dripping with emotion and just makes you want to break down with tears of joy. I'm looking forward to Thom's first acoustic album because I think it would be completely brilliant. This perhaps isn't quite as good as the mesmerising True Love Waits but is definetly one of Thom's best solo performances. I mean this is a b-side for christ's sake! I'm trying to decide which b-side is better: Talk Show Host or this, and I'm finding it pretty **** difficult. I tried this one out on my dad who is completely and utterly indifferent to Radiohead, and he said that the guitar-playing was a bad Donovan impression, and when Thom started singing it just turned into another tuneless Radiohead song. I really have given up on trying to get him to like them after I heard that.
(5/5)
Track 9
Another Yorke-only song, this time with the ol' fella on piano, this one played live. A very pretty song with an attractive melody, but isn't really in the same league as Gagging Order. It's also terribly short and feels quite rushed. It does, however, have the best line on Com Lag: 'baby aligators, in the sewers, grow up fast'. Wierdly enough I actually preferred this to Gagging Order the first time I listened to the album, but after a couple of listens to both of them it becomes clear which is pretty and which is genius. But still an impressive song. It finishes with Thom muttering happily 'goodnight everybody', and should have been the last song on the compilation.
(4/5)
Track 10
This is the only song here that I genuinely don't really like. It's haunting, I'll give them that, but is also very irritating. Its basically just a tiddly dum drum beat with Thom doing some long wailing, and to my ear there isn't much else going on. It sounds and smells like filler to me, which is something I think you very rarely get with Radiohead. Its a very disapointing end, I think.
(2/5)
So thats Com Lag. Its a very impressive compilation and if you were to compare b-side albums with lots of other bands there really wouldn't any comparision at all. This one is really only for familiar Radiohead fans, so if your considering this as your first Radiohead album think again. In my opinion its really worth it just for Gagging Order.
Overall Rating: 4/5