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Review Summary: A superb album, but not the greatest of all time, as many claim This is one of the most acclaimed albums of the Nineties. Radiohead were often called by many the Beatles of the Nineties, and indeed they are the equivalent of the Beatles in that decade, as far as influence goes. And they were truly great, actually. But let’s cut the story short and move on to the music.
OK Computer features great production. Muddy at first listen but you start digging on the little sounds and intricacies that exist on the songs after the third or so listen. The songwriting is great, with Thom Yorke’s melodies melding with the rest of the instruments -and mainly the guitar- perfectly. Paranoid Android features a nifty ascending vocal melody tied with acoustic guitar fingerpicking. And then after two and a half minutes approximately, the highly distorted electric bursts in with force and drives us through a paranoid, as the title suggests (duh), break. The song continues into yet another mood after that, with baritone harmonies contrasting with Yorke’s higher pitched voice and finishes with the loud break featured before, only this time more threatening. Airbag , the opener, melds piano lines with noisy guitar riffs very effectively, introducing the listener to the album.
Subterranean Homesick Alien is more dreamy and slow-paced but with great atmosphere and arrangement. The vocals are a bit buried in the mix, unfortunately, but still. Exit Music (For A Film) follows, with simple acoustic strumming alone in the mix and then the voice joins in. And the song manages to achieve a captivating finale after the drums kick in and Thom starts shouting with desperation. Let Down starts with a complex acoustic line and features nice harmonies in the chorus, as well as effective vibraphone(or whatever this piano-like instrument is) that emphasizes the acoustic line. But it is a bit overlong both lyrics-wise and music-wise.
Karma Police, now, returns the album back to the quality of the first four songs. Similar to Sexy Sadie is the middle part, but not much else, really, contrary to what detractors claim. Great melody on that one, too and a haunting atmosphere generally. Fitter Happier starts kind of…weird I’d say but the piano slowly becomes louder than the annoying voice that starts the song but still…that’s about it. I get the point of the lyrics, but still it is useless as a song. Electioneering begins with a terrific riff that reminds me the 50’s rocker for some reason and then the rest of the band joins for a frenzied, original rocker. The finale of this song is fantastic as it builds up very smoothly and will have you headbanging for sure.
Climbing Up The Walls is more relaxed featuring again a great melody from York and ominous bass lines tied perfectly with the acoustic guitar and the slow, calculated drum pattern. The ‘fat’ sound of the drums is indeed a highlight of the song, because it fills the sound effectively. And then the distortion takes over again and increases the intensity of the song before it closes with some outworldly noises.
No Surprises takes over with its great melodic introduction and the arrangement is the most beautiful on the entire record. A great, soothing vocal melody is sung by York and the songs becomes on of the album’s most emotional moments, without overdoing the trick too much. The instruments meld in an ideal way and after only 3 and a half minutes the song is over, without a trace of being overlong. Lucky is emulating the romantic ambience of No Surprises, at first listen, because there is also a very dark feel to it, even though it’s not a highlight. The Tourist closes the album in a rather pedestrian way, saved only by the great tone in the guitar and the ethereal vocals, but the general feel is rehashed from earlier songs.
Still, the album has its flaws. First, there is not a lot of diversity in the record, because the songs all share the same depressing atmosphere and vibe, with only No Surprises and Electioneering breaking the sameness. Plus, there are some filler tracks that serve nothing but slowing the pace of the album. The Tourist and Lucky are pointless, too because they recycle the general mood of the album without offering breathtaking music or melodies. And as I stated before, Fitter Happier is certainly the album’s low point, despite it’s lyrics. After all, they could have omitted these songs and have a shorter but well-paced album. But it manages to grab you with its emotional impact and power, despite its flaws, and its stellar songwriting. A great album this is, but not the ‘greatest of all time’ or ‘one of the greatest’ as fans and ignorant people claim.
other reviews of this album |
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Album Rating: 5.0
Hmm
Not a bad review, but it just doesn't stand out as amazing I suppose. Not going to pos or neg.
"A great, great album, but not the greatest of all time, as many claim"
Might not want to use 'great' so much. Think of other adjectives. By giving it a 4 it's technically
'excellent'.
You're capable of making quality reviews judging by your others.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
There's nothing worse than reading a review that has to talk about the popularity of the album. As for the "fillers" breaking the "tone" of the album; I think this is dribble; Lucky and Exit Music are amongst the best of this album.
Perhaps you just had ridicuously high expectations and were after quick hooks rather than asettling experience? Funnily enough, most people have this problem with Kid A...
... Until, you know, they let it consume them.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
awesome an okc review!
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
"A great album this is, but not the ‘greatest of all time’ or ‘one of the greatest’ as fans and ignorant people claim."
(great) way to end your review like a duche
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Album is one of the most interesting of the last 20 years, every time I listen to it I'm sure that this time I will appreciate it more than I used to do, but when it finishes I'm just disappointed that I didn't feel as I expected.
Probably Radiohead simply isn't the band for me.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
the album does have filler, but the filler tracks are Fitter Happier, Electioneering and Climbing Up The Walls imo
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
yeah, fuck people who think that this is one of the best! we are ignorant and stupid, not like you. i wish i could be as insightful as you
| | | "Not a bad review"
ehhhh, criticisms are shallow tbh
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
"the album does have filler, but the filler tracks are Fitter Happier, Electioneering and Climbing Up The Walls imo"
Climbing Up The Walls is godly
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
"The vocals are a bit buried in the mix, unfortunately, but still."
great sentence
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Review is a little bit too arrogant agreed
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
And they were truly great, actually
I'm not really into pop music (I'm a Radiohead fan, actually)
Seriously though, review is pretty awful.
| | | could be a troll review, which would be excusable if it was an entertaining read
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
This is one of the most worst album reviews of the 2010s. doctorjimmy was often called by many the Beatles of writing really shitty reviews, and indeed they are the equivalent of the Beatles in that decade, as far as influence goes. And he was truly awful, actually. But let’s cut the story short and move on to the music.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
pos
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
treb forgot how to english
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
What a strange little review
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
A decent, decent review, but not the most decent of all time
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
This was just annoying to read and some of your song criticisms are shallow as Johnny said.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
So I was supposed to be like 'OMG this is best album of all time'.First of all, there is no such thing as the best album of all time, and if there was one, OK Computer wouldn't deserve the honour.Second,the album has flaws,if you can't see them, well I can't do much else about it.And i think the album is fantastic -hence the 4, which is equal to 'excellent' as some genius here posted.Well done for stating the obvious.
As for the poor english, this is not my native language so it is a bit harder to express myself compared to my language.
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