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I did say almost.And again, like "Kid A," "Amnesia" struggles to maintain the level of quality before ultimately puttering out. In a rare moment of album to album consistency, Radiohead loosed "Amnesiac" a mere year after the head-turning electronica of "Kid A." And like that previous album, Thom Yorke just sucked upon that lemon until his sour view of the world oozed up from the meditative piano and synthesized songs laid forth. "Hunting Bears" is the biggest offender here, although it seemed to be included just to give guitarist Johnny Greenwood a chance to finally play. This time, though, things seem more traditionally based in song structures. Both "Knives Out" and the opening "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box" almost feel like the Abacab structures. All is forgiven by the delirious brass band that closes out "Life In A Glass House." The horns that careened drunkenly on "Kid A's" "National Anthem" have sobered up enough to deliver an emotional wallop as Radiohead's dual-album experiment draws to a conclusion. In another two years, Yorke would return the guitars to the front of the band with "Hail To The Thief," and return Radiohead to rock and roll.
I hate that amazon hounds you until you review your purchase. How hard is a CD transaction.
I Might Be Wrong (4/5)6. So where to next. Knives Out (4/5)7. More of the same with a few twists. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors (5/5)4. "Amnesiac/Morning Bell" is unnecessary. Recommended for any and all fans of experimental sounds, and, for that matter, Radiohead.Cohesion (4.5/5)Concept (4/5)Consequence (4/5)Consistency (3/5)Tracks:1.
The b-sides associated with the album prove that the band had plenty more tricks up its sleeve, and "Fog" or even the as-yet-unreleased "Follow Me Around," might have fit nicely in its place. I'll dispense with my gripes first. Also, "Hunting Bears" feels like a throwaway, experimental to a pretentious extreme. Like Spinning Plates (5/5)11.
RadioheadAmnesiac; 2001Capitol RecordsMy Rating: 61/100Radiohead's own ZOOROPA.Here we have Radiohead's own ZOOROPA, wherein the band has already changed the game and convinced millions that they will, in fact, love the left turn that the band has taken. Packt like sardines in a crushed tin box (4/5)2. Pyramid Song (5/5)3. You and Whose Army (3.5/5)5. So now that I've got that out of my system, let's talk about what's good and even great. Hunting Bears (2/5)10. And while AMNESIAC is not a bad record, it's not a great one either. Amnesiac/Morning Bell (2.5/5)8.
Lastly, the production on some tracks is a bit too muffled, although I suppose this was somewhat intentional, given the extreme claustrophobia that forms the thematic center of this record. Good: the straightforward "Knives Out", the darkly hilarious "Packt", the twisted Dixieland jazz on "Life in a Glass House." Great: the lucid dreamscapes of "Pyramid Song" (a definite career highlight), the hardcore electronica of "Pulk", the avant-psalm "Like Spinning Plates." Although AMNESIAC isn't Radiohead's best album by any means, it nonetheless makes for a fantastic experience every once in a while. Dollars & Cents (4/5)9. Life in a Glass House (4/5)
This album was made for the die-hard fans of Radiohead. very creative, original and well-made.
It would also be difficult to recruit more musically diverse and critical fans that may dismiss Radiohead as a Brit-grunge rock band that just released Kid A as a one-time indulgence, soon to return to regurgitating familiar formulas. Amnesiac's limited Red Library Book edition is a treat. Amnesiac was a very wise choice - rather than releasing an EP and a series of single/B-sides, they chose to let these songs breathe on a release that, though recorded in the same sessions as Kid A and "related" to those songs, stands very much on it's own artistic merit. Larger prints of the fantastic artwork, with more pages not to be found elsewhere make this worth spending the extra money if you like unique and collectable packages as I do. When I bought Kid A in the winter of 2000, I was curious as to where this band would choose to go afterward; Radiohead has shown more maturity and creative bravery with every release, and it would be difficult for a band to keep a fanbase that expects regurgitation of familiar formulas. Though I am not a fan of anything Radiohead did afterward, Amnesiac is really a great and logical transition between Kid A and where they went with Hail to the Thief. It absolutely stands alone from Kid A but is respectfully symbiotic to it.
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