Search - Radiohead :: Amnesiac (Collectors Edition)

Radiohead's own Zooropa

John Carswell | Franklin, TN | 08/19/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Radiohead

Amnesiac; 2001

Capitol Records



My Rating: 61/100



Radiohead'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. So where to next? More of the same with a few twists. And while AMNESIAC is not a bad record, it's not a great one either. I'll dispense with my gripes first. "Amnesiac/Morning Bell" is unnecessary. 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. Also, "Hunting Bears" feels like a throwaway, experimental to a pretentious extreme. 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. So now that I've got that out of my system, let's talk about what's good and even great. 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. 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. Packt like sardines in a crushed tin box (4/5)

2. Pyramid Song (5/5)

3. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors (5/5)

4. You and Whose Army (3.5/5)

5. I Might Be Wrong (4/5)

6. Knives Out (4/5)

7. Amnesiac/Morning Bell (2.5/5)

8. Dollars & Cents (4/5)

9. Hunting Bears (2/5)

10. Like Spinning Plates (5/5)

11. Life in a Glass House (4/5)"

Worth the money for the limited edition book

Kevin Shipp | Bay Area, CA | 07/16/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Amnesiac's limited Red Library Book edition is a treat. 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. 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 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. 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."

Try something new...

Louis Tremblay | Miami, FL United States | 08/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album was made for the die-hard fans of Radiohead... very creative, original and well-made..."