Amazon.com: On the deliriously satisfying In Rainbows, Radiohead returns to a more straight-ahead (though subdued) rock sound. Much hubbub has been made about this record's innovative release. Radiohead allowed fans to pay what they wished to download fairly low-resolution tracks from the band's own website. Like so many innovations, it already seems funny both that it was such big news and that someone else of similar stature hadn't done it sooner. Some pundits were appalled that it took awhile to download the tracks if you tried to do it at the same time as thousands of other people, while others decried that the group was trying to kill the music industry (or save it). Little of the press seemed to focus on the record itself, which actually made sense because it was so entertaining and inviting, the most low-key album Radiohead has made to date. There's even a very straight-forward, simple, silly little love song, "House of Cards." It might be a bit lethargic, but the simple instrumentation of electric guitars, bass, and drums is lovely as heck. A handful of these tunes enchanted fans for years before finally being committed to computer "tape." This is particularly fitting as In Rainbows is the group's most "band"-sounding album since OK Computer. This is not a record that hits you over the head with how far this group is pushing the envelope; it's simply a phenomenal, well-crafted, and exciting album. As soon as it's done, you're playing it again. --Mike McGonigal
Album Description: TENTATIVE TRACKLIST: "15 Step" - 3:57 "Bodysnatchers" - 4:02 "Nude" - 4:15 "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" - 5:18 "All I Need" - 3:48 "Faust Arp" - 2:09 "Reckoner" - 4:50 "House of Cards" - 5:28 "Jigsaw Falling into Place" - 4:09 "Videotape" - 4:39
My favorite, so far I bought In Rainbows first, so it was my introduction to Radiohead. Since the purchase, I have been buying their other CDs or MP3s. While I think all the albums are great, this one is still my favorite out of OK Computer, Hail to the Thief, The Bends, and Kid A. Kid A is possibly my second favorite. I think both of those albums are getting bad reviews, because people have favorites like The Bends or OK Computer, and they were expecting the same music. There is no reason why anyone should skip this CD. If you like Radiohead, this one is really a stellar choice. I am really listening to all their CDs at the same time, since I am just getting into them. They are right up my ally since I like Pink Floyd and alternative music.
Mellow Yellow, and blue, orange, green, red, etc. You know when you're tuning a guitar, and you keep tweaking it tighter and tighter, and the pitch keeps rising, until eventually it snaps and evens its tone out? That's what happened with Radiohead, where the experimentation and chaotic sounds of their previous albums finally give way to a delectable mellow buzz. Bravo.
Best rock CD of the year "In Rainbows" got a lot of attention for the novel way Radiohead started to sell it. The music shouldn't be overlooked. Each song is in the Radiohead style, catchy, and organic. There are some synth or looped parts, but it sounds like five guys in a room. Highly recommended.
much better than I expected. I was apprehensive about buying this cd after reading some of the negative reviews on Amazon.com. However, I bought it and have listened to it quite a few times now and must say that I prefer it to "the bends", but find "ok computer" a better album. This is much more of an album than "the bends", which to me is a collection of singles.
A consistently satisfying album People should stop expecting Radiohead to be what they think they should be, and just listen - if they did, they might get more out of it. In Rainbows, which very importantly was independently made without a studio hanging over them, is the band's most refined album to date. The songs, both in their construction and arrangements, are concise, punchy, consistently imaginative and often very moving. Some are more successful than others, of course, while some take longer to speak and are therefore worth listening to again and again. But after listening to the album maybe 100 times over the last 6 months, I still find many new things each time. This is not an album that everyone will like on the first hearing - and thank goodness for that. Like most truly valuable things in life, the more you put in to it, the more you get back out, and that is certainly true of In Rainbows. That said, the melodies are very memorable, and the overall sound not nearly as complex as in previous albums, and yet the effect of the songs is more focused. Quite simply, this is a consistently satisfying album.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
