Product Description

Following the landmark independent digital release of Radiohead's seventh LP whereby customers could name their own price, the experimental British rock stalwarts finally issued 'In Rainbows' in its physical formats. Musically, this release can be seen as a logical culmination of much of the band'sprevious work, incorporating the avant-garde electronics oflater records and more traditional guitar-heavy elements synonymous with their inception. The overt political themes ofprevious album 'Hail To The Thief' are largely jettisoned for an altogether more romantic milieu, with songs such as 'Videotape' and 'Nude' showcasing the intimate nature of singer Thom Yorke's voice.

Track Listing

1. 15 Step
2. Bodysnatchers
3. Nude
4. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
5. All I Need
6. Faust Arp
7. Reckoner
8. House Of Cards
9. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
10. Videotape

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58 in Music
• Released on: 2007-12-31
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's very likely that even if you haven't heard the contents of Radiohead's seventh album, you'll be aware of its existence. Released as a digital download by the band themselves before a CD release was even considered, In Rainbows was lauded for innovation before a note of music was heard. Luckily, the music matches the hype--it takes the best part of Radiohead's previous works and advances the formula even further. While the opener "15 Step"--all skittering drum patterns and dub-style bass--may hark back to the electronica of Kid A, the sound soon gives way to a more guitar-based sound. Whilst not as musically heavy as previous albums, the tunes are far more focused and passionate--"Bodysnatchers" is based around a hypnotic, distorted bass riff, while the beautiful string-drenched "Nude" is a true Radiohead classic. Lyrically, like Thom Yorke's solo album The Eraser, the lyrics are sketches of suburban paranoia, and the eerie sense of things no! t being quite right. This is especially true on the piano-based closer "Videotape", which poignantly details a man watching his life's achievements in his final moments. In short, In Rainbows is another masterpiece from the Oxford quintet. --Thomas Allott

Amazon.co.uk Review

Customer Reviews

They Reap What They Sow
(Quick Recap first) After the slightly anxious Pablo Honey and the joyous stadium depression of The Bends, Radiohead gradually pushed their own musical boundaries out in earnest. Ok Computer was complex and deep, quite adventurous for a chart topping album and then, for a lot of people, the anticipated releases of Kid A and Amnesiac were a bit too far "out there" with some unfamiliar soundscapes and absence of good old fashioned guitars. Hail to the Thief returned to the realm of Ok Computer, but with a few ponderous and (pardon me) downright boring tracks.

A few more years further on, and the echoes and flavours of all that previous work is evident on In Rainbows. IN A GOOD WAY.

The album is a great collection of tracks. Beautiful chiming guitar work, *fantastic* vocal melodies and arrangements, all with a kind of 'organic' electronic undertone to most of the songs (I hope that makes sense). Each song has depth, progression, and a lot of emotion. Each one delivers something to the listener that makes you feel 'in' the music. Each one has small changes, subtle alterations in instrumental or melody that gently grab you by the ears and make you think "yes - this is how great music is written".

It's rare that an album from a band as well known and well revered as Radiohead can sound so familiar, yet so fresh. I was absolutely delighted on first listen, and continue to be delighted with each recap further down the line. It's a culmination of years of skill and imagination from a bunch of brave musicians. All elements of the previous albums are harmoniously mixed in a kaleidascope of engaging and absorbing songs.

They sowed the seeds of invention a few years ago now. But now we are lucky to be reaping the rewards of all that hard work. Reviews probably don't get more arsey than that - but I genuinely love this album that much.

I think In Rainbows is Radiohead's finest work.
FVC

Masterpiece
Hauntingly beautiful tracks that stick in your head - saw them recently and they were good live even without the string arrangements on many tracks. This album seems close and personal - enjoy

A distillation of the previous 6?
What were Radiohead to do? They can't please all the people all the time, can they?

So, were they too keep the Bendsphiles moaning about "pretentious, tuneless noises, blah blah blah" or turn their backs on Kid-A-philes "far-out experimental techno wizadry"?

Unbelievably, Radiohead seem, at least to this ear, to have kept both camps happy. Maybe I'm biased, short of Pablo Honey, I consider all the albums to be quite magnificent in their own ways, and this is no different.

Once the techno-ish intro of 15 Step has finished (where, I believe, many of the post-OK Computer refuseniks stopped listening to write a 1-star review), In Raibows delivers the accessibility of earlier albums without losing the soundscapes of the later ones. They even chuck in a few riffs.

For me, listening from Nude, through Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, All I Need, Faust Arp, Reckoner to House Of Cards, it is almost impossible to not to sit stunned, grinning at the amazing beauty of it all. Reckoner, incidentally, is irresistable. I can't even begin to describe it.

This is not to say the penultimate track, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, is poor. Of coarse it's not. It's just back to some frankly Bends-esque rock, before the achingly beautiful and coldy chilling Videotape plays us out. Marvellous stuff.