Track Listing

1. Everything In It's Right Place
2. Knives Out
3. Black Star
4. Karma Police
5. Let Down
6. Airbag
7. Subterranean Homesick Alien
8. Thinking About You
9. You
10. Bulletproof
11. Fake Plastic Trees
12. I Can't
13. True Love Waits
14. Motion Picture Soundtrack

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38116 in Music
• Released on: 2003-06-09
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
As befits the dedicated expectancy of its title, True Love Waits is a belated expression of admiration for the music of Radiohead from the renowned American concert pianist Christopher O'Riley, a man who ordinarily plys his craft performing Rachmaninoff, Chopin and Prokofiev but whose affinity for the anomalous Oxford quintet has inspired him to transpose 15 of their songs into his own interpretive, classical piano recitals. While it's true to say that classical is classical and pop is pop and ne'er the twain shall meet, Christopher O'Riley's True Love Waits sits alongside the Balanescu String Quartet's transcriptions of Kraftwerk compositions and Swedish choristers the Nau Ensemble's variations on Joy Division's Closer as a brilliantly effulgent exception to the rule.

Amusingly serious sleevenotes aside (classical music etiquette deems Radiohead songs are actually written by Thomas Yorke, Jonathan Greenwood, Edward O'Brien, etc), O'Riley finds sedative melodic beauty hidden behind the rodent-bashing fancy of "Knives Out" while "Exit Music" and "Airbag" are chillingly distant, seemingly conveyed by invisible fingers from the haunted ballroom at the end of the marble corridor. "Arrest this man… he's like a detuned radio" sang Thom Yorke in 1997. However, thanks to Christopher O'Riley, the hitherto unthinkable concept of Middle-Englanders chinking their afternoon cups and saucers to the strains of "Karma Police" on Classic FM has just become a reality. --Kevin Maidment

Customer Reviews

Christopher O'Riley reinvents the piano for me.
Being a massive Radiohead fan I am always very keen to explore anything remotely Radiohead related out of curiosity and as an addition to my heaving collection. There have been a number of 'artists' who have published renditions of Radioheads works, namely Strung Out on OK Computer and Plastic Mutations, both interesting but not captivating productions.

Chris, on the other hand, understands Radiohead, he himself is a fan, and perhaps most importantly he understands and appreciates fellow fans.

I was drawn in from the opening of 'Everything in its right place', mystified as to exactly how this could be transcribed from its minimal electronic roots, the answer for me anyhow is beautifully. Not only is the opener beautiful, but also it crawls under the skin and twists and turns your emotions in the same fashion as the original.

The record never fails at any point, and never tempts you towards the skip button. In the end you will not put this cd in a drawer with your collection, you will play it over and over again and you may even discover the depth that can be tempted out of a piano.

Chris sounds like the whole band and opens up another dimension to Radiohead's works that is not only a tribute to his playing, but also a tribute to the works of Radiohead.

This is the first time that the piano has ever turned my head and captured my attention for so long.

Chris deserves to be rewarded heavily for this and hopefully his ever-increasing fan base will support him from here on in.

Plastic Trees and Ivory Keys
Quite simply a stunning recording. Of course the original songs are remarkable in themselves, and of course the playing is flawless and beautiful, and of course the production is sympathetic, but the real beauty is in the interpretation.

The very concept of a classical version of a rock record should make most of us shiver with fear - this could so easily have become another Classics on 45 (Clayderman does alt.rock?) but O'Reilly re-interprets with such understanding of both his source and modern classical piano work that the resulting execution transcends both.

His love of Radiohead shines through the recording but his playing is both subtle and determinedly passionate at the same time, retaining much of the darker edge of the original songs. As such, the album as a whole should move both fans of the band and devotees of modern classical piano. And, although it is certainly unfortunate that there are so many re-workings of their songs which trivialise the music and dilute the meaning, True Love Waits (and its sequel Hold Me To This) succeeds in drawing new depths from Radiohead's work - and does so quite gloriously.

is it really o'riley?
i bought this piece from Amazon.com since i couldn't find it in any music shops here in iceland. i had heard samples and one complete track from mr. o'riley's homepage, and was completely stunned of it's beauty and brilliance. being a great radiohead fan and a classical music student myself, this music combines so many various aspects of my musical interest.
mr. o'riley has done his work really well and obviously with a lot of ambition. he is clearly a great pianist, and has a magical ear for chords and rythms, which isn't the most easiest in radiohead's music. somehow mr. o'riley is able to take every main karakter of each song and make it clear, without missing out on other sounds. sometimes i wonder if he really is playing this all by himself on ONE piano. but nevertheless a fantastic piece of work. well done!
a great CD and must-buy for every Radiohead fan.