Track Listing

1. High And Dry
2. Black Star
3. Street Spirit
4. Let Down
5. No Surprises
6. Karma Police
7. Lucky
8. How To Disappear Completely
9. Creep
10. Bulletproof
11. I Will

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34242 in Music
• Released on: 2007-10-22
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Short but very Sweet
First the bad news: this album has a running length of a little over half an hour, which is pretty disgraceful really. Furthermore, someone appears to have decided that this is a jazz album, which just isn't the case; there are some authentic (and very good) jazz interpretations of Radiohead by Brad Mehldau, but Lumley's versions have nothing - either harmonically or rhythmically - to justify the tag. Attractive touches of double bass and muted trumpet sound very nice, but are very much window dressing to a straightforward album of piano & vocal.

Now the good news: these versions are very enjoyable indeed, invariably stripping the original song down to its "purest" melodic form. Lumley's performances at the piano are very delicate, neatly sidestepping the turgidly "classical" style that Christopher O'Riley employs in his own album of Radiohead covers. It's not that O'Riley is bad in itself: merely that he converts the songs into concert piano pieces, whereas Lumley sticks to using the piano as an accompaniment to her own vocals.

Speaking of vocals, these are honeyed: less smokey and more breathy than one would associate with a jazz singer. Certainly if you compare this album with Holly Cole's album of Tom Waits songs then we are clearly closer to the world of pop with Lumley's delivery. There is an innate girlishness to the voice, but the lyrics are clearly projected and there is a lot more "technique" here than one might at first think.

This is an album that offers very secure, tranquil versions of Radiohead songs to Radiohead fans, but I don't think that you need to be a Radiohead fan to like it. Basically, if you are attracted to the Toris and Didos of this world, then this could be what you're looking for.

Been available on iTunes for a while now
so it's really great to see this album getting a full release into the physical world. Eliza Lumley's voice is sublime and the interpretations of the Radiohead songs are at first unusual, but quickly and very obviously, very fitting indeed. Marvellous.

Good album, fun to listen for Radiohead fans, and not only.
Fresh view on some of Radiohead songs. Thanks to Eliza Lumley I actually started to like "High & Dry" and "Black Star" which weren't my favorite stuff from RH. I recommend the album especially to old-time fans of Oxford quintet as it's reinventing some forgotten tunes.
Cons:
- not the best selection of songs: "Creep" for instanced sounds totally unconvincing as it is as emotionless as Hulk Hogan in "Thunder in Paradise", also "Bullet Proof.. I Wish I Was" and "No Surprises" disappoint.
- and you'd wish it's longer, 35 minuts it's little bit too short, especially that it's a jazz reworking.