I stumbled upon this gem at a music store yesterday. Having already devoured "Hail to the Thief" I was ready for some different Radiohead material. This cd boasts several essentials for a Radiohead fan (which are must haves for the diehard kids).
The first thing on this "ep single" that is noticable is the artwork. While in line with the theme of "Hail to the Thief" with the solid stripes of color with words painted in, it creates a different feel from "HttT". The blocks of color are bigger, and so are the words, creating an upclose feel. Plus, around 1/4th of the color blocks contain entire phrases, not just single words. For instance, the words on yellow on a black block, "LET THE LINE SLIP THROUGH FINGERS".
When the cd case is opened, there are two inserts. One is just a single sheet of stiff paper, which serves as the cover. The other is pure white from the outsite, but unfolds into a print of the cover, with the lyrics to "There there." It could be framed and hung and it would look fantastic.
And then you get to the actual cd. Track one is "There there." which was featured on "HttT". Out of the mix of the origional cd it sounds odd and lonely. But I didn't (and you won't) buy the cd for that one song. There are two more bonus tracks.
Track two, "Paper writer.", starts off with an elegant string section amid a repetitive percussion section. These two features don't vary throughout the song. When the bass comes in it adds a funky, and almost disco, feel to the song. The strings create a haunting feel however. This song is the gem of the cd and could easily replace a number of the songs on "HttT", especially track 4.
Track three, "Where bluebirds fly.", is also good, but gets a bit annoying. It starts off with a popping sound not too unlike a bowl of electrified Rice Crispies. A droning keyboard part enters and helps soothe the annoyance of the pops. Another electronic sound enters which slides from one note to another continuously, adding to the spook of the sound, and creating kind of a spacey feel. Like the other song there is a definate element of repitition of all the elements. Which I would have prefered to see the popping stop as the other sounds came in.
All in all a lovely buy. The price will discourage most casual fans, but to the big fans, the rewards will outweigh the cost.
peace.
Article comments
1 - Tim Jarrett
Man, this is a perfect example of why Radiohead should be in the iTunes Music Store or online. I hate having to buy an EP just to get the b-sides, but I’d gladly shell out bux to get the b-sides as downloads.
2 - Tom Johnson
The nice thing about Radiohead's b-sides is that they have consistently been worth both the money and the effort to track down. The left-over tracks from the past three album alone would make their own (short) amazing album.