Using the textured soundscapes of The Bends as a launching pad, Radiohead delivered another startlingly accomplished set of modern guitar rock with OK Computer. The anthemic guitar heroics present on Pablo Honey and even The Bends are nowhere to be heard here. Radiohead have stripped away many of the obvious elements of guitar rock, creating music that is subtle and textured yet still has the feeling of rock & roll. Even at its most adventurous -- such as the complex, multi-segmented "Paranoid Android" -- the band is tight, melodic, and muscular, and Thom Yorke's voice effortlessly shifts from a sweet falsetto to vicious snarls. It's a thoroughly astonishing demonstration of musical virtuosity and becomes even more impressive with repeated listens, which reveal subtleties like electronica rhythms, eerie keyboards, odd time signatures, and complex syncopations. Yet all of this would simply be showmanship if the songs weren't strong in themselves, and OK Computer is filled with moody masterpieces, from the shimmering "Subterranean Homesick Alien" and the sighing "Karma Police" to the gothic crawl of "Exit Music (For a Film)." OK Computer is the album that establishes Radiohead as one of the most inventive and rewarding guitar rock bands of the '90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
You're absolutely right - but there's not a weak song to be found on the album... aside from Fitter Happier but that's hardly a song, just a transitional piece. Lucky and The Tourist are both flawless as is this album.
"OK Computer" is something very special for it ushered in a new direction in rock music. Prior to its release, Britpop was beginning to become a parody of itself and something new needed to happen. "Be Here Now" by Oasis basically ended Britpop and "OK Computer" got the ball rolling again. This is the kind of album I'll tell my children about in the same sense my parents told me about "Sgt. Pepper" and "Dark Side of the Moon". These kind of records are few and far between.
My favorite song on this album is probably "Climbing Up The Walls"... There's just something about that song that makes me zone out while listening to it...
It is difficult to mention Radiohead with out mentioning OK Computer because, well, this album introduced Radiohead to the rest of the world (the rest of us already knew of Radiohead). I know it's not popular but, I do not think that the WHOLE album is Radiohead's greatest accomplishment. Song-wise, yes. Some of the best song releases are on this album but I look at The Bends as the best COMPLETE album. OK Computer ranks 2nd in my Radiohead play list. (Except for Karma Police, thanks to FM Radi
this album.... words cant explain what i feel with this album. radiohead is the music that will be played in heaven and hell. you might even hear it during your lifetime if your lucky.
After struggling for years to find an adjective to describe this masterpiece, I finally settled on "transcendent". While listening, I get a feeling unlike anything else in the world. It's as if the music is filling up a piece of me that is missing. Easily my favorite album.
who cares if you heard it before it was popular? its great music and deserves to be shared by everyone to everyone. If you are self conscious about your taste in music and what people perceive, you are not being true to yourself and defeating one of the main purposes of music, discovering something new about you.
agreed...it's one of the greatest albums of all time. very iconic, very original. sipmly a masterpiece. the more you listen to it the more intricate it becomes. it's a work of art, and in five to ten years everyone will be wearing radiohead t-shirts because it will be the cool thing to do (kind of like ac/dc shirts) which is both exiting and sad to consider
this album is MUST HAVE for any true classic Rock 'n Roll lover. Just as Sergeant Pepper, Dark Side of the Moon, Aqualung, Sex, Blood, Sugar Magic, Tattoo You, Some Girls Sticky Fingers Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy, the Wall etc
Well, Pablo Honey is the more "rock" album persay, but I think Radiohead really opened a whole new chapter with this disc. Some people prefer their older stuff. I love it all, really.
renegade3392 - you are the biggest douche OF ALL TIME
- ha ha just kidding....you have to admit though, art is subjective, this may be the greatest album of all time for some people, so try not to piss on anyone's parade, because you never know....by the way, this album opened my eyes to a whole new genre of music, and to me that makes it worth it's weight in gold.
i think OK is their best
i here something chilling and haunting every listen
it was the first CD i ever really bought
KID A or the Bends is second
i really like COMLAG and hail to the thief
Airbag EP was GREAT
and
the second disk for IN_RAINBOWS was a real suprise
i loved it
it sounded like what should have fit the gap
after KID A