What a great idea, pulled off with aplomb.
My hat is tipped to the good folks @ Consequence of Sound for their (new?) series, “Masterpiece Reviews”, which I’ve just gotten hip to, courtesy of my friend (and Radiohead Superfan), Jamey Barlow.
In this installment, they give the buttoned-up style (tongue in cheek, obvi) to one of the more beloved albums in recent memory, Radiohead’s OK Computer. Check it out:
I appreciate the sentiment, and I appreciate the album.
But, well, let’s go to the videotape.
The immortal album-closer, by Radiohead:
And a cover of same, by the Easy Star All-Stars:
My own take on OK Computer is, like certain relationships on Facebook, “complicated”.
At the beginning of this decade, while appraising what I considered the 50 best albums of the previous decade (20oo-2009), I had this to say, via my positive feelings about the album as envisioned by a different band.
(I did –and do– recognize that this perspective, which (as anyone who regularly reads me hopefully knows in advance) is offered without hope of being contrarian or unduly controversial. But I also appreciate this is the type of opinion that goes so against the grain of received popular sentiment it could cause serious credibility issues. So be it.
And in case, understandably, I sound a bit like an Easy Star All-Stars fan boy, I am on record being more than a bit underwhelmed with their take on Sgt. Pepper, which could/should have been a slam dunk…)
***
Let’s get it out of the way right up front. There will be no Radiohead albums on this list. That’s going to (somewhat understandably) cause problems with some people. But to have a Radiohead album (from the ’90s) recorded by another band in the list? Yes. More, I think Easy Star All-Stars’ uncanny take on OK Computer is better than the original, and better than any other album Radiohead has made. And no, I don’t hate Radiohead; quite the contrary. And yet, I will put myself out there as someone (the only person?) who thinks the hype that has greeted every move they’ve made since OK Computer (which, for my money, was not close to the best album of that decade) is not only over-the-top, but arguably the most egregious contemporary instance of critical group-think: these guys were anointed and can do no wrong, etc. And maybe they can’t and I just don’t get it. That’s quite possible and I’m certainly comfortable with that possibility.
Anyway, full props to Radiohead: if they had not made OK Computer we could never have gotten Radiodread. The Easy Star All-Stars, of course, gained attention and perennial cult status for their magesterial reimagining of Dark Side of the Moon (Dub Side of the Moon, natch). After successfully interpreting one of the all-time classic albums, it made perfect sense for them to try their hands at what is widely considered the best album in recent times. They didn’t just do it justice, they transcended it. Having guest vocalists tackling each tune with a very authentic reggae backing band that is versatile enough to incorporate the appropriate rock and postmodern elements. For me, there is an emotion, soul and lack of overly mannered anguish that occasionally mars the original (I know, it’s just me. I hated The Strokes, too). I don’t want to knock Radiohead to elevate Radiodread, I’ll just reserve my right to opine that while the most celebrated band of modern times has made some amazing albums, their best work was recorded by another band.
Bonus reason enough to check this one out: it might turn you on to some seminal acts like Toots Hibbert, Horace Andy and Israel Vibration.
