AMNESIAC

4.5 stars. After the massive success of "OK Computer" RADIOHEAD went into the studio and created "Kid A" an experimental recording with soundscapes, along with that Krautrock vibe that Thom is into. In other words they made the album they wanted to make and took their time at it, creating enough material not only for "Kid A" but also the bulk of this album "Amnesiac" that I'm reviewing today. Pretty much every band that has a commercially successful album gets even more commercial on their next one so for RADIOHEAD to do what they did demands a lot of respect from yours truly.

And these two albums along with "A Moon Shaped Pool" are my top three RADIOHEAD albums with "Amnesiac" being my favourite. "The Bends" and "OK Computer" were unfortunately forever ruined for me for being my audio at the time when my life got hit with a major storm that almost drowned me. I will forever connect the music of those two albums with that time unfortunately. "In Rainbows" felt flat to me, not very inspired but "The King Of Limbs" impressed my and I actually got this "Amnesiac" cd from my daughter when she was getting rid of her collection a couple of years ago along with a re-mixed version of "King Of Limbs" a double cd that is still in it's package, so I will check that out soon hopefully.

I was so impressed with this after the initial listen that I wasn't sure if I just missed this band or it really was one of their best. I spent some time with most of their other studio albums recently and came to the conclusion that this is the one! My favourite RADIOHEAD album. If I had to describe this band to someone briefly who didn't know them, I'm thinking "melancholic and experimental with beats, electronics and mono- toned vocals". And how about the recently departed Jimmy Hastings, that horn and flute blowing gentleman who is on so many incredible Canterbury albums being on the closer here playing clarinet. Come on!

What a surprise to hear the uplifting guitar on "Knives Out" it's just so inspiring and out of character. A great contrast and detour in my opinion. My favourite is "I Might Be Wrong" and this might be my favourite song by them. Is that baritone guitar? Sounds awesome anyway as we get some energy. The vocals are Thom at his best. So yeah those two tracks I just mentioned smack dab in the middle of this album plus the closer with Hastings and other horn players.

That's a nice top three but there's something special about "Pyramid" that I can't ignore. Piano, atmosphere, vocal melodies all to start before he starts singing. Man this is good. Orchestral stuff too around 3 minutes and how about the atmosphere just before that. The opener added to "Pyramid" would give us a top five. "Dollars And Cents" sounds like a "Kid A" tune and it's a great track and the other one with orchestral music on it. The title track is one I'm really into as well.

This is just a consistent record for me and a real find. Thanks Sarah!