COM LAG: 2PLUS2ISFIVE

This was originally released in Japan and Australia and then subsequently released in the UK and US a few months later. It mostly contains some interesting remixes, alternate versions and B-Sides recorded to support the singles from "Hail to the Chief" that were not available elsewhere before this. The live version of 2 + 2 = 5 is an amazing version and opens the EP with a lot of promise. Following this is a strange remix done by Christian Vogel of the song Myxomatosis. This is very electronic sounding and the vocals by Thom Yorke are made to sound very indifferent. Not bad actually, I find it interesting to hear how songs can be broken down and switched around to sound different, but this gives the song a more computerized feel, which I guess is about what you'd expect. The 3rd track is the Los Angeles version of "I Will". This is a very good version of the song that features the full band, where the album version was more stripped down. I think it was worth adding to this little collection of oddities, but it sounds strange coming in after the previous remix going from electronic music to traditional rock almost suddenly. Next up is a great song used as a B-side that would have been great on the album called "Paperbag Writer" and the next track is another great B-side called "I Am a Wicked Child".

Track 6 is another electronic track called "I am Citizen Insane" and it really doesn't do much for me. Next up is another remix this time of "Scatterbrain" done by Four Tet. Again we get an electronic vibe reminiscent of "Amnesia" but there are some interesting sound effects here. On the original Japanese version, there was some very annoying static noise that kept appearing on the track and these CDs were recalled, so if you have one, it's worth some money. You may have heard that static and thought it was part of the track, but it's a glitch. Track 8 is another great B-side returning back to the traditional rock sound and track 9 is a different version of the track "Fog" which was a B-side for "Knives Out" however this time it is done live and the track is stripped down to just Thom singing and playing piano. This is a beautiful version of this song. Last up is another spooky sounding electronic song called "Where Bluebirds Fly", another B-side. I don't think this has been remixed from the original b-side, but it sounds like something that could have been from "Amnesia".

The electronic tracks aren't too bad and are quite experimental, but don't seem to offer the depth and beauty of the organic tracks. The vocals on the electronic tracks also sound listless. This is not a bad EP, but other than the first track, it stays rather subdued throughout, which is not always a bad thing either. Anyway, even though I think it's a good EP, I believe the people that would be mostly interested in this are the collectors and the fans, thus I'm giving this one 2 stars. Interesting, but really nothing to get terribly excited about.