After the promotion for their 1995 sophomore release “The Bends”, Radiohead was on a roll though the sales for “The Bends” was slow. By mid-1996, they became a best-kept secret to U.K. and American rock fans as “The Bends” was finally winning the attention of the music press for its fresh approach to anthemic art-rock. Radiohead knew they were just getting started after they took a brief break in the fall of 1996 to begin work on their next release. The Oxford quintet, that featured singer/guitarist/keyboardist Thom Yorke, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood and his older brother Colin on bass, guitarist Ed O’ Brien, and drummer Phil Selway, rented an old mansion, once owned by TV star Jane Seymour, to record their new album. Helping them on their new album was Nigel Godrich, who engineered their second album “The Bends”, who decided to take on the production duties on what many considered a landmark album of the 1990s called “OK Computer”.
Whereas their 1993 debut “Pablo Honey” and their 1995 masterpiece “The Bends” featured elements of anthemic rock while “The Bends” went further by adding more pop and art-rock textures into the mix. “OK Computer” goes far beyond anything the two previously releases had achieved. “OK Computer” was a textured, art-rock tour-de-force that took 70s art-rock to new heights with high-structured guitar riffs and textures, machine-like rhythms, pop melodies, and hallmark production that went beyond anything 1990s rock had ever achieved. While 70s art-rock had often been considered as bloated, self-indulgent by some in the press and among rock fans, Radiohead trimmed the fat of its indulgence for a more minimalist approach that would amaze rock fans. Particularly at a time when 90s rock music was losing momentum.
By late 1996/early 1997, the days of Alternative Rock were officially over, as the music, that was rooted twenty-five years earlier by the Velvet Underground, had become a decaffeinated version of itself as bands like Matchbox 20, Third Eye Blind, Sugar Ray, and (later on) Creed were taking the early 90s grunge rock sound to a more pop, radio-friendly that had removed itself from its original roots to be made for the masses while great 90s rock bands like R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains would be in decline or fade away in the later 90s. Making matters worse for rock in the 90s aside from the more pop-friendly work of modern rock as well as the growing nu-metal scene, that would dominate the latter part of the decade, was the return of light, radio-friendly pop music of such acts like the Spice Girls, Hanson, and the Backstreet Boys that would later pave the way for the late 90s/early 21st century teen-pop scene that would feature ‘Nsync, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera.
For the more intelligent, die-hard rock fans, it seemed like the days of underground rock’s innovations was starting to fade until late 1996 when MTV was looking at the growing electronica music scene that was huge in Britain as groups like the Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy, and Future Sounds of London were the rave going on. Unfortunately, electronica got swept up in its own hype and the music-buying public was simply not ready for cutting-edge, electronic music, not even from their rock contemporaries like U2, Eric Clapton, or David Bowie. At this point, there wasn’t really a lot of hope for the true rock fan until July of 1997 when Radiohead released “OK Computer”.
Aside from its swirling, stratospheric, art-rock textures on the album, “OK Computer” was considered at the time, a concept album. Many of the lyrics on the album point to the growth of modern technology and its dangers, including the idea that it might take over the human world. The lyrical concept of the album spoke through its sheer, cold adventurous tone of alienation, sadness, optimism, and madness that many bands wouldn’t touch in today’s stale pop climate. Many of the music and lyrics from “OK Computer” would come from one of Radiohead’s favorite bands, Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd in the 1960s and 70s took rock to new heights with its textured, art-rock sound led by the sprawling musicianship of guitarist David Gilmour and keyboardist Richard Wright, as well as the mind-numbing lyrics of Roger Waters that wowed rock fans in the 70s (their influence would return two years later on another rock masterpiece, “The Fragile” by Nine Inch Nails). With its cold, emotional tone and stratospheric, art-rock sound with hallmark production, many critics all over the world considered “OK Computer” the “Dark Side of the Moon” of the 1990s. While in some respects, it was the peak of British rock; there hadn’t been an album as grand or as beloved since “OK Computer”. Overall, “OK Computer” is a historical album that changed the face of 90s rock and for an Oxford quintet called Radiohead.
The album begins with the sprawling opener “Airbag” as Thom Yorke’s droning guitar opens the song with Ed O’ Brien’s soft, melodic guitar jangle accompanies Phil Selway’s machine-like live drums as Yorke sings, “In the next world war/In a jackknifed juggernaut/I am born again/In the neon sign scrolling up and down/I am born again” as Colin Greenwood’s melodic bass lines plays throughout the track to brother Jonny’s spacey keyboards as Yorke sings the chorus of “In an interstellar burst, I’m back to save the universe”. With its complex, guitar structures, “Airbag” becomes an enigmatic opener with its array of guitar layers that is followed in the second verse of the song as Jonny Greenwood plays an evocative guitar solo as Yorke sings, “In a deep, deep sleep of the innocent/I am born again/In a fast, German car/I’m amazed that I survived/An airbag saved my life” as he goes into the chorus followed by another Greenwood solo and a scratchy coda of machine-like beats from Selway and Colin Greenwood’s pulsating bass lines textured with the layers of guitars ranging from melodic, jangle to more droning, dissonant riffs as “Airbag” starts thing off with a bang.
Next is the six-minute, tour-de-force of “Paranoid Android” with its unpredictable, minimalist, section-driven ode to old-school progressive rock. The first part of the song starts off with Yorke’s mid-tempo, acoustic guitar accompanied by an array of soft, tapping percussions from Selway, Colin Greenwood and O’ Brien as Jonny Greenwood plays a smooth, sliding guitar track as Yorke sings, “Please could you stop the noise, I’m trying to get some rest/From all the unborn chicken voices in my head” as Jonny brings in a sweeping, melodic keyboard solo to the first chorus of “Huh, what’s that?” as voices start talking in the background as Yorke sings the chorus repeatedly. Yorke begins the second verse as he sings, “When I am king, you will be first against the wall/With your opinions which are no consequences at all” as it leads to the swooning chorus.
Colin Greenwood then brings a melodic bass line to the second part of the song as the song’s tempo picks up a bit more upbeat as Yorke sings, “Ambition makes you pretty ugly/Kicking squealing Gucci little piggy” as the song then goes into rock mode as Yorke sings, “You don’t remember, you don’t remember/Why don’t you remember my name/Off with his head, off with his head man/Why won’t he remember my name/I guess he does” as the song goes into a rocking mode with O’ Brien’s crashing guitar and an intense solo from Jonny Greenwood as his guitar squeals throughout the song as it segues into the next part of the song as Selway’s cymbals starting pulsating to mark the next part.
The song then goes into a slower, more ominous tone through Yorke’s and O’ Brien’s vocals with Selway’s tapping drums as Yorke sings, “Rain down, rain down/Come on rain down on me/From a great height, from a great height, height” as the bridge comes and repeats throughout with Yorke’s acoustic guitar as he then sings, “That’s it sir, you’re leaving/The dust and screaming/The crackle of pig skin/The yuppies networking/The panic, the vomit, the panic, the vomit/God love his children, God loves his children, yeah” as the song returns to a rocking mode with squealing, guitar riffs and machine-like intensity in its rhythm and performance on guitars, bass, and drums.
“Subterranean Homesick Alien” is a dreamy, otherworldly ballad filled with serene, melodic guitar textures, spacey lyrics, and ambient tones to convey the song’s cold, sterile feeling as O’ Brien and Jonny Greenwood’s guitars bring out complex, spacey guitar textures to Yorke’s swooning keyboards as he sings spacey lyrics that is explained in great detail when he sings the second verse of “I wish that they’d swoop down in a country lane, late at night when I’m driving/Take me on board their beautiful ship, show me the world as I’d love to see it/I’d tell all my friends but they’d never believe, they’d think that I finally lost it completely/I’d show them the stars and the meaning of life/They’d shut me away/But I’d be alright” as Yorke wants to hangout with the aliens since he feels like an alien on earth as he conveys the lyrics of alienation with its soft, powerful rhythm from Selway and Colin Greenwood as Jonny and Ed O’ Brien bring out their spacey, colorful guitar riffs to send messages to outer space as each note on their guitars is played in perfect timing.
We now go to the more harrowing “Exit Music (For A Film)” with its cold, sterile acoustic guitar track and Thom Yorke’s soft, chilling vocals as he sings, “Wake, from you dreams/The drying of your tears/Today, we escape/We escape/Pack and get dressed/Before your father, hears us/Before all hell breaks loose”. Then comes an ominous keyboard track filled with eerie choir vocals from Jonny Greenwood as Yorke sings, “Breathe, keep breathing/Don’t lose your nerve/Breathe, keep breathing/I can’t do this alone”. Then an airplane noise passes by as Yorke sings, “Sing us a song/A song to keep us warm/There’s such a chill, such a chill”. Then Phil Selway hits a throbbing bass drum with Colin Greenwood’s bass as Jonny and Ed O’ Brien play an eerie, Floydian guitar track as Yorke sings, “You can laugh, a spineless laugh/We hope your rules and wisdom choke you/Now, we are one/In ever lasting peace/We hope that you choke” as Yorke repeats the line relentlessly as the song takes the album to more ominous and brooding territories.
“Let Down” is a sweet, jangly track led by chiming, melodic guitar riffs from O’ Brien and Yorke, as the song’s sweet, melodic textures sweep throughout the track led by its throbbing, bass-driven rhythm as Yorke sings eerie lyrics of technology and its inhuman tone as it goes to the chorus of “Let down and hanging around/Crushed like a bug in the ground/Let down and hanging around” as O’ Brien leads the song with his 12-string guitar chimes with Jonny Greenwood playing a soft, atmospheric keyboard track. Yorke then goes to the second verse of “Shell smashed/Juices flowing/Wings twitch/Legs are going/Don’t get sentimental/It always ends up drivel/One day, I am going to grow wings/A chemical reaction/Hysterical and useless/Hysterical and…” as the song goes to the chorus with Phil Selway hitting smooth snares during the second verse and chorus. Then the song goes into a sweeping break of chiming instruments and synthesizer flurries from Jonny Greenwood as Yorke sings in his tortured, alien tone as he sings the last verse of “You know, you know where are with/You know where you are with/Floor collapses, floating, bouncing, and one day” as it goes to the second part of the second verse as Radiohead takes the Byrds’ melodic jangle-pop to outer space with the help of Pink Floyd’s space-rock experiments.
“Karma Police” is a slow, eerie ballad of revenge with Jonny Greenwood playing a dense, melancholic piano to Thom Yorke’s washy acoustic guitar as the song gets its thumping rhythm from Phil Selway’s drums. Yorke sings, “Karma police, arrest this man, he talks in maths, he buzzes like a fridge, he’s like a detuned radio/Karma police, arrest this girl, her Hitler hairdo, is make me feel ill/We have crashed her party”. The song then sort of quiets down as Yorke sings the chorus of “This is what you’ll get/This is what you’ll get/This is what you’ll get when you mess with us”. With Ed O’Brien’s scratchy guitar in the background, Yorke continues to sing his eerie lyrics as he sings, “Karma police, I’ve given all I can/It’s not enough/I’ve given all I can/But were still on the payroll” as it returns to its quiet chorus. Yorke then sings, “Phew, for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself” repeatedly throughout the song’s coda as his vocals echoes through Nigel Godrich’s production and the scratchy, guitar of Ed O’ Brien as he rings in squealing feedback as the song ends.
The second half of the album begins with the robotic “Fitter Happier” as the only voice is speaking is a computer reading Thom Yorke’s lyrics filled with sterile, cold references to the future and technology straight out of �: A Space Odyssey”. The robot is speaking as if he is playing the character of H.A.L. with piano and keyboards playing in the background sweeping behind the robotic voice, speaking in monotone, reading Yorke’s lyrics that includes, “No longer empty and frantic/Like a cat/Tied to a stick/That’s driven into frozen winter sh*t (the ability to laugh at weakness)/Calm/Fitter, healthier, and more productive/A pig in a cage on antibiotics”. The track “Fitter Happier” plays a weird role of experimentation the same way the Beatles “Revolution 9” did on “The White Album” that caught everyone by surprise but without disrupting the flow of the album.
“Electioneering” arrives with its ringing guitar riffs and percussions as Jonny Greenwood and Ed O’ Brien’s play wailing, jangly guitar riffs to Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway’s high-up tempo beats as Yorke sings, “I will stop, I will stop at nothing/Say the right things/When electioneering/I trust, I can rely on your vote” as it leads to the wailing chorus of “When I go forward, you go backwards/And somewhere, we will meet”. Jonny Greenwood and O’Brien’s guitar wails on as Yorke sings, “Riot shields/Voodoo economics/It’s just business/Cattle prods and the IMF/I trust, I can rely on your vote” as it leads to the chorus as well as a crashing, closing instrumental piece of Jonny’s wailing guitars and Selway’s powerful drums.
“Climbing Up The Walls” is an ominous, harrowing track with bare-bone beats from Selway that sound like echoing hammers with scratchy, droning acoustic, electric guitars from O’Brien, Jonny Greenwood, and Yorke, as he sings the song’s eerie lyrics of alienation and despair as it includes the swooning chorus of “Either way you turn/I’ll be there, open up your skull/I’ll be there, climbing up the walls”. The song begins to darken with its ominous rhythms and guitars as Yorke sings, “Tuck the kids in safe tonight/And shut the eyes in the cupboard/Do not cry out or hit the panic button/Hit the alarm, you’ll get the loneliest feeling that” with the song going into the chorus and a harrowing, evocative guitar solo from Jonny Greenwood accompanied by a lush but squealing string orchestra as Yorke’s vocals go into overdrive with emotions.
“No Surprises” appears with its dreamy, melodic guitar textures from Thom Yorke’s and Ed O’Brien’s guitars as the riffs play a serene, calm tone to the song as it is followed by the slow, throbbing bass rhythm of Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway and Jonny Greenwood’s chiming, xylophone accompaniment. Yorke sings the song’s first verse of “A heart that’s full up like a landfill/A job that slowly kills you/Bruises that won’t heal/You look so tired and unhappy/Bring down the government/They don’t/They don’t speak for us”. With the song’s complex, dreamy textures playing in the background, Yorke sings, “I’ll take a quiet life/A handshake, some carbon monoxide/No alarms and no surprises/(repeat line 2 more times/Silent, silent”. With Nigel Godrich’s serene production and lush, soft string orchestra, Yorke goes to an ominous bridge that speaks the song’s cold and eerie tone as he sings, “This is my final fit/My final bellyache/With no alarms and no surprises/No alarms and no surprises/No alarms and no surprises please”. The song goes into an instrumental break with Yorke and O’Brien’s melodic, guitar chimes as Yorke sing, “Such a pretty house/Such as pretty garden” as he sings the line of “No alarms and no surprises” repeatedly as the song ends with its complex, lush structure.
“Lucky” arrives with its droning, scratchy guitar feedback descending towards the song as Yorke begins to sing, “I’m on a roll/I’m on a roll, this time/I feel like my luck could change/Kill me Sarah/Kill me again, with love/It’s gonna be a glorious day” with his, O’Brien, and Jonny Greenwood’s guitars playing soft, washy, and scratchy guitars. Then Selway and Colin Greenwood bring in a slow, thumping rhythm as Yorke sings the chorus of “Pull me out of the air crash/Pull me out on the lake/I’m your superhero/We are standing on the edge” as the guitars led by Jonny Greenwood pull out an evocative guitar solo. Yorke’s bleak lyrics and the song’s sprawling, evocative tone takes the album to its fall of technology as it crashes down as Yorke sings, “The head of state has called for me by name/But I don’t have time for him/It’s gonna be a glorious day/I feel my luck could change” as the song goes into a chorus as well as a brief, instrumental break of melodic guitar textures and wailing guitar riffs from Jonny Greenwood as Yorke sings the chorus for the final time.
The album’s closer is the serene “The Tourist” with its smooth, melodic guitar textures filled with slow, soft jangle-pop riffs from Yorke, O’Brien, and Jonny Greenwood that is played beautifully with each note as Colin Greenwood brings in a thumping bass line to Selway’s soft drums. Yorke then sings, “It barks at no one else but me/Like it’s seen a ghost/I guess it’s seen the sparks a-flowin/No-one else would know” as he is accompanied by the song’s dream-pop texture. Then comes a sweeping chorus of “Hey man, slow down/Slow down/Idiot, slow down/Slow down” as Jonny Greenwood brings in a droning guitar solo after Yorke sings the chorus. The song returns to its complex, lush tone as Yorke sings, “Sometimes I get over-charged that’s when you see sparks/They ask where the hell I’m going/At 1000 feet per second” as it returns to the chorus and Jonny Greenwood’s evocative guitar solo with Yorke singing the chorus one more time as the album ends with Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway’s thumping, bass-driven rhythm.
“OK Computer” was released in July of 1997 to universal acclaim from fans, critics, and musicians all over the world. From pop superstars like Madonna to legendary bands like U2, R.E.M., and Pink Floyd have all praised “OK Computer” as a landmark album in rock music. The album peaked at number 21 in the U.S. album charts while riding very high in the U.K. above such Brit-rock contemporaries as Blur and Oasis. Immediately, the press begins to hail Radiohead as The Best Band in the World (a title they still hold to this day) as the band’s fame was growing at an unrelenting pace. Accompanied by groundbreaking videos for songs like “Paranoid Android”, “Karma Police”, and “No Surprises”, Radiohead was being hailed as band of the year while “OK Computer” was topping several critics’ polls and garnering awards while the album reached platinum status in America. In late 1997 and early 1998, there was no band bigger or more beloved at this point than Radiohead. In the years to come, Radiohead would later reinvent themselves and shock the world with music that was uncommercial and everything “OK Computer” was not.
While more accessible rock fans would go for “The Bends”, “OK Computer” is really Radiohead’s most definitive statement and it is one of the greatest albums of all-time. With its complex brand of melodic art-rock, “OK Computer” will be one album hard to live up to. Particularly since bands like Coldplay, Travis, and Muse have all been trying to duplicate or outdo the greatness of “OK Computer” but they all haven’t been able to make an album like “OK Computer”. Whether or not it’s really the “Dark Side of the Moon” of the 1990s, it is one album that can be enjoyable to listen to headphones just like “Dark Side” did for kids in the 70s. In the end, Radiohead delivered one of the greatest British rock albums of all-time that would continue to amaze rock fans in the years to come.
Other Radiohead Reviews:
Pablo Honey (1993)
http://www.epinions.com/content_95348559492
The Bends (1995)
http://www.epinions.com/content_95871995524
I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings (2001)
http://www.epinions.com/content_92662173316
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