radiohead, in rainbows review

Have a picture of Radiohead, In Rainbows?, please send it to us.

Average Ratings

Value for Money	9.7/10
Reviewer Rating	7.8/10
Overall Rating	8.5/10

100% Recommended4 out of 4 Reviews

• Overview
• Reviews
  • Cognition's review
  • 1 Comment
• Write your review
• Ask a Question

By Cognition on 31st Oct 2007

Cognition's Ratings

Other Artists Listened To	Not supplied
Value for money	10/10
Overall value	8/10
Cognition's recommendation

Good Points

- In Rainbows is, as a whole, Radiohead's best album since OK Computer
- Radiohead's decision to announce the album just 10 days before it's release

Bad Points

- Videotape : what should be the best Radiohead track since Motion Picture Soundtrack has been turned into just another song.

General Comments

This is a review on the download version of In Rainbows, which is NOT complete. If you want the full album you should order the discbox from www.inrainbows.com. However, these do not ship until the 3rd of December.

Finally Radiohead have recorded the best of their new material and called it In Rainbows. For the most part, it would seem that the band have, thankfully, scrapped the whole experimental phase and returned to the older 'The Bends' sound - this is especially true about the second track, 'Bodysnatchers'. While I'm sure this may disappoint many Radiohead fans, particularly in the US where 'Kid A' is apparently a favourite (bizarre) the album is better for it.

I downloaded the album upon its release on the 10th of October and have been listening casually (being careful not to over play) since. The album sounded good when I ran it through the first time and has only gotten better since, if not more divided - by this I mean that some real favourites have started to stand above the rest.

Now, I've said that this is a good album and I stick by that, but I must express my disappointment about the final track, entitled Videotape. This is a song that has so much potential - earlier versions were simple, recorded with only a piano, and I feel that the track worked best like this. When it came to recording the song, however, it seems that Radiohead just couldn't resist the temptation to cut it up, change it (so it's no longer as genius piece of music) and add some dodgy sounding, badly timed electric stuff over the top. Now, as opposed being a clever, lyrically moving piece, this song sounds more like your weird aunty's funky funeral march. This completely takes away the point of the song and, although I'm giving it chance to grow on me, I can't help but feel that the album version is such a let down.

However, I have NO doubt that this is Radiohead's best work since OK Computer of 1997 - and let us not forget that this is only the half of it - there are 8 more tracks included on a bonus CD which should be released on the 3rd December along with the discbox (however, I'm not sure if these songs are available for download).

Cognition's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!