Pragmatism not Idealism5 Out of 5 Stars
was their Revolver
, then OK Computer
was their Sgt. Pepper's
moment. I am inclined to agree with his analogy, for as much as I like
"The Bends," the astounding emotional scope of "OK Computer" took me
completely by surprise when I first heard it in 1997. This was back
when I still had a few friends at record companies, and a dear lady at
Capitol (hello Leslie M, wherever you are today) sent me a three song
sampler of this because she new how much I liked Radiohead.
The sampler contained "Karma Police," "Paranoid Android" and "No Surprises." Before the CD came out, I was telling friends that this was the most amazing stuff I'd heard all year. By the time the full CD had been in my player for a couple weeks, I was thinking it was the best album of the year. Thom Yorke had taken the themes of modern alienation he so adeptly explored on "The Bands" and matched them with music that both slowed down and toned down to haunting textures and electronics. Johnny Greenwood's guitars are almost non-existent, relegated to sudden bursts save for "Electioneering." More often than not, it is Yorke's voice that is the primary instrument, weaving in and out of the songs in either a whisper ("Exit Music For a Film") or his rock howl ("Lucky").
More importantly, "Ok Computer" is an album that (like "Sgt Pepper") collects songs that pull together thematically. While "Karma Police" and "No Surprises" have become something of radio-airplay staples, this is a CD that works as a complete listen. I know there's a general consensus that this is a concept album - listen to how many times plane crashes, car wrecks and machines are mentioned - yet I have always attributed that to Yorke's generally dour lyrical viewpoint. To my ears, the concept was coming up with the post-Pink Floyd equivalent of sonic quilting for the modern age. In "OK Computer," Radiohead succeeded more than anyone before or since.
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