IN RAINBOWS

I must say, I am a big fan of radiohead, but this 5 stars is no bias. of all the radiohead albums i love and listen to, this is the one i keep coming back to for more. I got disc 2 recently and its more of the same brilliance. Well, I won't waste any time:

15 Step: The electronic opening combined with a cappella singing reminds one of the eraser, but this is a step above that wonderful album. The guitar in the intro is so subtle, and yet edges its way into your ears to whisper of its message. Thom's soft vocals are nice combined with the atmospheric keyboard and are those strings? parts. The interspersed children yelling gives the song a slightly ominous feel, and the shimmering keyboards only add to this. When the bass comes in, it is superb, as i have never heard much prominence from Colin Greenwood on any Radiohead record. The closing jam is absolutely wonderful, thom's opening line of confusion closes the song nicely, ending up where he started to suit the words.

Body Snatchers: a distorted drop D riff blasts in right away, startling the listener from his haze of wonderful bliss. This song picks up the pace fairly quickly, switching on and off from major to minor keys, with plenty of anguished wailing from Thom on the way. Jonny gets in a few nice little licks here and there where appropriate, and the triple guitar attack really harks back to the bends and pablo honey. There is also some use of Ondes Martenot, a Jonny Greenwood signature. A nice blasting, crescendoing climax leads us right into...

Nude: A soft intro preludes the beauty of this song, and I'm not even sure how to describe it. Its so emotional, saddening, and yet uplifting all at once it floods the listener with emotions. The effects wash over you like waves, differing in size and intensity. the bass has some nice octave-jumping lines that add a little movement to the washes of sound and color. the ending line is amazing: youll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking. The ending jam is so perfect its hair-raising. the final note fades away, making way for...

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi: The quick, staccato drum intro leads into the repeating, showering arpeggios of guitars that permeate this song. The xylophone slowly gets added to fill out the sound, along with many vocal harmony overdubs added to Thom's sorrowful musings. There is a portion where the drums cut out, and the music is just wonderful, again washing over the listener to take them away. The ending hit the bottom climax section is also wonderful.

All I Need: In my opinion, the most beautiful love song ever written, filled with heart-rending metaphors like I am all the days that you choose to ignore and i am an animal trapped in your hot car. The bassline is soothing and the orchestration is subtle yet brings out such emotion its hard to not feel it when you listen to this song. The crashing piano climax is superb, with Thom wailing at his saddest.

Faust Arp: A nice acoustic piece, with strings reaching in here and there, and thom's near-chanted vocal line. It ends too quickly, and would have been even better had it extended another 2 minutes. The string parts create the perfect harmony to the melody of the guitar and voice, and its a shame it cannot be recreated live.

Reckoner: This song reminds me of there there because the two guitarists are playing extra percussion instruments, leaving thom to play guitar. The cymbals, tambourines and other percussion instruments are so genuine and so real they bring this song to life. Thom's love of the falsetto is evident here, with him singing almost all of the song in it, with stunning vibrato to boot. The chord progession is again sorrowful, and changes to minor at one point. the guitar is very subtle, but provides a great atmosphere for thom's vocal paintings. The climax, however, is the single best moment on the album. With an uplifting series of chord changes supplemented by a stunning string part and some echoing sighs from Thom, this song is drawn to a beautiful close.

House of Cards: A soft guitar riff supplemented by a bumping drum part and some distant cries from Thom create a relaxing atmosphere for what is another great love song. The reverb is very evident here as Thom proclaims his love for some unknown person. Some distant string/keyboard parts are heard in the distance, rising and falling. This song doesn't progress much, but it is still brilliantly orchestrated and written by one of the best bands i know.

Jigsaw Falling into Place: A low acoustic riff brings us into the other hard rocker of the album, besides bodysnatchers. The creepy sighs open into a low, chanted vocal line from Thom, with some verrry interesting lyrics. Thom has such a way with words its slightly scary. The guitar and bass interplay throughout is very dynamic and crescendos throughout. Soon, Thom jumps the vocal octave and begins his usual piercing singing. In the background, tons of overdubbed harmonies and melodies interweave, with more Ondes Martenot from Jonny. The chorus brings us to a new level awesomeness, and also it closes the song.

Videotape: A simple four note piano-based song, this is a relaxing and rather slow closing number. The lyrics tell of suicide, in a happy way, which might creep you out. The drums are scattered, nervous, and offbeat, giving the song a forced feel, but it works alright. The climax culminates in a chorus of sighs that reach high into heaven to bring down the highest emotions.

I would review the second disc, but my review is already far too long. all in all, not progressive rock, but some of the most amazing music i have ever heard. I never get tired of it, and it shows that radiohead can progress into simpler music and still make amazing music no matter the case.