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Radiohead - In Rainbows CD (album) cover

IN RAINBOWS

Radiohead

 

Crossover Prog

3.83 | 639 ratings

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russellk
Prog Reviewer
2 stars The online delivery medium is innovative - name your own price - but the music is not.

RADIOHEAD manage to live on the edges of popularity, allowing them to sell in large volumes but also to maintain credibility. With 'Kid A' they stretched the definition of popular music almost to breaking point, but since then have gone too far ('Amnesiac') and now not far enough ('In Rainbows').

The sound here is recognisably RADIOHEAD, and there's nothing new. Not that this matters to me, but I do need to warn you that this is consolidation rather than innovation. The two worthwhile tracks open the album: '15 Step' is an excellent electronic track - is this going the way of 'Kid A'? we ask hopefully - then is followed by the guitar-based 'Bodysnatchers', every bit as polished and worthwhile as anything off 'OK Computer'.

Then it all turns to custard, really. It's all worthy, but no longer cutting edge. I'm reminded of U2 in places, OMD in others. Not so much the sounds, but the way in which they take chord sequences and 'radiohead-ize' them. I find the comparison to RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS even more compelling: they sound nothing like RHCP, of course, but this does in places have the feel of 'songwriting by numbers'. Rock song or ballad, all the tracks are straight forward with a little RADIOHEAD twist. As for progressiveness, there's nothing here I'd consider even approaching progressive. So be it - I enjoy plenty of non-prog - but this is not the edgy, meaningful hour of music I'd been hoping for. 'Videotape' is an excellent way to finish the record off, but it's hard work getting there.

'OK Computer' and 'Kid A' tell you most of what you need about RADIOHEAD. Get this, and their other albums, if you're a fan.

russellk | 2/5 |

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