Thom Yorke - Radiohead

The first Best Of album in Radiohead’s history is a fact! The feedback to this release seems to be controversial. What is my opinion? I believe the only reason for such a release is to introduce the band to new fans! And of course to bring profits to Capitol EMI. But lets have a look to the first reviews for the Radiohead Best Of.

Pitchfork writes: “To its credit, the label is going all-out with these releases, offering not only two different CD or digital versions of the set (a 17-track single disc or a 30-track 2xCD package), but also a 4xLP vinyl version that could be a nice addition to a fan’s collection and pretty kickass DVD that even casual observers should love. Make no mistake then, the middling and low scores up there don’t reflect a general dissatisfaction with the notion of carving up Radiohead’s albums”. They add: “ The 2xCD version, although a better value-for-money, does even less to justify its existence,” and they conclude: “It’s no surprise then that the music industry’s response is to repackage and recycle, as quickly as possible.“

PopMatters.com’s Evan Sawdey says: “At the end of the day, all that The Best of Radiohead leaves us with is just a string of music videos collected onto a single disc, making it hard to argue about the necessity of this collection, especially coming from an era where you can type “radiohead” into YouTube and see most if not all of them near-instantaneously.” What does Evan says about Knives out vid? “With the Smiths-ian “Knives Out”, however, all bets are off. Working with avant-genius director Michel Gondry, this one-shot clip set in a hospital room is something to behold”. And he concludes: “Just all the videos thrown together in Capitol’s last big cash-grab for the band. Radiohead did make great videos, but not on a routine basis; really, how many times are you going to want to watch the clip for “Creep” ad nauseum? The answer is simple: not enough times to warrant the purchase of The Best of Radiohead.“

Manchestereveningnews.co.uk’s Lucy Brouwer says: “There’s no arguing with the quality of the music, but the seemingly random order of the 29 tracks removes context to no purpose, and the only songs that could be considered rarities (B-side Talk Show Host and True Love Waits from the I Might Be Wrong live EP) aren’t exactly hard to find. If you like Radiohead, you’ll more than likely have their albums already, but the Best Of does serve as an excellent starting point for those who may have missed the quintet’s music so far.“

Sputnik Music’s Blair writes: “First of the flow of the album is terrible, I mean we don’t have the magical moments were “Airbag” flows into “Paranoid Android”, instead we have the awkward few seconds of “Just” flowing into the brilliant mega epic “Paranoid Android”,” and he adds: “ The quality of the songs on this album doesn’t draw a complaint from me. Besides those annoying as can be “Pablo Honey” songs, the song selection is generally pretty good. I love how the b-sides “Talk Show Host” and “True Love Waits” were included when I never thought they would be.”

ComfortComes writes: “The collection itself is very impressive. The order of the songs is very hit heavy at the start of the first disc then the second disc you get some of the slightly more unknown work. But, when it comes to a band like Radiohead you ?almost? need every record. Then you can get creative and make your own greatest hits playlists.“

Tags: , Album Reviews, emi capitol, pitchfork, radiohead, radiohead best of, radiohead emi capitol, sputnik magazine