The Best Of

Performer: Radiohead
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Issued in 2008 by Radiohead's former label, Capitol, this compilation surveys the innovative British alternative-rock band's first six albums, ranging from 1993's formative PABLO HONEY to `03s restless HAIL TO THE THIEF. Not surprisingly, many songs on the non-chronological 16-track collection are pulled from THE BENDS and OK COMPUTER, mid-'90s records that elevated the group, first to widescreen majesty (see the expansive "High and Dry"), and then to art-rock glory (the dynamic, prog-leaning "Paranoid Android"). Although BEST OF, which was not selected with the band's involvement, downplays Radiohead's more electronic-oriented output, featuring only two tunes from KID A (most notably, the warm, atmospheric "Everything in Its Right Place") and one from AMNESIAC, all the tracks presented are top-tier examples of Thom Yorke and company's emotive, adventurous aesthetic. While most Radiohead fans will already own all or most of these signature songs, the anthology serves as a good introduction for the uninitiated, and will likely set off further exploration into the U.K. ensemble's impressive catalogue.

Record Collector (magazine) (p.96) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Everything they touch affects on some level....This continually knocks you sideways. Staggering..."

Radiohead burst onto the Britpop scene in the early 1990s with a clamorous, post-U2 take on guitar rock, buoyed by the hit "Creep." They subsequently developed their songwriting and production skills on THE BENDS and achieved iconic status with their breakthrough album OK COMPUTER, making art-rock cool again in the process. The mercurial band's long-awaited follow-up three years later was a sharp left turn full of ambient electronics and Can-like sonic deconstruction, and they've continued the trend with subsequent albums and solo projects. The connecting thread through all the band's phases has been Thom Yorke's intense vocal frenzy.

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