A few years back, as we were ushering in a new millennium, Radiohead ushered in a new electronic sound, reinventing themselves as pioneers, and the new deluxe edition reissue of Amnesiac documents some of the process. The deluxe edition includes the original eleven tracks, most of which were recorded in the same sessions as the band’s previous album, Kid A (which led to Amnesiac being dubbed “Kid B”), as well as fifteen additional tracks of B-sides, live cuts, and extended versions and a DVD of videos and live performance footage from television.
The album is, without question, one of Radiohead’s best, and unlike Kid A, the album features a good deal of guitar in addition to the electronic sound. As an album it is a mostly cohesive artistic statement with some intentional eclectic variations in sound, such as the extraordinary track “Life in a Glasshouse,” which was recorded with a jazz band separate from the other tracks. Some of the band’s best songs stem from this collection, like “I Might Be Wrong,” which infuses a bluesy guitar riff into the moody digital composition, and “Knives Out,” a song that feels like it is swimming underwater with emotion.
The new edition of the album might be worth the purchase for the extended version of “Life in a Glasshouse” alone, which runs just over five minutes, but the additional tracks and the six live tracks from Canal+ Studios make it a no-brainer. The B-sides are a bit hit-and-miss with songs like “Kinetic,” which feels more like an experiment than a finished song, and “Trans-Atlantic Drawl,” which doesn’t seem relevant to the album’s sound. Nevertheless, Radiohead’s interesting even when they are not spot-on, and the tracks give the true fans a look at how the canvas is built up.
The videos are a great bonus for the hardcore fans as well, especially the four live cuts from the BBC’s Later . . . With Jools Holland from June 2001 recorded just a few days after the album was released. Overall the reissue is a hands-down winner and includes some cool packaging and postcards with album art designed by Radiohead’s collaborating artist Stanley Donwood and lead singer Thom Yorke to boot—buy it and love it!
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