Customer Reviews

Kid A (Gatefold) (10 In.) (Vinyl)

5 star:		(1,208)
4 star:		(329)
3 star:		(125)
2 star:		(99)
1 star:		(156)

 

 

From the fan favourite 'Bends' to the incredible 1997 album 'Ok Computer' it would have been safe to say that Radiohead were establishing themselves as not only great rock musicians but up and coming legends.

With 'Ok Computers' good overseas reception Radiohead had the world at their feet, and for them it was just a matter of producing a sub par rock album and relying on the fan base, or making the progressive effort to increase that fan base.

Radiohead chose to "diversify", replacing edibly good riffs with barely digestable synthesized sounds.
Kid A is average at best, and is mostly failed at Radioheads inability to decide which mood the album is focussed in, tracks such as 'Optimistic' are true to form throughout but the rest of the album is a step back in quality from past recordings (Namely Ok Computer).

Instead of answering the question of the mass media, Radiohead decided to ignore it completely and change direction (musically) this may be appreciated by some, but those in search of quality rock music should look elsewhere.

One has to hope that for Radioheads future efforts they put away the beat box's and synthesizers, and pick up where they left off at the end of 1997.

This is now the best sounding album in my house. No need to get into how good the album itself is - I think you've already determined that for yourself. This rating has to do with the sonics and art of the record. This is released as 2 x 10", so if you're new to collecting records then yes, it's just slightly smaller than most of the other albums you've been buying. It immediately feels substantial, by weight of the records and thickness of the sleeve. The sound on playback is rich, deep and well separated. Do not hesitate to add this to your collection, as it has none of the suspicious drawbacks (thin records, poor production, bad pressing, weak packaging, etc.) of purchasing a record sight unseen.

This album was designed to appeal to music critics and no one else. It's bizarre for the sake of being bizarre. Thom Yorke knows that music critics were so enamored with "OK Computer" they would give an album of silence rave reviews. So he gave them much more: random noise. This guaranteed "masterpiece" reviews and more "Best Band in the Universe" titles and huge sales. Just read other reviews, every single one says what the other said: Brian Eno/David Bowie, Aphex Twin, etc. Critics aren't original.

The truth about this album is that for the music listener, it's absolutely boring. With the exception of "How To Disappear Completely", there is nothing that could really be considered a song. Sure, the first few listens make any Radiohead fan certain that there's so much subtlety in this album that it'll take many, many listens to appreciate everything it has to offer. But after 100 or so listens, you realize that it's not subtlety, it's lack of coherence. If Thom Yorke is considered a genius, then the fine line between genius and insanity is much finer than anyone thought. In fact, this album actually gets irritating the more you listen to it and you'll find yourself skipping tracks to get to something interesting. It's background music at best.

The rumors are that Radiohead has another album waiting in the wings to be released next spring. My theory is that "Kid A" (maybe it should have been called "Kid U") is a spoof and Radiohead will pull the real album out to show the world how lame music critics are. At least, that's what I'm hoping.

Every album they produce they get worse and worse. This album has to be the worse. Even though ok computer was great compared to others this one just really really sucks. I'm sorry for any fans to read this but it's horrible. It shows no talnet the singer needs to sing louder and write better lyrics.

Wow. Never before has a band dropped so low so fast. OK Computer was one of the best albums ever produced, up there with Dark Side of the Moon. But Kid A is such a completely unlistenable waste of time that it angered me to sit through it. At the end of every God awful "song", I hoped that the next song would be a fantastic peice of musical artwork, since I know the band is capable of it. Instead the CD just got more and more lost in art-school tripe. This is quite simply the worst collection of "music" ever assembled. Unless you are a blind, obsessed Radiohead fan, DO NOT buy this CD, DO NOT download it for free, DO NOT waste 45 minutes of your life listening to it, you cannot get that time back. Listen to Pablo Honey, The Bends, OK Computer, heck even the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack, but please do yourself a favor, and pretend this album was never released. You'll be glad you did.

*The More You Know*

Is this some kind of joke? This is one of the most disappointing albums I have ever heard, and I expect more from Radiohead. The Bends and OK Computer are 2 of the best albums ever, so I was expecting something decent here. Kid A is nothing more than experimental garbage with hardly any structure or melody. Yorke only really sings on 5 or 6 of the songs. The rest are either boring instrumentals or feature voice clips or distorted talking and singing. I guess I will go song by song:

Everything In It's Right Place - Keyboard noises with a voice loop played over and over. No singing here.

Kid A - See above. This is mostly instrumental.

The National Anthem - This one starts off with a really great bass line, but then is ruined about half way thru with a bunch of monotonous horns and vocal ranting. The horns aren't playing any melody, they are just blaring monotonously.

How To Disappear Completely - Finally, an actual song. This is a slower one. Decent, but not close to anything from the past.

Treefingers - A horrible instrumental, nothing but eerie keyboard sounds. This one belongs in a horror movie soundtrack. The worst thing ever put on cd by Radiohead.

Optimistic - This one is a really good mid-tempo song with ACTUAL singing and regular instruments. Best song on the album.

In Limbo - Another slow one. Sounds like many other Radiohead slow songs, with vocal effects.

Idioteque - This is all electronica, but I rather like this one. Yorke sings once again.

Morning Bell - A slower one, but with good vocals.

Motion Picture Soundtrack - Typical slow Radiohead track. Nothing special.

Save your money on this one, or if you really want it, pick it up on .... That's where mine is going. Radiohead had a chance to follow OK Computer with something really special, but they blew it big time.

Tricky one to review without sounding like a pretentious Radiohead sycophant obsessive.

Just brilliant - one of those albums that manages to equate to much more than the sum of it's parts. The opening bars from 'Everything In It's Right Place' are some of the great moments in modern music - almost 'Pink Floyd'-like in sobriety and texture, and set the tone perfectly for the next 40 minutes or so.

The whole album flows effortlessly from one song to the next, making it a truly emotional listening experience. Despite some wearisomely cryptic lyrics from Yorke, there's more than enough clues as to what he's writing about as music and words meld together so beautifully. At the end of 'Motion Picture Soundtrack', I'm frequently at a loss as to what to listen to next.

From a personal point of view, I've always thought of 'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac' as being their best albums. While I think 'Kid A' is the better album, 'Amnesiac' certainly has better songs. And, just think how much better(!) an album 'Kid A' might have been if songs like the glorious 'Knives Out', 'You and Whose Army' and 'Dollars and Cents' could have found there way on to it? After all, they were recorded at about the same time and would fit in nicely to the 'Kid A' theme.

OK, enough rambling. A wonderful experience awaits all who are prepared to give this album a chance, and not judge it in comparison to the much over-rated 'OK Computer'.

There's something about this run of pressings. Due to damage or just generally high levels of noise, I had Amazon replace my copies of Kid A twice. In all 3 copies (including the one I finally decided to live with), side 'c' (with 'Optimistic' and 'In Limbo') had a repetitive whooshing noise that I find very distracting. At least the rockishness of the songs helps mask it.

If anyone else has had this problem - I'd love to know about it!

Still, hearing 'How to Disappear Completely' on vinyl has been worth all the trouble.

Most reviews make me very angry for a variety of reasons, so I appologize to those like me out there. Having said that, I will continue to review this album because it is my co-favourite ever (with Amnesiac). Fewer guitars than OK Computer, more atmospheric, comparisons are odious. The soundscapes created in each song are beautiful and rich. The lyrics and message can be hard to catch and enigmatic, but it becomes clearer with each subsequent listen. This album is far from intellectual jibberish. I can listen to Kid A continuously and always find something new. Simplicity and complexity in every track. I prefer Amnesiac to Kid A, but both are absolutely essential and astounding. If you do not own either of these albums, you are seriously missing out on some of the best music ever created. Yes, it seems weird if you haven't been exposed to anything like this before. Different, challenging and beautiful; with a few listens you will be in awe.

For years and years as a youth, I had hated Radiohead. I figured why waste my time with a band whos lead singer sounds like a whiney cat that cant pronounce when he sings. But I started to get tired of the repetition that is Nickelback and modern rock radio, and I wanted something completely different. So on a total whim, without hearing anything whatsoever, i went out and bought Kid A.

And now it's my favorite album ever. EVER.

The album explores sonic landscapes layered with unique and pulsating textures. It almost sounds like each song had to just exist, like putting it together would have been too complex, instrument by instrument. The 10/4 beat of "everything in its right place", the seemingly random xylophone notes on "Kid A", and tracks like "idioteque", which completely blows you away near the end of the album ("now they're doing techno? Or pop?")

Sheer perfection.