But like the other B-sides, they just weren’t as strong as the songs Radiohead ultimately chose.įrom the forgettable angst of “Lull” to the chill instrumental strains of “Meeting in the Aisle,” these tracks are better than most bands’ hits but still fell below Radiohead’s understandably high bar. Most of the eight previously released B-sides share the musical DNA of “OK Computer.” With their spacey atmospherics and Yorke’s wailing vocals, both “A Reminder” and “Pearly” could have found spots on the album.
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So it makes sense why they might shy away from a hummable tune like “Lift” and relegate it to bonus material status. The musicians are notorious for their uneasy relationship with “Creep,” the super-catchy, near-grunge hit that made them famous. But Radiohead is not a band known for hooks. In fact it sports one of Radiohead’s best hooks. Of the three unreleased tracks, “Lift” has the most straightforward sound. So, ultimately, it comes up short of the futuristic “OK Computer” vibe. The band’s whole persona was evolving at that time as the musicians discovered something deeper than the paint-by-numbers alt-rock of their debut, “Pablo Honey.” This track has that “OK Computer” sense of foreboding, that looming dread, but it’s still bound (just barely) by 1990s alt-rock sensibilities.
Sonically, “Man Of War” feels like “The Bends”-era Radiohead. It has longing and a sense of emotion that is often absent from his singing, especially in the post-“OK Computer” years. In fact, with its starkly simple percussion and repetitive acoustic guitar, “I Promise” is a wonderful platform for frontman Thom Yorke’s vocals. Even “Fake Plastic Trees” and “High and Dry” from “The Bends” are adventurous compared to “I Promise.” For that reason alone, it would not have fit in well on “OK Computer.”īut that doesn’t mean it’s not a great track. “I Promise” is perhaps the most straightforward ballad released by Radiohead. The Fictionist evolution continues with 'Sleep Machine'Īll 12 tracks are preserved on a special 20th anniversary re-issue of the album called “OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017.” In addition to the original album, “OKNOTOK” includes a second disk with eight “OK Computer”-era B-sides and three unreleased tracks from that time: “I Promise,” “Man Of War” and “Lift.” In which I own up to Wilco disillusionment Has Wilco finally become the American Radiohead?
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