Album: Kid A Release Date: 10/3/2000 Length: 50:01 Label: Capitol Rating: 8.5 |
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| Track Listing | |
1. Everything In Its Right Place (4:11)  |
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2. Kid A (4:44)  |
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| 3. The National Anthem (5:51) | |
| 4. How to Disappear Completely (5:54) | |
| 5. Treefingers (3:42) |
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| 6. Optimistic (5:15) |
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| 7. In Limbo (3:30) | |
| 8. Idioteque (5:08) | |
| 9. Morning Bell (4:28) | |
| 10. Motion Picture Soundtrack (7:01) | |
| Review | |
| A soothing organ line enters, slow and melodic enough to lull one to sleep. An electronic warble soon joins it, followed closely by a detached and choppy voice whispering "Kid A" into one ear. It ends as abruptly as it began, and is replaced by Thom Yorke's trademark croon declaring "Everything.....everything in its right place". This all takes place within the first minute of Kid A's opening track, setting the stage for what proves to be one of the most haunting and finely-produced albums of all-time. | |
| In 1997, Radiohead released OK Computer, which was considered by critics and fans as one of the great CD's released not only in that year, but in the entire decade of the nineties. So what does Radiohead do? Three years later, with their fans' anticipation for a new album incredibly high, they release Kid A. Kid A is not only not at all like its predecessor, it is unlike any other collection of music I have ever heard. This attracted a lot of new fans, but also alienated some of the older fans, who had liked the guitar-driven modern rock sound of The Bends and OK Computer, but weren't too happy about the experimentation direction that the band was taking with Kid A. A risky move by Radiohead, to be sure, but one that paid off. | |
| "Everything In Its Right Place" comes to a close, segueing flawlessly into the album's title track "Kid A". Electronic sounds resembling a child's toy music box emerge, contrasting the seemingly irregular drum beat in the background. Yorke's voice re-enters, muffled, confessing "I slipped away on a little white lie". No track on the entire album sounds more experimental than this one. Finally, it fades away, and the album's third track, misleadingly named "The National Anthem", kicks in, led by a stomping bass line that sounds more 'normal' than anything that has appeared on the CD to this point. This feeling evaporates though, when big-band instruments of all sorts start to enter the picture, one by one. In what can be described as a melodic racket, trumpets, horns, and drums bang away, as Yorke screams "It's holding on!". One of the album's many climaxes, and probably my favourite. | |
| Kid A is one of the best examples of a love-it-or-hate-it album. Many music fans dismissed it as being too "artsy", with which I would strongly disagree. It is definitely not something that you would listen to with friends, or at a party. However, if you happen to hit the "Play" button, while in the dark, or in a quiet setting, you'll have a tough time turning it off until track ten comes to a close. Kid A is more than just a collection of songs; this is a musical experience. | |
| From one of the album's loudest tracks to one of its softest. "How to Disappear Completely" opens with....guitars? This beautiful ballad is one of the best songs on Kid A, perfectly combining beautiful string and keyboard parts together, with Yorke singing emotionally over top of them, "I'm not here, this isn't happening". It eventually transforms into "Treefingers", the album's instrumental piece. It is probably the best four-minute song without a melody that you will ever hear, but it is one of the album's weaker tracks. However, all is forgiven when the band launches into the opening guitar line of "Optimistic". The hardest-rocking track on the album, with mysterious lyrics thrown in for good measure. "You can try the best you can / If you try the best you can / The best you can is good enough", Yorke sighs in resignation. The song totally changes direction near the end, serving as a lead-in to the seventh track, "In Limbo", another showcase of Yorke's lyrical prowess. "I'm lost at sea", he cries, over swirling guitar riffs, before advising, "Don't bother me" in another of the album's poignant moments. | |
| Many found it curious that Radiohead would elect not to release a single off of Kid A prior to its release. At the time, it seemed like a strange decision, but after listening through this CD, you can begin to understand it. Most of these songs would never, ever make it on radio stations these days. With the possible exceptions of "Optimistic" and "Idioteque", none of the tracks would work as singles. While this is a bit disappointing, since it keeps Kid A in relative obscurity to the average music fan, it is admirable that a band, especially one as well-known as Radiohead, would release an album without pandering to the expectations of record companies and radio stations. As naïve as it may sound, I don't believe Radiohead is still making records for the almighty dollar. "If the media spotlight affects my work or represses what i want to say in the future, then it is bad", Yorke has said in the past. So far, he and the rest of the band are still going strong. | |
| "Idioteque" announces itself as a panicked percussion beat intertwines with electronic blips and beeps. "Who's in the bunker, who's in the bunker?" Yorke asks, sounding almost mournful. Another extremely experimental song, "Idioteque" continues at its frenzied pace, until it fades into track nine, "Morning Bell". A fairly straightforward song, led by keyboards and lyrics such as "Where'd you park the car?". Though lyrically weak, this is one of the album's catchier tunes. When it closes, an organ begins, and Kid A's final track, "Motion Picture Soundtrack" makes its grand entrance. Primarily composed of the aforementioned organ, and later joined by dizzying harp progressions, Yorke quietly informs, "I think you're crazy", pausing a moment, before adding a single word, "Maybe". The harp plays in circles as the album's final lyric, "I will see you in the next life", is sung. The Kid A experience is over, for the time being. But don't you want to go back to track one? | |
| Rating: 8.5 | |
| - Luke Adams |
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