Editorial Review

Radiohead's third album got compared to Pink Floyd a lot when it came out, and its slow drama and conceptual sweep certainly put it in that category. Read more

Reviews (1969)

One of my favorite albums ...
I dont pretend Yorke is God but i like Radiohead.I loved OK Computer, I liked The Bends and Hail To The Theif, I could tolerate Kid A, and I despised Amnesiac and Pablo Honey.
pure music from the inner soul
i remember when this came out. i think i was in 6th or 7th grade. radiohead was known to me by the two songs "high and dry" and "fake plastic trees" from their bends album, so the name wasn't totally lost in my memory.
Not for everyone...
My college roommate played this cd relentlessly when it first came out & it won me over. More than one listen is probably a requirement in order to fall for this album. Its definitley out there. Apparently the lyrics are about the way machines dehumanize people but I loved to listen to the music even before I could understand what the heck the lyrics were saying.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Britpop    3. England    4. Indie Electronic    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

While Radiohead saw its stock rising in 1994, it wasn't until 1995's Read more

Reviews (560)

Left High & Dry years ago
I remember going to a R.E.M. concert in Phoenix AZ circa 1994, waiting for ticket prices to go down just before the show while the warm up group played.That group had had one hit, Creep, but despite glowing reviews of their new album, I couldn't be bothered.A few weeks later Fake Plastic Trees arrived to me via a promo CD.I thought it was fantastic and decided to buy The Bends and check out the hype.
Classic Radiohead
This was the first album of Radioheads I brought and after listening to all their other records I still believe it to be their best. The Bends was a major progression from debut Pablo Honey, it was still Radiohead but more organic.
The Bends ~ A Perfect Radiohead Album
It's extremely difficult to pinpoint exactly where/how Radiohead were able to transform themselves into one of the most influential alternative rock bands of the 90's with songs that `hook' one in after a few careful and detailed listens. Their stuff is certainly powerful, sheerly brilliant and beyond beautiful, though occasionally a little odd (as in different) but very arty - which is a good thing in my book. The transformation probably began somewhere between ` My Iron Lung EP' and `The Bends', to safely say the least. They're not an easy band to `get into' but once you do get into them you will be captivated by their utter uniqueness and confidence in the music they make. And they're the kind of band that are willing to take risks. My introduction to the band came when I picked up `OK Computer' (the best music purchase of my life) in my local music store. It is indeed my favorite Radiohead album but believe me `The Bends' always comes a close second - sometimes I even prefer it to `OK Computer.' SOMETIMES. I can never really make up my mind now. Not taking the punk rock/grunge approach, as they did with their debut album, `Pablo Honey' (which was of mediocre quality, but the song `Creep' was a standout as a proclaimed self-loathing anthem), the songs in this album [The Bends] seem much more personal and therefore much more touching (`Fake Plastic Trees' is a simple yet beautiful song - one of the best). Frankly, I love pre-Kid A Radiohead so much better than post-Kid A because they weren't in their experimental stages but still gave it all their best and managed to release their follow-up masterpiece, `OK Computer' and finally they were hailed as the best new thing in rock. Something well deserved. `Just (Do It To Yourself)' is a strong, spunky and guitar driven song and the video (in horrific fashion) is just as good. `High & Dry' is a haunting ballad and my second favorite song in the album as Street Spirit (Fade Out) is my first. Though it usually varies. `OK Computer' is to a greater extent - a very complex, complicated, and obscure album, but if you are a first timer to Radiohead's music `The Bends' is the best album to start off with as it's their essential basis. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Britpop    3. England    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

This big rock candy mountain of an album justifies some if by no means all of the poses and pretentious statements made by Manchester's natural-born rock & roll deities. A dramatic attempt to rekindle the flames of the original British Invasion, Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Britain    3. British Trad Rock    4. Britpop    5. Hard Rock    6. Pop    7. Pop/Rock    8. Popular Music    9. Rock    10. Rock & Roll    11. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

How is it that Read more

Features

• Enhanced

Reviews (2036)

the most interesting group of its generation
stop comparing this to u2 and pink floyd.the comparisons aren't apt, and this album is far superior to anything that (decent) pink floyd and (horrible) u2 have ever done.
Good listening
...when you're gearing up for suicide. This whole album sounds like the last thoughts and comments of a person who's going to just end it all. I found myself suffering nightmares, fatigue, misery and paranoia. My ears unclogged but I started getting headaches and a fuzzy feel in my head. This is not a good album for the stressed, because it will just make you feel worse. I find this album unlikable and mostly unenjoyable. When I first listened to it it sounded inaccessable, after listening to it more and more I started to get more "into" it, but I can't say I found it a good place to be in. It's a somewhat interesting album, but it mostly just dragged me down, made me nervous, numb and hurt my head.
I didn't think that they could get any gayer..(is that a word? Gayer???)
Listening to this album is like receiving a LONG SLOW ENEMA. I still have no idea what people see in this much OVERATED band. I understand the comparisons to U2 (which, by the way, is a far superior band), but Pink Floyd?? Pink Floyd runs circles around this poor excuse for a band musically and lyrically!! Creep is their only good song.....There I said it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Experimental Rock    3. Indie Electronic    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Before Radiohead became the biggest critics' darling since Pavement or Dr. Dre, they were just another pre-Oasis British band with some loose indie ties, trying to gain some cred. Loopy enough to name this moody, often battering debut album for a Jerky Boys routine, they were also a lot more interesting when they hadn't yet learned the word "soundscape." "Creep," the miserably majestic single they now claim nearly ruined them, may not even be the best thing here; try "Anyone Can Play Guitar," an epitaph for River Phoenix before the fact. Read more

Reviews (194)

Before The Nerdiness
I'll concede that OK Computer and The Bends were their peak performances, but this is still a good album from their "we-still-play-musical-instruments" stage of their career. After OK Computer they somehow morfed into this pseudo-intellectual computer generized cluster, that somehow became trendy for critics on both sides of teh pond to slurp. Pablo Honey isn't gonna win any awards, but at least it showed signs of traditional songwriting and musical talent, and not a bad soundtrack to a Nintendo game or a bad rip-off of Moby. Lets face it, nobody actually likes that stuff by Radiohead, but it feels pretty cool to say that you do, doesn't it?

It grows on you.
Now before any of you give the below reviewer an un-helpful vote, read his profile, as he states that his reviews are jokes. Anyway, this was Radiohead's beginning. Thom and co. were from a city no one really heard about, but they were determined to make it in the music business. Keep in mind that Pablo Honey was made when grunge was still popular. Radiohead tried to make a record influenced by grunge without ripping off greats like Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and... Nirvana... who weren't all that great (and if I hear a Nirvana fan bash this...).
Radiohead's Only Good Album!
People, get over yourselves. "OK Computer", "The Bends", and "Kid A" were all horrible and boring as hell albums. Few can deny that besides idiots. Here, they started off as a really good Brit Pop-Rock band with Grunge influences. If the band stayed this way, all their albums would be good and maybe they would ACTUALLY progress instead of making crappy boring electro indie alt whatever "music". Most of the songs on here are great, but I rated it a star less since I'm a bit tired of their only true rock radio hit "Creep". (I'm SERIOUS on that one, are you so called true Radiohead fans (even though I'm not lol w/e) getting this?) Still a decent song and better than any other crap they've done though. All in all, this is the only album by them you should EVER hear.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Britpop    3. England    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Most modern Hollywood films have musical "temp tracks" laid in as they're edited, usually classical standards or music from other soundtracks that helps shape the dramatic and emotional intentions of works in progress. Sometimes these temp tracks become the score (as in "2001"), but more often they serve as a template for the film's eventual scorer. That said, we'll boldly climb out on a limb and opine that director Ridley Scott was listening to a whole lot of Holst's Read more

Features

• Soundtrack

Reviews (357)

Zimmer's best
Hans Zimmer has written a lot of music, but this score rises above the rest for me.Some have complained (and Zimmer has even been sued over it) that this score is too close to some of Holst's "The Planets", and Mars: Bringer of War certainly influenced parts of this score.That said, the action music from this score is blood-pumping, and interspersed throughout are gloriously beautiful melodies that inspire the soul and enlighten the mind.The last 3 tracks are particularly beautiful."The Battle" is the track that recalls "Mars" (I believe) and is some great action music finished off by the most thematically beautiful music I've heard from Zimmer.This one is a classic and deserves a place of prominence in even the most basic of film score collections.

2 stars: Am I Not Merciful?
It's really amazing.
And I thought The Last Samurai was awesome
Up until I received Gladiator as a birthday present, I had thought The Last Samurai was the best soundtrack out there. I had thought TLS was that special soundtrack that recreates the movie in your mind, allowing you to just relax and let the music take you where it will...
Read more

Subjects:  1. Film Music    2. Original Score    3. Pop    4. Soundtrack    5. Soundtracks    6. Soundtracks & Film Scores   

Editorial Review

My Bloody Valentine's entire career has been aiming toward the perfect guitar noise that Kevin Shields has in his head: a pure, warm, androgynous but deeply sexual rush of sound. Read more

Reviews (383)

Yes, this deserves every star.
I came to Bloody Valentine a little late in the game (late 90's) and I wasn't too enamoured with their other works. In fact, I had a difficult time getting into this album. I think this album is like one of those 3D puzzles where you really have to relax your eyes, or better yet, don't try and find the picture you're supposed to be looking for. Relax your brain, turn off your active listening, and then put this album on repeat. I found that in order to really get the initial experience of this album it should be on very low volume while your doing other "brainy" things. After a few hours of writing heady material, solving the world's problems, or replacing the brake pads on your car, somehow everything about Loveless will magically "click". Once I figured out how to introduce this album to people I have yet to have anyone call me back and tell me "they don't get it".

Brilliant & Revolutionary
I've owned this album for ten years now...I can't think of a more awe inspiring cd in my collection.I relisten to it from time to time and still in 2006 it seems ahead of its time and revolutionary.
As close to perfection as I've ever heard
What can I say about this album that hasn't already been said?There are a handful of albums that have altered the musical landscape with their genius, and this is definitely in that class.The knock-off bands are still coming out of the woodwork 15 years later.As close to perfection as I've ever heard... and maybe ever will hear... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Alternative/Indie-Rock    3. Dream Pop    4. Ireland    5. Noise Pop    6. Pop    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop    9. Shoegaze   

Editorial Review

More song-driven and acoustic than Read more

Reviews (784)

Why all the hate?
Radiohead is my favorite band, but I'm not giving this album 5 stars because of that. I'm giving it 5 stars because it's a GOOD record. It may be another electronic album like Kid A, but it's still a different record. While Kid A had a quiet and bleak tone, Amnesiac has a more frantic and ambient sound. Like Aphex Twin but with lyrics and more frantic. This album gets as much play as the other albums from me, so I can't complain. On a side note, Radiohead fans are such pains. They hate this and Kid A (both are great records) because the tone has changed completely from Ok Computer, but they also hate Hail To The Theif because it sounds too much like an "Ok Computer re-hash". Make up your minds, Radiohead fans.

Find Your Vein
I don't know if heroin is a prereq for this album, but I don't do it so I listened without. If they are trying to capture what is like to be finding a vein by an old railroad track near dilapidated factory in Liverpool, and rolling around in your own vomit, than I think they succeeded. They still rock though.

Okay, they lost me here
Radiohead delivers amnesiac as a follow-up to the much anticipated yet somewhat misunderstood Kid A. From here, it should become clear that leftovers are leftovers for a reason. In Ryan Adam's recent three albums of 2005, his plan was to release all music from one session and make not one album but three. The result. Fillers. Radiohead, however, made a remarkably experimental album in Kid A, and while by no means their best, remains severely underrated. Anesiac is almost the opposite. It was created from unreleased sessions from Kid A, and while a few songs such as "I Might Be Wrong," "Pact," and "Hunting Bears" remain true to form, most of these should have remained sessions. Sorry guys, bravo to the max for absolutely everything prior, but I can't really get into this one. I hated Kid A at first, kept retrying until I loved it, but I'm afraid that its just not working with this one. I'll give it an extra star for its three decent songs and for it being made by radiohead.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Experimental Rock    3. Indie Electronic    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

It's often said that a musician's debut represents the culmination of a lifetime's worth of experiences, but their sophomore effort is usually derived from just the intervening year. By waiting 12 years between Read more

Reviews (308)

Aerial Soars
This is a mature, feminine, ethereal and extremely beautiful piece of art! No one makes music like Kate Bush and Aerial proves it! Both discs are great, but A Sky Of Honey is obviously the true gem as it is a conceptual piece! There's no one like her and there never will!

Truly Brilliant!
As I commute home in the golden afternoon sun, listening to the song cycle "A Sky of Honey" on the 2nd disc is like going off on a vacation and returning quite refreshed, all in the span of 40 minutes.I feel like I've slipped away to a little ocean village in Italy with my one true romantic love, and that God made the world just for her and I.I feel like I skinny-dipped in the ocean under a dome of stars, and the birds sing, and nature and mankind are united in love and laughter forever.Thank you Kate for touching both mind and soul!

Oh so beautiful....there's nothing else like it
I can't explain how powerfully this album moves me. At first listen, I was disappointed. There was no "Night of the Swallow," no "Moving," or other rousing songs that make me want to dance, alone, in the night.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Alternative Pop/Rock    3. England    4. Pop    5. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Filling the gulf between Read more

Reviews (1002)

I might have liked this before
Radiohead released their last 3 cds, but they didnt release it then and it proves to belimited in concept,tired in execution and basically reveals the end of the line for the group in its current direction. I cant wait to see where they head next.

A Suggestion
Get over f***ing ok computer.I do not find any fascination or anything superior, unique, or defining within ok computer.It has some good songs. I do not consider ok computer as anything but a stepping stone toward Kid A and then beyond, in *my* personal interst - in generosity I see it as an INSULAR event, which means you do not expect it twice under ANY circumstances, and do not allow its shadow, if it has one to you, to land anywhere that it does not apply.In this situation it does NOT.Your listening capability is being colored by prior experiece, which is degrading to artistic value, and furthermore a selfish act.It is FINE to draw comparison, it is not okay to put two unlike things on an unbalanced scale.
Excellent!!!!
Absolutely mind boggling!!!Radiohead have done it again with a CD that blows your mind away.I followed Radiohead for this tour and listening to them live is like listening to the CD.Absolute perfection. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Britpop    3. Experimental Rock    4. Indie Electronic    5. Pop    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

With the swaggering chords of the opening "Rock'N'Roll Star," Oasis announced that big, brash Brit rock was here to stay--at least for a few years. They wore their rock & roll with an angry young sneer, a Mancunian petulance wedded to a vision of cathartic release. Their supersonic two-guitar attack took them "Up in the Sky," where they would "Live Forever" or burn out in a blaze of alcoholic glory. Noel Gallagher's songs weren't subtle--or shy of overt plagiarism--but, spat out in the Lennonesque snarl of little brother Liam, they took on a venomous power that had millions of young Brits taking them at their own arrogant word. In the U.S., meanwhile, the response was more Maybe than Definitely.Read more

Reviews (190)

fantastic
i prefer this record over the stone roses debut which everyone thinks is the best british record ever.this still sounds fresh unlike the dated roses album.this is a great record and definitely oasis' best.better than morning glory btw.morning glory has the trinity of champagne supernova, don't look back in anger and wonderwall, but this DM has live forever and everything else on the album.the harder rockin oasis will always be better and this album deserves all the love it gets.

Soundtrack to my Golden Years
Here I am, sat in England, several years after this album was first released.
Be a rock n' roll star, slide away and live forever!
This never fails me if I'm down in the dumps, a great mood raiser. Some of the greatest songs of the 90's have a home on this record. Definitely one of the greatest albums of the 90's. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. British Trad Rock    3. Britpop    4. England    5. Hard Rock    6. Pop    7. Pop/Rock    8. Popular Music    9. Rock    10. Rock & Roll    11. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Their goth-sounding name and dour visual image aside, the prolific duo of Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard produce wildly eclectic but utterly unique music. Their painstakingly crafted albums encompass numerous arcane genres, from European classical music to ancient Celtic and Middle Eastern folk styles, often employing authentic antique instruments to achieve their ambitious, emotive soundscapes. The 1993 effort Read more

Reviews (56)

Multi-culturalism and Cross-culturalism
The work of Dead Can Dance, Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard, might be best described as cross-cultural. Some songs sound like Celtic songs from the middle ages while others sound like Islamic chants from the desert countries. On "Into the Labyrinth", I found that The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove; The Wind That Shakes the Barley; The Carnival is Over; Tell Me about the Forest; Ariadne; and HOw Fortunate the Man with None were my favorite 6 selections. Perry's voice has a dreamy quality that is hard to describe, kind of like Dean Martin does Lebanon. I certainly like the multicultural blending of musical traditions that Dead Can Dance offers.

Wow.
Back in 1993 I came home late one night from a party.I turned on the tube and there was the video for "Yulunga", on MTV!My jaw was hanging down to the floor.The next day I woke up and the first thought I had was to hear the rest of this album.Strangely enough, the c.d. was available and in the store.
The Introduce Album
The first song, Yulunga, tells everything! Even if the Perry's songs are not perfect, very good of course, Dead Can Dance is one of the greatest names in music of all time!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Australia    3. Dream Pop    4. Ethnic Fusion    5. Pop    6. Popular Music    7. Rock    8. Rock/Pop    9. World Fusion   

Editorial Review

By now, everyone knows how adventurous Radiohead are, which makes this live record--a hairy rock-band cliché--seem like a strange capper to their decidedly cliché-rejecting records. But throughout the hubbub surrounding Read more

Features

• Live

Reviews (142)

Can't See Them Live?Buy This.
So we all know that a CD can't replace the live experience, but this one definitely withstands the test of time.The recording values are unparalleled by other band's live sets and the song selections capture the band's adventurous ethos from the first second.From the opening radio static of "The National Anthem" to the the final acoustic fade-out of "True Love Waits," this album surprises almost every time you listen to it, both in the ways in which Yorke & Co. complicate the original studio versions and in the performance abandon which they bring to their songs; you can hear it coming from the speakers.
There are two colors in my head
While this may just be a release of live songs that have already been released, it is a must have in my opinion. The songs that I like best are; Like Spinning Plates, Everything in It's Right Place, and Dollars and Cents. The live versions equal or better the originals. In many cases I feel they are more powerful. True Love Waits is also good. I'm not sure what release if any that one is from.
Average Live Recording
I hate to flame a Radiohead release because OK COMPUTER and KID A are two of my all-time favorite albums by any group, however, this live release regrettably exposes one of the weaknesses that bands who rely on heavy production in their studio albums, namely, the inability to reproduce that sound live.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Experimental Rock    3. Indie Electronic    4. Pop    5. Rock    6. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Import

Reviews (15)

"Strung Out Below a Necklace of Carnival Lights"
"Misplaced Childhood" is Marillion's third album, originally released in 1985. It's a concept album, and every track is special, I think.
One of the best albums that came out in the eighties!
As a fan of all kinds of music stretching from groups like Genesis and Yes to metal bands like Queensryche and Judas Priest to more soft rock like Journey and Madonna I find Misplaced Childhood to be one of the best and definitely one of the most melodic albums that came out in the eighties. Linking the record's beautiful painted cover with the music it creates a colourful journey through melodic guitar riffs and solo, a deep and saga-like keyboard sound and Fish's catchy and beautiful singing. With its mix of symphonic rock and progressive rhythms it inspired bands like Dream Theater and also became one of Mike Portnoy's (drummer of DT) favourite albums of all time. But while many of modern day's progressive groups have more of a edge and aggressiveness to their sound Misplaced Childhood, and Marillion as a whole during this era, was more melodic and clear sounded with a relaxing tone.
Misplaced Childhood
Very good CD. Fish is a born suicidal romantic.Excellent musicians, deep lyrics and moody subjects propel this above most Euro-motional 80's era sagas.Recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Hard Rock    2. Neo-Prog    3. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    4. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

1989's Read more

Reviews (72)

The Magnificent Kate Bush
Kate is such an Original,and this C.D. is just superb from Beginning to end!!!!With Dave Gilmore helping out...and the Trio Bulgarka!!!I especially Love"Never be Mine","Rockets Tail","Love and Anger"and the title track...."Sensual World"Wonderful Music!!!

SOECCENTRIC!
I do not know if people are crazy about Kate Bush b/c of her looks, her mystery, or unavailability or b/c they really think her music is so great.
A Sensual World a bit over my head
I love Kate Bush, I have had a couple of albums in the past and was looking to get some in my collection of CDs. Unfortunately "A Sensual World" didnt really gel with me, very esoteric and hard to understand and empathise with. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Pop/Rock    2. College Rock    3. Pop    4. Popular Music    5. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    6. Rock    7. Rock/Pop   

Features

• Original recording reissued
• Original recording remastered

Reviews (23)

Sublimalicious
This is the first Cocteau Twins CD I bought.It started my journey into the sublime,and into true music enlightenment..What can I say but....experience it yourself!!!!

This band is icy as north pole!
Don't believe anybody who think Cocteau Twins is Enya-wannabe or something. This is 1984 and the band is true originals. There is very small Siouxie & The Banshees flavour in some of their songs, but meanwhile this is post-punk era and music is very hypnotic. Somtimes this style called dream-pop. The sound cool and icy and absolute amazing. When I hear Liz F. I feel like snowflake in the center of snow-blast. When I hear song called Lorelei tears goes down from my eyes I just don't know why. Listening to this album is good for you karma!

fabulous fem
Every song pulls you into a web of mysticism.I love the variation of soprano and alto, the music's lure, its enticement.Alternative sound, ultimate fem.I can't stop listening. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock    3. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

Some albums really can change the world, and in 1989 this was one of them. The psychedlic dance extravaganza that was Read more

Reviews (221)