Top Ten Albums of 2011 - #03
Radiohead's The King of Limbs
Editor's Note: This is the 8th in a quasi-weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2011. New reviews go up every weekend through the end of the year.
As I indicated in a post just after my first critical listen to this album, I was a little surprised at the direction taken with this album. The Radiohead Pendulum of Weirdness seemed to be swinging back towards something like "Amnesiac." In a way I was right, just not the way I expected.
First of all, the disappointment from the short length of the album still hasn't worn off. Anything shorter than 10 tracks is still an EP to me. Several companion tracks have been released since the album hit the streets - "Supercollider" and "The Butcher" were emailed to all of the folks who pre-ordered the album through the band's site. "Staircase" and "The Daily Mail" were just released about a week ago as a one-off double A-side. Boatloads of remixes have been released through the band itself, culminating in a remix album that's three times as long as the album itself (which solidifies the lame length of the original work).
There's almost too much going on here, at least on the first half of the album. "Morning Mr. Magpie" and "Feral" are too frantic to be in such close proximity to "Codex". I've tried my hand at adding in some of the other studio recordings from these sessions, but it's been hard to find the right balance and I always end up starting over with the standard tracks all in their original order. It's hard to listen to "The Daily Mail" and say that it doesn't belong somewhere on the album whose sessions spawned it.
Yet here it is - the third best thing I've heard this year. There's no denying the transcendence of "Bloom" or the goosebumps of "Codex". And who can watch Thom dance to "Lotus Flower" and not try these moves next time they listen to that song?
As with any Radiohead album, its technical merit is outstanding and ranks better than any other album I've heard this year. This, sadly, waves a pathetic red flag: the best two albums of the year both have shameful recording/mixing flaws.
Album highlights: Hell, get the whole album. It's only $5 on Amazon.com right now. In fact, all of the albums in the Top Ten with the exception of I'm With You, 21, and 100 Lovers are all $5 right now.
As I indicated in a post just after my first critical listen to this album, I was a little surprised at the direction taken with this album. The Radiohead Pendulum of Weirdness seemed to be swinging back towards something like "Amnesiac." In a way I was right, just not the way I expected.
First of all, the disappointment from the short length of the album still hasn't worn off. Anything shorter than 10 tracks is still an EP to me. Several companion tracks have been released since the album hit the streets - "Supercollider" and "The Butcher" were emailed to all of the folks who pre-ordered the album through the band's site. "Staircase" and "The Daily Mail" were just released about a week ago as a one-off double A-side. Boatloads of remixes have been released through the band itself, culminating in a remix album that's three times as long as the album itself (which solidifies the lame length of the original work).
There's almost too much going on here, at least on the first half of the album. "Morning Mr. Magpie" and "Feral" are too frantic to be in such close proximity to "Codex". I've tried my hand at adding in some of the other studio recordings from these sessions, but it's been hard to find the right balance and I always end up starting over with the standard tracks all in their original order. It's hard to listen to "The Daily Mail" and say that it doesn't belong somewhere on the album whose sessions spawned it.
Yet here it is - the third best thing I've heard this year. There's no denying the transcendence of "Bloom" or the goosebumps of "Codex". And who can watch Thom dance to "Lotus Flower" and not try these moves next time they listen to that song?
As with any Radiohead album, its technical merit is outstanding and ranks better than any other album I've heard this year. This, sadly, waves a pathetic red flag: the best two albums of the year both have shameful recording/mixing flaws.
Album highlights: Hell, get the whole album. It's only $5 on Amazon.com right now. In fact, all of the albums in the Top Ten with the exception of I'm With You, 21, and 100 Lovers are all $5 right now.
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