Radiohead: Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, Phil
Selway.
KID A won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. It was
nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award in the categories of Album Of The Year and
Best Engineered Album.
1997's OK COMPUTER turned the rock world on its ear by bringing visionary
neo-prog rock touches to a Britpop format. Consequently, KID A was one of the
most anticipated releases of its era, especially since Nigel Godrich, the man
behind the mixing desk for the previous album, was again on hand for this
outing.
On KID A, Thom Yorke's passionate wailing is put through the aural wringer, and
the band's previous nimbly orchestrated full-frontal sonic assault is replaced
by full-frontal electric piano, to iconoclastic effect. The ambient
underpinnings and garbled vocals of “Everything in Its Right Place,” and the
instrumental “Treefingers,” the electronic beats of “Idioteque,” and
Yorke's processed voice on the title track will come as quite a shock to
diehard ‘70s rockers who spent the late '90s deifying Radiohead as heirs to
the Pink Floyd throne. But these touches work brilliantly, while the more
organic elements, such as the jazzy horn section on “The National Anthem,”
and the comparatively conservative arrangement (though there's some
unsettlingly atonal orchestration lurking here, too) of “How to Disappear
Completely” provide a counterpoint to all this incipient modernism.
What the critics say…
Rolling Stone (1/4/01, p.106) – Ranked #8 in Rolling Stone's Top 10 Albums
of 2000.
Rolling Stone (10/12/00, pp.85–6) – 4 stars out of 5 –
“…A clear-eyed space opera about a plausible future….this 'is’ pop, a
music of ornery, glistening guile and honest ache, and it will feel good under
your skin once you let it get there…”
Spin (1/01, p.73) – Ranked #2 in Spin's “Top 20 Albums of the Year
[2000]”.
Spin (10/00, pp.171–2) – 9 out of 10 – “…The songfullness emerges
from the strangeness, and a beautifully sequenced CD assumes the shape of a
classic LP….KID A is not only [its] bravest album but its best one as
well.”
Entertainment Weekly (10/6/00, pp.85–6) – “…A genuinely challenging
work….a sonic journey…” – Rating: B+
Q (10/01, p.91) – Ranked #13 in Q's “Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime”
Q (1/01, p.93) – Included in Q's “50 Best Albums of 2000”.
Q (11/00, p.96) – 3 stars out of 5 – “…Beautiful as it is
strange….Musically, [its] best features are its keening, lapwing guitars and a
thin, atonal orchestral drizzle….best enjoyed with the lights off…”
Alternative Press (11/00, p.95) – 3 out of 5 – “…Like the soundtrack
to a movie that hasn't been filmed….This is music that messes with your
insides…”
Magnet (1–2/01, p.45) – Included in Magnet's “20 Best Albums of
2000” – “…This year's version of R.E.M.'s UP: a genre-resistant sonic
scuplture that plays wicked eardrum tricks at every turn…”
The Wire (1/01, p.34) – Included in Wire's “50 Records Of The Year”.
Muzik (11/00, p.90) – 4 out of 5 – “…A record of experiments….This
deserves your attention.”
CMJ (1/08/01, p.17) – Included in CMJ's “Best of the Year” for 2000.
CMJ (10/2/00, p.3) – “…An epic audio experiment punctuated with raw
emotion and inspiring innovation….an unquestionable masterpiece…”
Vibe (11/00, p.166) – 4 discs out of 5 – “…Richly sculpted with
multi-colored chords, ebbing rhythms, and oddball time measures, KID
A floats…through the galaxy in search of musical cliches to
annihilate…”
Mojo (Publisher) (p.66) – Ranked #7 in Mojo's “100 Modern Classics” –
“[W]eeping icons of heartbreaking loveliness…”
Mojo (Publisher) (10/00, p.86) – “…Intriguing, eccentric, obviously a
grower….It still sounds a mess, but that's obviously the plan…”
NME (Magazine) (12/30/00, p.77) – Ranked #11 in NME's “Top 50 Albums Of
The Year” – “…Warp-style electronica, modern jazz….chill atmospherics
and curdled, bitter soundscapes…”