Rolling Stone (p.82) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "All of it rocks; none of it sounds like any other band on Earth; it delivers an emotional punch....[Yorke's] voice has an R&B lilt that suits the songs' romantic directness."
Rolling Stone (p.108) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Top Albums of the Year 2007" -- "Radiohead haven't sounded this aggressive and infuriates -- so rock & roll -- since OK COMPUTER..."
Spin (p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[With] a handful of gorgeous quiet-storm ballads that seem to have been imported from a time even less troubled than the late '90s."
Entertainment Weekly (p.66) - "Using the full musical and emotional spectra to conjure breathtaking beauty, the collection is well named. It may have arrived via computer, but the vision is timeless." -- Grade: A
Uncut (p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he tender, if not sunny, mood is maintained across a beautiful suite of songs..."
Uncut (p.82) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he shuffling fever-funk of 'Down Is The New Up' reaches a state of grace that very few bands ever get to achieve."
The Wire (p.63) - "[T]racks like opener '15 Step' are injected with almost Rephlex-like accelerating rhythms....The album is sonically diverse..."
The Wire (p.35) - Included in The Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2007".
Down Beat (p.77) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Subtle electronics and tastefully deployed string arrangements are woven into the fabric of the tunes..."
Q (Magazine) (p.107) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "IN RAINBOWS still leaves Radiohead in the most enviable position: progressively perfecting their art while able to command autonomy beyond the record industry."
Q (Magazine) (p.88) - Ranked #04 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2007" -- "Beneath its approachable surface swam myriad subtleties, multiplying with every play."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.96) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "IN RAINBOWS is a necessary masterstroke....Rejoice in a glorious moment for Radiohead, and for the art and business of rock in general."
Blender (Magazine) (pp.141-142) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "IN RAINBOWS formulates a lush, sensualized ideal out of vague, layered discomfort....Far more pensive and reflective than its predecessor..."
Title Note
Radiohead: Colin Greenwood, Philip Selway, Ed O'Brien , Jonny Greenwood, Thom Yorke.
Additional personnel: The Milennia Ensemble.
Initially issued in October 2007 with little prior notice, Radiohead's seventh full-length studio outing, IN RAINBOWS, took not only fans but the entire music industry by surprise. Released for a limited time only as an online download, the album was offered by the revered British rock group in a groundbreaking "pay what you want" format, allowing the listener to decide its digital value before an appearance in conventional CD form a few months later.
Innovative business practices aside, IN RAINBOWS also garnered attention as Radiohead's most immediately engaging offering since its BENDS/OK COMPUTER days, returning to slightly more accessible pop/rock song structures, while never abandoning the arty experimentalism of subsequent albums. From the shuffling beats of "15 Step" to the amped-up energy of "Bodysnatchers" to the glorious gloom of "Videotape," RAINBOWS presents the full spectrum of Radiohead's artistry, while deftly avoiding vocal melodramatics or excessive technical noodling. When the record hits its peak with the restlessly beautiful "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" and the emotive, keyboard-driven "All I Need," it's a thrilling reminder of why Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and the lads are one of the best bands on the planet, and it solidifies IN RAINBOWS as an indisputably great Radiohead album.
Editorial Reviews
TOWER.COM REVIEW
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Okay so let's get it out of the way, yes I paid for this album, how much is not important but I will say that it was probably more than most. Why, you may ask? Well, I figure when one of your favorite bands decides to go out on limb you should support them as best you can, especially if you'd like to continue to enjoy their music in the future. While the way Radiohead decided to release their album has gotten all the headlines, the music itself has almost been overlooked, which is a shame because this is their best album since Kid A and front to back their most consistent, immediate and accessible album to date.
This is the band at the top of their game using every weapon in their arsenal and making it all seem easy. Like Tiger Woods on the golf course, they stand out in a field of wannabes and show everyone how it's supposed to be done. This is an uncluttered, minimalist album in which every song has an ease and grace unlike anything they've ever done before. For the first time in ages they aren't trying to reinvent themselves; they seem unconcerned with being groundbreakers and just seem to enjoy being one of the greatest bands of our time.
In many ways this is Radiohead being Radiohead and doing what they do best. You need some Kid A skronking and grinding? - "15 Steps" is for you. You need some OK Computer-type riffage and cacophony? - try "Bodysnatchers" or "Jigsaw Falling Into Place". How about some "Fake Plastic Trees" balladry? - "Nude" or "House of Cards" will fit the bill. The band isn't copying themselves so much as they're consolidating their strengths into one perfect album. The whole thing is so well-conceived and produced that you're exhilarated by hearing the best band in the world just being themselves with nothing to prove.
In Rainbows is also without a doubt the most beautiful and tender album of their whole career, almost as if after three albums of paranoid ranting and existential fear they have said "screw the world" and looked inward to find what beauty is left in the world. This is most evident in the lyrics and Thom Yorke's approach to singing them. He has never written such personal and direct songs or sang them with such gorgeous ease. Thom's lyrics have always been a search for human contact amid the chaos of modern society, it seems he's finally found some of that contact and now his greatest fear is figuring out how to keep it. The bulk of the album is devoted to these songs: "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi", "Reckoner", "All I Need", "House of Cards", "Jigsaw Falling Into Place", "Videotape". Every one of these songs touch on human relationships and that four-letter word in Radioheadland, love. After making records full of fear, anger, alienation, and politics, the band has gone and made their "relationship" album. The result of this new focus is highlighted most obviously in the album's centerpiece "All I Need", anchored by a haunting synth-line and Thom's most direct and sentimental lyrics it grows from a sparse ballad into a swelling statement of desire and longing that stays with you long after it's 3:49 running time ends in a crescendo of piano, drums, guitar and electronics.
After a few albums that were less than the sum of their parts Radiohead has gone back to basics and sounds like a real band again, not a science experiment. In some ways In Rainbows is a summation of Radiohead's career until now; time will tell if this is an ending or the beginning of something new for a band that never stays in any one place for too long. At the moment they seem to be as content and, dare I say it, happy as they've been in a long, long time.
Favorite songs - "All I Need", "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi", "Bodysnatchers."
Jim, Tower Pulse - 01/01/08
If You Enjoy "In Rainbows (CD)", May We Also Recommend:
Thom Yorke is a genius. If you have not followed the trail of brilliance that
Radiohead has blessed the whole world with since their first seminal release,
then you are missing out on some of the most beautifully contructed, moody
soundscapes to ever have existed. Period. All hail Thom Yorke.
(1 customer review)
