Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

TRUE LOVE WAITS

Considered buying the CD but a) no free MP3s and b) $10 for shipping. FUUUUUCK YOUUUUU. I'll wait a month, get it from Amazon and probably get the MP3s then via their AutoRip service. In the meantime, I'll wait for it to turn up on Spotify.

So, I purchased the vinyl, but was not given a download link. Do I have to wait until June to hear it?!

― Austin

Bought vinyl and already received my digital download.

First impressions: The album is less orchestral heavy than I thought based on the first two tracks. Glass Eyes does use orchestral arrangements and it sounds gorgeous on first listen. Ful Stop and Identikit were definitely improved on the live version, they both sound less rockier, more psychedelic, Identikit guitars even sound balearic. They're my least favorite on first listen though... kinda wish I hadn't heard those live versions before I think they've tainted my enjoyment for them.

Oh and Numbers / Silent Spring and Present Tense are of course amazing. Best songs in here imho.

imo radiohead is a good band who makes good music

Halfway through, this feels like the opposite of TKOL to me so far - obsessively performed, meticulous and maximalist. No one will accuse them of having butchered or half-assed these songs.

Someone has already said as much that they've butchered 'True Love Waits'

I don't know, though... haven't heard the LP yet.

I also just read someone refer to this as "empty and minimal" so I guess there's no limit to the possible rongness

I'm surprised by how close Desert Island Disk, The Numbers and Present Tense are to Thom's solo renditions, since most of the King of Limbs era tracks he played solo beforehand had drastically different arrangements

It's a bit too tastefully done, so far.

What you gain on control, you lose on the spontaneity.

I loved King of Limbs but yes, sound-wise this is so lush and not claustrophobic at all which is something that they had a problem with in almost all of their recordings... the instrumentation for the arrangementalso s seems to be natural for the most part this time around... might be one of the most beautifully sounding albums I've heard since Samamidon's All Is Well.

I don't know if I'd call it maximalist, there something that feels sparse and minimal about it, I think it might be about he composition and not the actual sounds of it... but I think it works on its favor. With simpler compositions you get a chance for fuller arrangements to dominate the song.

Someone has already said as much that they've butchered 'True Love Waits'

i mean i already have the other one, bring on the butchering

It's something that the Samamidon album also has btw... very simple songs that are made excellent by Nico Muhly's incredible arrangements.

I don't get people who think they butchered TLW. I'd heard so many live covers and unimpressive versions with arrangements by souncloud/youtube users that I had lost faith Radiohead could ever do something interesting with it.

I like it but I also didn't mind what they did to "Videotape" and this feels v similar

on first listen I was most struck by "Ful Stop," "Decks Dark" and "Glass Eyes."

I wouldn't say 'butchered' but it's such a nice melody I wish they'd done more with. this version is pretty but not that interesting either.

i really like "desert island disk"

lol this is really in alphabetical order

putting them in a lineage with mindless self indulgence

I'm reading the word "interesting" a lot here... all I want to know is if it's any good!

it's interesting

xxpost:

First thought that sprang to my mind is "ah, they've heard Electric, then!"

I like Videotape but I think that one could have been better arranged. I think what they did with TLW is perfect, it's everything it should be... they've spent 20 years trying different ways to do it... I imagine one day in the future some of those rarities and demos will be released and we'll get like 50 different versions and arrangements of it.

On my second listen of the album now, this is very otherworldly... it's mostly mellow which could be a problem with some fans that love their punchier material but at some point in your life you've got to age with dignity. An album filled with rockers at this point in their career would be odd. Hopefully this isn't their last, it feels like a farewell.

man I would die if they ever just cracked open their vault and unleashed their demos, alternates, c-sides etc.

Re True Love Waits; has there ever been an example of a live/session version of a song that's been considered to have been improved upon by the official studio version?

good record

I like Desert Island Disk. I like the acoustic guitars on this album. I like the untreated pianos on this album. I like the hand held percussiony bells or chimes or those ittle tambouriney cymbals or whatever on this album. I have only listened to it once. I don't pay attention to Radiohead live stuff or b-sides. Just the LPs. This seems better on first listen than TKOL. It doesn't blow me away like In Rainbows did on first listen. The last song True Love Waits seems great.

In Rainbows was definitely more impressive on first listen for me too... again, I think the mellowness of this one kind of undermines its initial impact... on the other hand, it's way too early to tell but generally speaking mellow, layered records such as this one are the ones with the most replay value for me.

"ful stop" is amazing

Wow at Decks Dark on second listen! I was so excited I didn't even pay attention at the choral arrangements and twinkling pianos in the background the first time around. They've been trying to nail this kind of sound since forever. This record makes HTTT sound immensely dry in retrospective.

I can't stop! I need to get off the forums for at least a day, i'll just keep flooding the thread with inane opinions. See you tomorrow!.

I kind of wish I didn't live on the West Coast of the US. It is super sunny here and I have this new family of Black Phoebes that seem to be using my backyard as a training ground. And its so rare to see more than one Black Phoebe at a time, that seeing a new family hang out in a group is fascinating to me. I guess if i knew this album was so mellow I might have closed the curtains. Looking forward to a nighttime headphone listening session. Maybe Burn The Witch as an opener doesn't work that well, in that it doesn't seem to set the stage appropriately but just seems to be at the top because that's the only place it wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb.

pisces: i thought the studio version of "go to sleep" was better than the old live version!

and, i mean. airbag too, if you want to count that one.

tbh studio version of "true love waits" >>>>>

they nailed it

yeah on my 2nd listen I teared up at it a bit tbh

This album is DEEP.

Just in terms of sound, it's really layered and lush — probably the most they've been in those areas since OK Computer. But it's deadly slow for the most part, forcing you to really zoom in on those huge, thoughtful arrangements.

Still processing right now. It's not really an album for the instant gratification listener. Guaranteed I will miss certain things and intricacies until the sixth or seventh listen.

is there such a thing as an instant gratification listener listening to Radiohead?

especially in 2016?

it's sunny on the east coast too, i had to pause halfway through the album to take my kids to the playground and it wound up feeling like a nice intermission

i was sorta instantly gratified but that's bc this is what i wanted to hear from them, something that mostly gently ebbs and implies a greater darkness. imo this is much better than the king of limbs. i love that it's understated, that the arrangements sort of take over everything, that it just seems to resonate at a particular frequency for 50 minutes and then disintegrate. "burn the witch" is kind of a red herring?

yeah it only makes sense in the opening slot, I'm slightly proud of guessing it and "Daydreaming" as the opening one-two

...albeit in the wrong order I now realize, lol

If you pre-order the CD from them do you get a download?

If you pre-order the CD from them do you get a download?

No.

album is fantastic. i'm not one for quantifying or qualifying or rating their records but this is completely enjoyable.

download is available with the deluxe order (which I got because I'm a sucker) but it's also on apple music

The £60 special edition being the only physical version to mention an instant download seems like a tactic to direct people to that

The bastards.

The £60 special edition being the only physical version to mention an instant download seems like a tactic to direct people to that

A friend pointed out that ordering the ultra deluxe edition gets you free shipping, too, whereas shipping to the US for the CD alone (a single CD!) is $10.15, which is fucking madness.

Looking at mine and my flatmate's order receipts, it seems the CD and Vinyl are coming from XL records, whereas the Special Version is coming from Radiohead's fanclub. Seems like their age old antagonism with record labels hasn't quite abated entirely.