Radiohead - Kid A / Amnesiac Poll

Really nice interpretation, Moka.

From the pics, the actual version looks a bit lazy.

Thank you! It’s pretty much a reinterpretation of the cassette version. Don’t understand why they didn’t try to make them match, because I really like the design for the cassette and it’s not the most difficult design to recreate in the vinyl and cd versions. I spend 30 mins at most copying the style and they had at least a full year to really put some extra effort into it.

It’s particularly head-scratching to me considering how well done OKNOTOK was presented and sold. With that one it felt like that was truly the “definitive” OKC version. You got a tape with hours of content, a diary, a hardbook, a sketchbook, 4 new songs and all the b-sides from the era. And the whole original album was remastered. Also a unique album design meant to emulate a blackbox I think?

This one doesn’t feel like a definitive collection of what could have been. Nothing has been remastered (not necessarily a bad thing), you don’t get the b-sides, you don’t get any sort of tape with experiments and demos - and there’s probably hours of those that could have been interesting to hear -, the album cover looks like it was arranged in 10 minutes. If you want books of additional content you have to pay for them…. I mean, yeah I was expecting something way better considering how important this era is in their discography and the amount of content they could have put out.

If you ask my wallet, though, I suck at voting with it.

Many xps to ufo: that makes it feel all the more appropriate! It's like blips 2.0

I've not really thought through the ethics of this but the books are on sale at hive.co.uk (and presumably other places) at discounted prices.

I'm possibly being unfair but I figure that I'd like the local book shop to get a cut, even if this is at expense of Thom.

I suppose if I were being properly decent, I'd order the books direct from the local book shop but hey ... Hive will do.

They're listed on a Canadian bookstore site too, with a November 30 release date. I don't think there's anything limited about the books.

I thought the revive was about the new video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnhKaCjCIqM

felt that too much to talk about

new video does a good job of approximating what the video would have been like back then

great video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrxWiU_v9Qs

a little disappointed that there's not some more complete arrangement they just weren't happy with at the time, just a demo of the same acoustic version with a weird vocal effect added

cool video

the pulk/pull version of "true love waits" on this is wonderful, it's still not quite there but my favourite of the many many arrangements we've heard them try

the "like spinning plates" version has early lyrics & splits the difference between the final studio version & the live piano version but is less compelling than both, just a curiosity

"fog (again again)" is interesting, not as good as the other two versions but definitely worth hearing

& it's hard to understand how "if you say the word" didn't get released at the time

but pretty diminishing returns beyond these

Does this mean that the origin of pulk/pull was a failed 'true love waits' experiment?

Listening to these alternate versions of "pulk/pull" and "Like Spinning Plates" it makes me think I'd probably like Amnesiac as much as I like Kid A - you'll never convince me it isn't a collection of b-sides, as good as some of its songs might be - if they had spent more time refining these sort of experiments and simmering the album in general.

This version of Like Spinning Plates in particular sounds like it could have been a great number... specially towards the end when that 'organ/choral' synth comes on I can easily imagine it would have soared as one of the best songs of the sessions with some of those really cool string arrangements Johnny was doing elsewhere. It's still not there though, I agree with ufo that it is somehow not as compelling as the live nor the studio version... for me the electronic texture is a bit distracting and doesn't really fit in this piano version. However the potential is definitely there and they were close to nailing something better than what we got in the end.

Also this version of Fog when paired with something like Worrywort makes me think there was the possibility of a way lighter album somewhere. It sounds like indietronica from the early 00's... something from idk... the Morr label. It could even be the demo of a Coldplay song tbh. The style doesn't fit at all with the rest of Amnesiac or Kid A, as much as I love Worrywort it's kind of a good thing they didn't really pursue this style.

"How to dissapear into strings" is great imo. I know it's just the isolated strings from the studio version but it makes you really appreciate the beauty how they're arranged.

Does this mean that the origin of pulk/pull was a failed 'true love waits' experiment?

yeah that's been known for a while, i think they talked about it in an interview at the time, & people noted the direct connection to some of the ok computer sessions "true love waits" attempts that came out more recently.

the "how to disappear" strings are indeed wonderful to hear isolated like that

amnesiac definitely does have the leftovers collection feeling with its chaotic sequencing & some pretty big quality disparities - some of it is fantastic but a lot is also very forgettable.

might have worked better if they'd leaned into that and included all the b-sides from the era & sequencing it as a sprawling double album? or even there are alternate single disc sequences that i'd enjoy much more too

i am waiting until tomorrow

It's actually released today 9PM pacific. I think this is available already in some countries.

My copy of the 3CD set has been dispatched, but I have no idea when it will actually show up (and purchasing it doesn't entitle me to a download, I don't think).

I feel rather underwhelmed by Disc 3.

Considering the amount of time and fuckery involved in making the records, a few songs and a bunch of fragments and string stems (as beautiful as they are) is a bit half hearted.

"if you say the word" and "true love waits" are the real gems here but the rest is pretty underwhelming yeah.

some cool stuff from the vaults that we know exists to some degree that would have been cooler to hear than like fragments of early versions of "morning bell" and "fast-track":
-early "a wolf at the door" (a "heavy metal version that sounded like the darkness")
-early "i will" ("dodgy kraftwerk version")
-early "up on the ladder"
-early "4 minute warning"
-early "feeling pulled apart by horses"
-any sort of more complete/interesting "follow me around"

There’s also this “where i end and you begin” demo from 2001 :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYVMCKfFqbE

Not really Kid A / Amnesiac sessions anymore but it does share an obvious aesthetic proximity compared to what they did with it later.

Song was pretty much laid out and an unheard demo previous to this one does exist from the sessions but they decided to keep it in the vault amongst all these you mention.

It is very disappointing compared to what they released for OKNOTOK and how complete it felt. Plenty of stuff we didn’t get in the end. Copying from a reddit comment:

We know via the mid session webcasts and Ed’s diary the following songs were worked on during the Kid A sessions.
There There (webcast)
I Will
Wolf At The Door
Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses
Gagging Order
4 Minute Warning
Backdrifts
Up On A Ladder
Skating On The Surface
True Love Waits
Burn The Witch
Along with countless versions of Cuttooth, Knives Out, Optimistic, etc.
Now I’m gonna assume the HTTT stuff will be held back for some sort of revisit in 2023.

even oknotok left a ton of stuff on the vaults as the minidiscs revealed but it was still pretty revelatory while this is more minor

i didn't know anything about skirting in the surface dating back to kid a though, all i can find about that is that thom had written some of the lyrics then, but that's not really historically indicative of its musical history

Yeah I haven’t double checked if that comment is accurate. Having early lyrics doesn’t mean there’s a song demo. Thom has notoriously been lifting completely new lyrics from old ideas from this era.

That said ed’s diary does describe some songs which we already know what they are - eg: “bombers” and “neil young 9” being the early names for “4 minute warning” - and that they definitely had several early demos of.

Oh and there’s still some mysterious song titles which we have no clue what they are.

picked this off the shelf yesterday, found the extras record solid and substantial considering it's just 35 minutes. Wonder if they could've tightened up the OKNOTOK new 3 songs with strong outtakes to make a similar record on that set. I liked going through the cassette and minidiscs exactly once. Great for what they were.

I could just be really jazzed from visiting a big city for the first time in a couple years

It's a pretty disappointing release unless you're buying these albums for the first time (or at least for the first time on a different format). At this point, given the bonuses they're willing to release for sale, I wish they'd put them out as their on own album rather than package them as deluxe set extras - a lot of it may be forgettable but at least it would be more reasonably priced.

true, if i was a really big vinyl guy I'd (try) to be having none of this. i never had Amnesiac and that has some of my fave songs (pyramid song, spinning plates, glasshouse). Hopefully i can sell my Kid A 2x10" reissue sometime.

Also from what I've listened to so far these are fine as single LPs.. and why in the heck were they ever doubles??

If they were cut in 45 or they wanted to cut bigger grooves, the double LP could be a noticeable improvement...but you can say that about any album, and when it inflates the cost, you have to weigh whether it's excessive.

under 50min over 1LP is practically aerobics

figured the 2x10" thing was just to be different, no reason why they couldn't fit onto a single LP. in fact Kid A makes so much sense with that Side A/Side B split, I don't get it at all. maybe it's just "weird album = weird packaging", I dunno

maybe for a different thread but I hate when bands split up albums less than 45 minutes onto 2 albums. I get that in theory they sound better but I never notice any real distortion until they get to like, 25+ minutes a side (lookin' at you, TODD)

yeah. of course this normally goes in the other direction to juice fans at anniversary times (new, better than ever!). Paul's Boutique 30th anniversary on 2 LPs... the 20th anniversary 1LP is one of my best sounding records!

My biggest gripe with this release - and I think I already wrote it upthread - is the complete lack of b-sides on vinyl. I would have 100% preferred to have the b-sides on vinyl than these extras which don’t really feel like a record I’ll be playing much if at all.

Takes on disc 3:

True Love Pulks sounds like a dodgy mashup to me.
I share ufo's disappointment that FMA isn't a full-band version.
If You Say The Word is clearly the best thing here.

I already forgot what the rest of it sounded like.

Still holding out for the follow-up to AMSP, whenever that will be.

the pulk/pull version of "true love waits" on this is wonderful, it's still not quite there but my favourite of the many many arrangements we've heard them try

― ufo, Wednesday, November 3, 2021 10:40 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Agree, I love this one. It doesn't have the emotional impact of the Moon Shaped Pool version, but I think it works a whole lot better than the Amnesiac "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors"

yeah. of course this normally goes in the other direction to juice fans at anniversary times (new, better than ever!). Paul's Boutique 30th anniversary on 2 LPs... the 20th anniversary 1LP is one of my best sounding records!

it's 53 minutes long so I get putting it on 2 LPs but yeah I have heard the 20th and it's great (the 30th sounds incredible too, of course). idk how exactly they did it but I have heard a good, knowledgeable engineer can make those 25+ minute sides work

Oh and there’s still some mysterious song titles which we have no clue what they are.

everything is actually known these days except the "jonny scott walker song", "if you say the word" was the last titled track we'd never actually heard anything of before

Citizen Insane stopped updating but “if you say the word” was actually several times in ed’s diary. First referred as “c minor song” and then “say the word”:

https://citizeninsane.eu/music/pile/saytheword.html

oh yeah i mean the last one named in ed's diary we'd never heard any music from before

Innocent Civilians is another unknown track iirc (speculation that it was “sit down stand up” but no confirmation yet) and Rachel’s song which is also speculated it ended up being “optimistic”.

I guess the “scott walker” song is also out there by now or it was just a riff that never went anywhere.

I always wondered if 'Scott Walker Song' was 'How To Disappear...', listen to the start of Sleepwalker's Woman, nearly identical hovering string notes, RH's one a little more dissonant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op4055-AuGQ

xxxxxp Yeah they were really aa skirting the.. limits of how much could fit on the surface with that one.

"The Scott Walker one" was how they referred to "Creep" after they recorded it, leading one engineer to remark "The only decent song they have, and it's a cover!"

“How to Disappear into Strings” is just incredible. Would love to hear more of just the string arrangements for their other songs.

though i am very annoyed that they are repackaging these albums yet again, i did enjoy the outtakes. at times, it feels less like outtakes and more like a "remix + rarities" album. i certainly don't have any complaints, even if it is a bit inconsistent. it's good for a super fan of the era and i expectedly really like the ambient / sound collage / harp / orchestral stuff that takes up most of the second half. feels like a very fitting coda to the period. wonder if the following albums will get similar treatment(s). i'm far from a bootleg-seeking tier fan, but i would love a similar `highlights` type disc from the in rainbows period.

Today I did not enjoy to listen to the mid-period stab at “True Love Waits”— I loved that this song existed for the “officially released tracks only” listener that I am as a live version and then as a eulogy. Hearing it paired with Pulk/Pull weakened both tracks for me

While chatting about the experience with a friend tho he tipped me off to what he claims is his favourite RH song, “Worrywort”, which is so lovely, and then I enjoyed the rest of the Amnesiac b-sides, so yeah I agree w you Moka

Also I love that the song “Kid A” ranked so highly in this poll!