This Limited Edition of AMNESIAC includes a clothbound book with embossed logo and a 32-page full color booklet.
The Limited version of AMNESIAC won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.
This second helping from the sessions that produced the preceding KID A will probably strike close listeners as a bit more structured, though it'll be difficult to determine whether that's simply because the peregrinations of the last album have prepared them for the trips to the outer limits taken here. Those expecting a U2-like return to tuneful, anthemic guitar-rock will have their hopes dashed upon a rock of colorful electronic experimentation and moody, studio-enhanced madness.
The piano-based "Pyramid Song" and the Martian-gospel-choir ballad "You and Whose Army?" might placate verse-chorus-verse traditionalists slightly, but the sampler-in-a-trash-compactor "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" and the pointillistic ambience of "Hunting Bears" attest to Radiohead's continued nonconformist tendencies. AMNESIAC opens with the claustrophobic, synth-bedecked "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" and closes with the Dixieland funeral march "Life in a Glass House." Along the way, the band engages in the kind of fearless, pretension-risking (but highly successful) sonic experimentation that made a cultural artifact out of SGT. PEPPER. There are less apt comparisons.
Radiohead: Thom Yorke, Ed O'Brien, Jon Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Phil Selway.
Engineers: Nigel Godrich, Dan Grech-Marguerat.
Personnel: Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar); Jimmy Hastings (clarinet); Humphrey Lyttelton (trumpet); Pete Strange (trombone); Paul Bridge (double bass); Adrian Macintosh (drums).
Recording information: Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire, England (04/28/2001).
Arranger: Jonny Greenwood .
Additional personnel: Jimmy Hastings (clarinet); Humphrey Lyttelton (trumpet); Pete Strange (trombone); Paul Bridge (double bass); Adrian MacIntosh (drums); St. John's Orchestra.Rolling Stone (1/03/02, p.119) - Ranked #10 in Rolling Stone's "Top 10 2001". Rolling Stone (6/21/01, pp.74-5) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...Clear proof that the progressive-rock impulse survived the 20th century....full of computerized clicks and hums...and of instruments and voices so heavily filtered they sound alienated even from themselves....It's like ZZ Top kidnapped by Autechre..." Spin (1/02, p.76) - Ranked #2 in Spin's "Albums of the Year 2001". Spin (7/01, pp.123-4) - 7 out of 10 - "...Lullabies for the compressed present...abandoning verse-chorus-verse motion to let the tracks just roll out, like bolts of cloth..." Q (7/01, p.118) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Similarly shy, textural and embroidered by electronica, but where it differs vitally from KID A is in being 1) better balanced, 2) more emotionally intelligible and 3) even more grimly beautiful..." Alternative Press (2/02, p.64) - Ranked #1 in AP's "25 Best Albums of 2001". Alternative Press (7/01, p.79) - 9 out of 10 - "...Quintessentially Radiohead, full of existential rock songs powered by Yorke's delicate, aching, soaring vocals..." Magnet (12-1/02, p.57) - Included in Magnet's "20 Best Albums of 2001". The Wire (1/02, p.40) - Ranked #18 in Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2001". The Wire (6/01, p.52) - "...It works for as long as you can keep other - weighted, braver, graver - examples or exemplars out of your mind, The moment you summon Jeff Buckley or John Cale, PiL or Can, Talk Talk or David Sylvian, the spell is broken..." CMJ (6/4/01, p.5) - "...Another adventuresome, aloof, non-rock joint that's more an album of concepts than a concept album..." Vibe (8/01, p.160) - 4 discs out of 5 - "...Populated with skittish techno beats, water-damaged samples and the kind of vocal mastery you would hear from a wounded donkey....If genuises are slightly mad, then Radiohead is stark, raving bonkers..." Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.69) - Ranked #10 in Mojo's "Best [40] Albums of 2001". Mojo (Publisher) (7/01, p.104) - "...Deliriously provocative....as splendidly other and awkward as its sister album [KID A]..." NME (Magazine) (12/29/01, p.59) - Ranked #25 in NME's 50 "Albums Of the Year 2001". NME (Magazine) (6/2/01, p.37) - 8 out of 10 - "...It complements KID A beautifully....the jazz spasms and electronic pulsings, the chill blood, and most of all, the chronic hypersensitivity to the world outside..." Pitchfork (Website) - "[I]t's an emotionally resonant and often very warm record."
Ethereal Amnesiac, while not perfect from start to finish (almost no albums are), is filled with gems that allow me to shut my eyes and escape the day to day drudgery of reality. Absolutely stunning pieces include: Knives Out, I Might be Wrong, Dollars and Cents, Hunting Bears, and Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box. No Offense, but anybody who claims that radiohead is for posers truly doesn't appreciate their unique and diverse sound. Submitted by johnna (Montana, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
Another Awesome Album I have heard the album, thanks to an obscure link on one of the radiohead fan sites, and it is a "must own". I am a self-admitted Radiohead Junkie, and almost anything that comes out from these guys excites me, but these are 43 minutes of exceptional music. I have played it for friends and it is universally loved. I was the first to review Kid A here, and I am happy to report that Amnesiac adds much to the body of work. It is a bit short, as was Kid A, but when taken together, they are worth the two year wait since Ok Computer. If you love them, make sure you see them in concert, they don't disappoint. Submitted by jhurant (New York City, NY, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful.
Just doesn't hang together as an album... The first thing that immediately hits me upon listening is the tack-on nature of the tracklisting. This album contains some excellent songs (Pyramid Song, Knives Out etc.) and a few poor ones (the title track/morning bell, a useless mix of a track from Kid A, and pulk/pull revolving doors with its terrible electronic vocals and dull samples). It would be a much stronger album, if it did in fact feel like an album. Generally the quality of the samples, guitar playing, etc. is lower than what is expected from Radiohead. It has enough good tracks to make it worthwhile as a purchase, but it is certainly not essential. [3.5 stars] Submitted by nate_avery (Bicton, Western Australia) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Almost as good as OK Computer Ok, I will start of with saying, if you're new to radiohead, I wouldn't buy this. Buy the guitar driven classic "The Bends" or the timelesss, yet still slightly strange, "OK Computer". If you already love Radiohead though BUY THIS NOW.
Now, cecause I'm going to give a run-down of the tracks on this great album
1)Packt like sardines in a crushd tin-Ok, not a good opener, too much electronic, and I was fearing the worst when I first put the album on and this came on-5/10
2)Pyramid song-Such contrast. Amazing piano riff backed up by equally amazing vocals. One of the radiohead classics 10/10
3)Pulk/Pull revolving doors-An attempt at the same kind of thing as "Fitter Happier". This track is a shame as it distrups the flow of the album 6/10
4)You and whos army?-Again, masisve contrast, amazing song. I especially like the last few lines "tonight we ride", remincent of the end of paranoid android 9/10
5)I might be wrong-Again a great song, worth a listen 8.5/10
6)Knives out-My third favorite track on the album. Great song, though what the hell its all about I don't know 10/10
7)Morning Bell-Good song, but not as good as the original off Kid A. Weaker and not as much drive, but still not bad 7.5/10
8)Dollars and cents-Nothing special but a good track. I normally skip this when listening through the album as it drags on, but worth a listen 7/10
9)Hunting Bears-Great instrumental, showing the emotion Jonny can get from the guitar. Also good backing music. Not too long either. This might be a filler, but its a darn good one 9/10
10)Like spinning plates-Almost a physchadelic rhythm through this song, representing the noise made by spinning plates (I assume). Great vocals, yet but almost impossible to sing if your a guy. Great song 9/10
11)Life in a glass house-When I first heard that this had a brass band in it, I was apprehencive, but this song is great. If pyramid song wasnt so good, it would be my fav on the album. This song is the only that swells up to a massive climax on the album (the lack of which in the other songs is one of Amnesiacs only flaws) 10/10
Well, I believe this to rate right up there with Ok and Bends. Just wish they had scrapped pulk and packt. Submitted by Gary (Telford, Midlands, England) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Radiohead under - rated again WOW! I wouldnt be surprised if I was shunted for saying that Amnesiac is perhaps Radiohead's finest hour. Brilliant song to brilliant song, this album gives new meaning to Alternative Rock. Submitted by jackassjaaz (New Zealand) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Ethereal
Just doesn't hang together as an album...
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