Radiohead - 'I Might Be Wrong' (Parlophone)
4/5
By: Toby L
This is an unusual one: album or single? Well, as this bears eight tracks, you could deem it a 'mini-album', although its main purpose is to specifically promote 'I Might Be Wrong' from current LP, 'Amnesiac'. Whatever way you look at it, this is Radiohead's long-awaited live record.
Wait a sec - another record? They may have left us waiting a while following 1997's quintessential 'OK Computer', but to repay us in the form of effectively three LP's in under two years... Haven't they ever heard of the phrase 'you can have too much of a good thing'?
For a band that are so firm in their ethics and morals for a better world, free of political piss-abouts and corruption, it's a rather baffling concept to unleash an additional release now since it could be seen from the outside as 'milking it'. But, you know what? If that's how you feel, you clearly have either missed the point completely, or not heard this record (the two could be the same thing, come to think about it).
'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac' are awesome modern records, but live they're more than that: an epiphany, a pure revelation. Never more moving is a Radiohead concert and to catch this passion and heart on a stack of recording-equipment is historically a mean feat. However, 'I Might Be Wrong' features all you could possibly want, offering forty minutes in the form of hand-picked songs from the latter part of their career.
From the deep, reverberating, grisly bass intro of 'The National Anthem' to the following title-track, which is sped up exquisitely, audience bellows and a fiery groove lifting its appeal far beyond the original version, it's obvious that this is no ordinary set of live recordings. But, still, it gets better, and what with rampant and genuinely touching versions of simple epics such as 'Morning Bell' and 'Like Spinning Plates', plus the brooding paranoia of 'Dollars & Cents', this could be better than the last two albums you heard from the quintet. Seriously.
There's also something for the hardcore fans: the first time issuing of classic concert track 'True Love Waits', which sits alone at the end, guarded only by Thom Yorke's ever-stunning wails and simple acoustic guitar.
So, it may not possess a collection of their singles - or, for that matter any of their singles - but what you get instead is something more special: an intimate and extremely dazzling collection of Radiohead at their most daringly enthralling best. You would be wrong to not buy a copy.
Artists in this article: Radiohead
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