Kid A

1997's OK COMPUTER turned the rock world on its ear by bringing visionary neo-prog rock touches to a Britpop format. Consequently, KID A was one of the most anticipated releases of its era. This limited edition comes in a fine, rigid, oversized high-quality glossy paginated format, with artwork by the same hand as the regular edition, and with speculative philosophical jottings heading each page. No secret booklet, though. altro...

On KID A, Thom Yorke's passionate wailing is put through the aural wringer, and the band's previous nimbly orchestrated full-frontal sonic assault is replaced by full-frontal electric piano, to iconoclastic effect. The ambient underpinnings and garbled vocals of "Everything in Its Right Place", and the instrumental "Treefingers", the electronic beats of "Idioteque", and Yorke's processed voice on the title track will come as quite a shock to diehard '70s rockers who spent the late '90s deifying Radiohead as heirs to the Pink Floyd throne. But these touches work brilliantly, while the more organic elements, such as the jazzy horn section on "The National Anthem", and the comparatively conservative arrangement (though there's some unsettlingly atonal orchestration lurking here, too) of "How to Disappear Completely" provide a counterpoint to all this incipient modernism.

Q (10/01, p.91)
- Ranked #13 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime"

Rolling Stone (1/4/01, p.106)
- Ranked #8 in Rolling Stone's Top 10 Albums of 2000.

Spin (1/01, p.73)
- Ranked #2 in Spin's "Top 20 Albums of the Year [2000]".

Q (1/01, p.93)
- Included in Q's "50 Best Albums of 2000".

The Wire (1/01, p.34)
- Included in Wire's "50 Records Of The Year".

Magnet (1-2/01, p.45)
- Included in Magnet's "20 Best Albums of 2000" - "...This year's version of R.E.M.'s UP: a genre-resistant sonic scuplture that plays wicked eardrum tricks at every turn..."

NME (12/30/00, p.77)
- Ranked #11 in NME's "Top 50 Albums Of The Year" - "...Warp-style electronica, modern jazz....chill atmospherics and curdled, bitter soundscapes..."

CMJ (1/08/01, p.17)
- Included in CMJ's "Best of the Year" for 2000.

Rolling Stone (10/12/00, pp.85-6)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...A clear-eyed space opera about a plausible future....this 'is' pop, a music of ornery, glistening guile and honest ache, and it will feel good under your skin once you let it get there..."

Spin (10/00, pp.171-2)
- 9 out of 10 - "...The songfullness emerges from the strangeness, and a beautifully sequenced CD assumes the shape of a classic LP....KID A is not only [its] bravest album but its best one as well."

Q (11/00, p.96)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Beautiful as it is strange....Musically, [its] best features are its keening, lapwing guitars and a thin, atonal orchestral drizzle....best enjoyed with the lights off..."

Mojo (10/00, p.86)
- "...Intriguing, eccentric, obviously a grower....It still sounds a mess, but that's obviously the plan..."

Muzik (11/00, p.90)
- 4 out of 5 - "...A record of experiments....This deserves your attention."

Vibe (11/00, p.166)
- 4 discs out of 5 - "...Richly sculpted with multi-colored chords, ebbing rhythms, and oddball time measures, KID A floats...through the galaxy in search of musical cliches to annihilate..."

Entertainment Weekly (10/6/00, pp.85-6)
- "...A genuinely challenging work....a sonic journey..." - Rating: B+

Alternative Press (11/00, p.95)
- 3 out of 5 - "...Like the soundtrack to a movie that hasn't been filmed....This is music that messes with your insides..."

CMJ (10/2/00, p.3)
- "...An epic audio experiment punctuated with raw emotion and inspiring innovation....an unquestionable masterpiece..."