Customer Reviews

Com Lag: 2+2=5 (Dig)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Live tracks are nice. I don't think they add much to the songs like some of the live recordings on "I Might be Wrong" but their still nice

Remixes are fine. Some really different renditioning of some Hail to the Thief songs. One is even by Four Tet. That's neat.

B-sides is the reason to purchase this though. If you don't want to pay an absurd amount for expensive B-side CD's (which why the hell would you) then this alone makes a worth while purchase. I really like Fog (again), Citizen Insane, and Where Blue Birds Fly (not a Somewhere Over the Rainbow cover, more of an ambient electronic mass of bleeps and bloops. Apex Twin-esque) This makes the disc alone worth the fifteen dollars.

Not to mention the album art on the inside is actually really clever and funny. And I guess there's a live video? Neat? If you watch videos off of Cd's (Yes all three of you) then there is one.

I can't whole heartedly give this a 5 seeing as though in some form of another all these songs have been previously released (including the remixes); but that aside, buy this, especially if you haven't heard these songs before.

Radiohead is not shy about issuing its B-sides and other assorted "left-overs". "My Iron Lung" is one of the best examples, "Airbag/How Am I Driving" is another. Not merely a single or an EP, but not quite yet an album's worth of music, these releases are hard to classify. After the release of "Hail to the Thief", Radiohead issued another such "maxi-EP", but only for the Japanese market, namely "Com Lag"

"Com Lag" (10 tracks, 36 min.) was originally released in 2004 in Japan, but finally re-released for wider audiences in 2007. This compilation is a hotch-potch of (then) unreleased tracks, B-sides, live tracks and remixes, and so not surprisingly this is all over the place. It starts off very strongly with a live version of "2+2=5" (from London's Earl Court in November '03). The outstanding instrumental "I Am Citizen Insane" reminds me musically of the Thom Yorke solo album "The Eraser". Other highlights for me are "Paperbag Writer" (which is the best track on here for me personally), "Gagging Order" (just Thom Yorke and acoustic guitar), "Fog (Again") (just Thom and piano; recorded live) ; "I Am a Wicked Child" and the closer "Where Bluebirds Fly". I can do without the 2 remixed HTTT tracks: a nervous remix of "Myxomatosis", and a slightly better remix of "Scatterbrain".

In the end, "Com Lag" reflects both the scattered sense of these types of grab-all compilations and the scattered sense of the Hail to the Thief album. However, if you are a Radiohead fan, you will cherish this release. (Last but not least, I stumbled upon this recently while browsing in the used CD bin at my local indie-record store, and picked this up for only $7.99!)

I was a little doubting, when i bought this, but then i realized. Its a Radiohead EP. Its cheap (125 danish crowns. About 20 bucks, i think). And its from Japan!

I havent regret it at all. Its really good! Heres a brief:

2+2=5.(Live) Really great live performance! Almost better than the studio version!

Remyxomatosis.(Cristian Vogel RMX) A pretty weak track. I dont think that you can make Myxomatosis better than it already is on the HTTT album.

I Will.(L.A. Version) A good Version of the song, less sad than on the album.

Paperbag Writer. This is probably my favorite track on the album. Its awesome. Really scary with the Violins! Great track.

I am a Wicked Child. Another track that could have been on the HTTT album.

I am Citizen Insane. an instrumental track. I doesnt really have much to it.

Skttrbrain.(Four Tet RMX) As with Myxomatosis i dont think the remix makes the song better. But its still okay.

Gagging Order. A nice quiet track, with a good guitar riff.

Fog.(Again)(Live) Solo by Thom Yorke. A very good song about baby alligators in sewers

Where Bluebirds Fly. I dont like this one. Its just...not good.

Overall this is an exciting album that Radiohead fans must have!

Com Lag (2+2=5) is a rich stream of songs meant for Radiohead's core audience. The mere fact that it's not being released domestically (in America) is in itself a marketing technique to make the album seem like something special to fans. The only reason this collection succeeds is because of Radiohead simply and plainly being an exceptional band. While the songs are half heartedly collected and sequenced (or that's how it feels), the quality of everything here makes the album worth owning. If you don't already own the live version of "2+2=5", the b-sides "Paperbag Writer", and "Gagging Order" and the worthwhile remixes of songs taken from the "Hail to The Thief" cycle, and you don't mind spending thirty five bucks for one album's worth of material, then this is highly recommended. Personally I don't know if I would have coughed up that kind of cash for this even though I consider myself a healthy Radiohead fan. Luckily for me I have a reliable friend that works at a record shop.

This is a great collection of B-sides from HTTT, but the defects are many, and i heard its getting recalled.

This EP is fantastic. At first, I wasn't too enthused about the b-sides from HTTT. I thought the remixes of "Myxomatosis" and "Scatterbrain" were awful, and I thought the other studio tracks were duds. However, wanting to have a definitive collection of the b-sides, this was the easiest and most economical way of getting the HTTT b-sides. Now, after having and listening to these songs in their entirety in full quality, repeatedly, I'd have to say I prefer nearly all the b-sides to the actual HTTT album. The remixes I think capture the feel of the original songs' subjects much better, and rest of the tracks are actually quite fantastic. "Paperbag Writer" is everything that "Backdrifts" completely failed at, "I am a Wicked Child" is hypnotic and gets stuck in my head easily, and "Gagging Order" is just a gorgeous piece of songwriting... it's quickly become one of my favorites from Radiohead. The only track I don't particularly like is the L.A. remix of "I Will", which is still good, I just prefer the much more bare album version. All in all though, I would much rather put this in my player than HTTT any day.

This CD takes all the best b-sides from Hail To The Thief singles. The worst song on this album has to be 'Remyxomatosis', which is just...wrong. Not all of the other versions of HTTT are mistakes though. I personally prefer the live '2+2=5', the Los Angeles version of 'I Will', and the 'Scatterbrain' remix over the album versions. The "You have not been paying attention" part of '2+2=5' is done with all the energy that the album version should've had. The b-sides 'I Am A Wicked Child', and 'I Am Citizen Insane' are probably both equal, but the latter may be a bit repetitive for some. 'Paperbag Writer' definitely takes some getting used to, and even once you're used to it you probably won't like it much. It's really eerie sounding. 'Gagging Order' and the live version of 'Fog (Again)' are both beautiful, sad songs. They make this EP worth it for me. I always stop the CD before 'Where Bluebirds Fly' because it's just messed up. It starts with a click beat then comes in with what sounds like cluster chords on some weird synth thing, and then has strings that come in over top of the frenzy, except it's slower and seems out of place. It definitely creates the feeling of bluebirds though.

Overall, I actually like this more than HTTT. If you do plan on getting this, I suggest that you don't buy it on Amazon, because I bought it for $13 canadian, and I've seen it in other stores for a max of $19 canadian.

This cd is okay. It really has a sense of incompleteness like the track order isn't as solid as a full length compilation. But it has some interesting new tracks like sktterbrain, gagging order, and where bluebirds fly which kinda resembles true love waits.

I am rating this as 2 stars because of the manufacturing defects of which it has many. The music itself is fine, worth 4 or 5 stars, bizarre as it is, but Toshiba EMI messed up big time in production. The scratches on the Four-Tet remix of Scatterbrain aren't that bad; the track is so weird that they almost fit in perfectly. The problem is that I can not access the videos for 2+2=5, Sit Down Stand Up, and the other clips, and I'm afraid this is another defect. Maybe I have a bad computer, although it meets specifications; maybe I am technologically illiterate; or maybe it only works on registered Japanese Area computers.
In my opinion, if you bought this, sell it for as much as possible and buy the EMI Int'l version. It's a good CD, as long as it works.

*Retraction*
They're recalling the CD? In that case, when they do, it is definitely worth five stars, although it is really weird. So I guess just hang tight until Toshiba Emi represses the CD, which will probably have the side effect of raising the price.

i like for its diversity, and complex style i have come to expect from these guys. plus i was in japan for a year and some of these where played while eating m#chr00m$, hallucinating up and down the coast of okinawa. which i would not recommend, as these tracks are very trippy, slippery,and down right sad. got to lovem...5 stars hit me up killerblack