Customer Reviews

Hold Me To This: Christopher O'Riley Plays Radiohead

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

You have to give Christopher O'Riley credit.

Even though he's already put out an excellent CD of Radiohead piano compositions, there's enough great material in the band's studio albums that he could have easily filled this second disc with crowd-pleasers. And while he did include "Street Spirit" and "No Surprises," he also threw in some surprises, great B-sides like "Polyethylene Part II" and "Gagging Order." That's not the mark of a hustler looking to cash in on one of the best bands making music today--no, it's the mark of a true fan.

What's more, O'Riley really understands the band on a primal level, not just as a fan, but as a fellow musician. Radiohead writes unsettling songs, discordant songs about paranoia and dissatisfaction and technophobia, songs about a world that feels wrong on every level. It's no mean feat to play these songs with just a piano instead of a five-man band, but O'Riley pulls it off admirably, playing with passion and verve. His interpretations aren't mechanical tracings of the originals, but they still convey, and even amplify, their feelings--his "Street Spirit" captures the spirit of the original while still sounding new; his "Paranoid Android" sounds even more paranoid than Thom's.

At times, the songs feel a touch too discordant, but that's a good thing, in a way--this disc requires multiple listens and is well worth owning, as is O'Riley's first Radiohead disc. It would be nice to hear him play "Optimistic" or "How to Disappear Completely" or "My Iron Lung" or "Just," but that's no knock against the second CD--it's a wishlist for the third.

A great album, just as the first. I am 52, and had bought True Love Waits, because of my respect for O'Riley, as a person, as well as a musician. I had, of course, heard of Radiohead, but did not actually hear any of their music, until I became interested due to O'Riley's transcriptions, created as a labor of love of their music.

I now have much of Radiohead's work, and now fully understand why they are so revered. O'Riley's work is an extension/expansion of the original works. Both of which are brilliant, capitivating, haunting, beautiful. Heady stuff, indeed.

Hold Me to This, is generally mellower overall, that is, somewhat less notes (thousands instead of millions)are being played concurrently. There are no overdubs, on either recording, which is absolutely amazing.

It is great to put both CD's in the player, and hit random. This makes it a bit easier to take in all of the nuance. It takes serious listening to appreciate what is happening, but the payback, is much more than worth it.

Every time I listen to this CD I am awe-struck with its beauty and general clarity of texture.

On this CD, as opposed to his previous album covering Radiohead, true love waits, he becomes much more adventureous in taking on Radiohead's masterful use of depth and increasing complexity. It seems with the previous album, he just tried to nail down the obvious songs to appeal to the Radiohead faithful and those are great to listen to. But with this one, it's obvious to see he's challenging himself, whether it's the ridiculous 7-beat rhythms of "2+2=5" or the meoldic overtones in a 4 part-piece of "Paranoid Android."

This CD is a strike of brillance at times. "Like Spinning Plates", a song that is appreciated by most Radiohead constituents but actually enjoyed by few, is unmistakeably brilliant in creation. The very beauty of the song comes to life when Christopher O'Riley plays it. We all know the story of the "backwards song" but the cognitive ability that went into the rest of the song itself is not seen until Christopher O'Riley displays it on full view. I've always said "the true musical genius does not just achieve incredible feats... the true musical genius does it when you're not paying attention" and thanks to O'Riley, that's obvious in Radiohead's music.

The downside(s) of this album:
1)There's a few too many B-side recordings for my taste. "How I Made My Millions" and "Cuttooth" fit here.

2) There's one or two songs that just are lackluster, overall. "Sail to the Moon" doesn't seem too challenging and neither does "How I Made My Millions."

Those are the only two downsides I see and why I wish I could give this album a 4 1/2 instead of a 5. But giving it a 4 wouldn't do it justice.

Basically, if you're a Radiohead fan because you appreacite the high complexity of musical theory involved in their music and/or you love the piano, you NEED to buy this CD.

However, if you're not as much into the musical theory side of Radiohead, True Love Waits would be much more suitable for you. (I personally love both, so no worries)

Fans of Radiohead will probably be pleasantly surprised at this disc. I feel Christopher O'Riley saw the classical music undertones in Radiohead and felt he could express their music in a new and interesting way. Kudos to him and to this album....

However - do not compare this to the piles of "String Quartet Tributes To..." albums that seem to be popping up for every band under the sun who has sold a million records. They are all put out by a company called Vitamin Records and 98% of them are pure garbage. Vitamin basically hires discount musicians to CRANK OUT one string quartet tribute after another. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

But - for a truly original work and a fitting tribute give this Christopher O'Riley disc at least a preview listen.

I heard 'Nice Dream' broadcast on my local station while driving my car. It had immediate impact. I pulled over just to devote my whole attention to it and to make sure I heard its origin. I have heard the original source only since purchasing the whole disk and playing none other for weeks. I can guess how Radiohead captured O'Riley's creative attention. If I had never heard Radiohead, I can still say the result, as a contribution to the piano repertoire, is light years ahead of almost anything I've heard in the last 50 years.
I don't know whether the consistency of creative output across all the tracks is in large part due to Radiohead, for it must be. What sets this artist apart is the generation of sounds which some call dischords, but for me they add a complexity of texture not heard since Chopin, and Ravel, Debussy, Bartok, Rachmaninov even Gershwin. For many years now piano music descended into clichés of romanticism and the world has been waiting for another joint creator/virtuoso of the same stature which didn't merely resort to atonality in order to be different.
There is real intellect if not considerable technology gone into the setting down of his "re-imaginings" of these songs. 'Gagging order' is the closest I've ever hear to a guitar strumming sound being made on a piano, while 'Paranoid Android' is pure genius; the lyricism of the middle section is right up there with the finest creations for the piano (we will here this piece played in top piano competitions in future), while the last track 'Street Spirit' is nothing short of a reincarnation of the great Rachmaninov (woo hoo) with its characteristic building up of tension until that final crashing F7th.
The disk is certainly not short on earthy grit, even adrenalin, particularly in 'Cuttooth' and '2+2=5' and in this respect captures the original well. I was convinced there were so many notes simultaneously all over the keyboard that considerable overdubbing must have been used. So I wrote to query this. Christopher was quick to quash that error. The conclusion is that the man's piano technique is phenomenal - which I saw for myself during the recent Sydney Festival.
But this is not bound by anything which has gone before. Sure, there are a few clunky things, but by and large, particularly in view of the man's throughput, this is huge by any measure. Radiohead songs are merely the catalyst to their immortalisation by another, that folk tunes were to Grieg, Liszt, Dvorak and Bartok. The disk achievement is not all piano technique either -- the recording sound is warm, generates feelings of mystery and intrigue, a 'Lord of the Rings' experience in sound no less.

Although I have not listened to this album all the way through yet, it seems to me that Christopher O'Riley experiments more with the songs on this album than he did on the first, True Love Waits. The songs that he has chosen reflect more of the B-Sides in Radiohead's arsenal of songs, and because of this, O'Riley can afford to leave more of his own mark on them. Overall, it is another great release from O'Riley, but dont expect to sit down and listen to it and know exactly what notes come next because of the original Radiohead songs; expect to sit down and experience new versions of the old Radiohead classics.

O'Riley takes some liberties here, and that's fine. I'm a bit disappointed by his dynamic range, which is a bit predictable from song to song, and also with his tendency to overload the songs with schizophrenic ramblings. The craziness works well at times -- see "There There" for a time when it works well -- and other times it is overwhelming (see: "Nice Dream").

Despite a sometimes overloaded sound, the song list is so attractive and O'riley hits so many high notes (if you will..) that the CD is well worth owning. I prefer the "True Love Waits" album.

As a musician, I feel that this recording and True Love Waits are very important endeavours by a classical pianist. True classical technique is honed by studying and executing musical theory, and O'Riley does a fine job here. Interpreting Radiohead's intricate, modern music proves that we are not stuck listening to Chopin, Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, etc. for the rest our lives. I don't think we're going to hear anything new from them! Modern pop/alt music is relevant in classical music.

Having said that, I'm not the biggest fan of this album or its predecessor. Classical training tends to instill practical techniques into fingers that sound plastic after thousands of practice hours. Some of the subtely in O'Riley's interpretations are overshadowed by automatic playing. I do like the albums though as musical guides and for inspiration. The playing is at times awe-inspiring.

For those of you who love the Brad Mehldau arrangements of Radiohead tunes (like I do), you probably won't like these. Mehldau, for me, plays the tunes as if he sat down with Thom Yorke and co-wrote them. Radiohead fans who love the angst of the minor keys and odd-rhythms would love Mehldau's interpretations, but probably not O'Riley's, who really captures more of the theoretical aspects of the tunes, but lacks the Radiohead-like expression of the melodies. He has his own interesting expressions for them. Hope that makes some sense.

I don't wish to compare the two. They are different musicians doing very different things. And contrary to some of the reviewers for the True Love Waits, one is not better than the other. That is ridiculous. Both are true musicians, true theorists, true technical specialists. It would be interesting, though, if they collaborated. I'd buy it. What would be more interesting is if Radiohead collaborated with either or both.

I don't know which is more amazing: Radiohead's music, O'Riley's imagination as an arranger, or his skill as a pianist. Combine all three and you have a phenomenal listening experience. I am absolutely in love with this recording. The arrangements sound like Rachmaninoff meets Messiaen meets Radiohead meets John Adams, and they are performed with the intelligence of Artur Rubinstein and the flair of Horowitz.

You do not have to know the Radiohead originals to appreciate O'Riley's arrangements. You don't even have to be a rock fan, or a classical fan, for that matter. But I have a background in classical piano, and I would urge every pianist to listen to this recording. Think of these arrangements as a wonderful addition to the piano repertoire. I can't think of anything this satisfying since John Adams's Phrygian Gates.

For pianists I recommend getting the score, which is available from O'Riley's web site [...] .It is beautifully produced, with funky artwork similar to the art used in Radiohead's CD booklets. I had the book for a while on my coffee table just to show it off--that's how cool it looks. The arrangements are easy to read, but be warned: they are very difficult to play.

I don't believe you need to be ga-ga over Radiohead to enjoy this CD. This CD, it's all piano (w/o vocals) if you didn't already know that going in, will provide an even deeper appreciation of the textures & depth of the Radiohead catalog. Mr. O'Riley does takes some artistic liberties with the songs, albeit minor, but in so doing he unleashes the potential they all have. And this potential is truly staggering---some selections are nothing short of gorgeous.
Hold me to this: you WILL be floored by this CD. it's well worth the purchase.