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Track Listings
| 1. 15 Step |
| 2. Bodysnatchers |
| 3. Nude |
| 4. Medley: Weird Fishes/Arpeggi |
| 5. All I Need |
| 6. Faust Arp |
| 7. Reckoner |
| 8. House of Cards |
| 9. Jigsaw Falling into Place |
| 10. Videotape |
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
On the deliriously satisfying In Rainbows, Radiohead returns to a more straight-ahead (though subdued) rock sound. Much hubbub has been made about this record's innovative release. Radiohead allowed fans to pay what they wished to download fairly low-resolution tracks from the band's own website. Like so many innovations, it already seems funny both that it was such big news and that someone else of similar stature hadn't done it sooner. Some pundits were appalled that it took awhile to download the tracks if you tried to do it at the same time as thousands of other people, while others decried that the group was trying to kill the music industry (or save it). Little of the press seemed to focus on the record itself, which actually made sense because it was so entertaining and inviting, the most low-key album Radiohead has made to date. There's even a very straight-forward, simple, silly little love song, "House of Cards." It might be a bit lethargic, but the simple instrumentation of electric guitars, bass, and drums is lovely as heck. A handful of these tunes enchanted fans for years before finally being committed to computer "tape." This is particularly fitting as In Rainbows is the group's most "band"-sounding album since OK Computer. This is not a record that hits you over the head with how far this group is pushing the envelope; it's simply a phenomenal, well-crafted, and exciting album. As soon as it's done, you're playing it again. --Mike McGonigal
Product Description
2008 release, the seventh studio album from the acclaimed UK Art Rock/Britpop band fronted by the enigmatic Thom Yorke. Notoriously released as a download-only album on the band's internet site in late 2007, the physical copy of In Rainbows proves to sound more powerful and atmospheric than the compressed mp3 version of the album. 10 tracks including 'Bodysnatchers', 'All I Need' and 'House Of Cards'.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
341 of 377 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Could Radiohead's seventh album have come at a more appropriate time? Arriving on the heels of the major labels' ugly jury trial victory against a file-sharer (Jammie Thomas from Brainerd, Minn., was fined $222,000 for sharing 24 songs), In Rainbows is poised to drive a large nail in the RIAA's coffin and begin the "Industry vs. Internet" discussions anew. "It used to be just [having a release] on a major label was a source of prestige and status," said Danny Goldberg, former CEO of Warner Bros. Records and Mercury Records. But that was before Napster, blogs, Myspace, esteemed indie labels, album leaks, YouTube and Tower Records' Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Slowly but surely, the industry-induced barrier between music and listeners continues to erode.
When Radiohead asked fans to name their own price for the download-only version of In Rainbows (Ł0 was an option), I initially interpreted it as a moral conundrum, a test to see how much they would pay for something they could buy on CD for $18.95. Yet that tiny but powerful phrase on the order screen, "It's up to you," seemed only to be the band's way of lowering the aforementioned barrier by placing control in the customers' hands, and another means of connecting with the millions of people who connect so strongly with them.
In Rainbows is bound to resonate with listeners, but not in the way you'd expect. It's warm and inviting, densely layered even at a crawl, and surprisingly mellifluous. It isn't that Radiohead veers away from the function they've served since OK Computer (inverting their internalized anxiety with tropes and imagery), they've just found prettier ways to do it, and fans that have already heard the record consistently speak about the music above all else. The first sounds to flow out of the speakers are Phil Selway's serpentine drums, crisply teched-out à la Battles' "Leyendecker," as though Selway were hitting the heads with live wires. Yorke's opening line, "How come I end up where I started? / How come I end up where I belong?" sounds a bit out of place alongside the Greenwood brothers' comforting guitar-bass interaction and Selway's fluid drum patterns, but when Yorke repeats it near the end, "15 Step" has morphed into a frustrated, minor-key Insides song for the 2000s, burning with repressed energy, and everything makes sense.
Radiohead pays careful attention to their openers as scene-setters, and if In Rainbows can be distilled down to a single track, "15 Step" would arguably be it. Here and elsewhere, conflicting emotions meld together into a dizzying, dazzling tableau, as the chemistry between the band and their technology-wielding producer Nigel Godrich only continues to improve. "Bodysnatchers" finds all of them locked in a tight guitar-led groove that threatens to fly off the handle but dexterously maintains its equanimity, like the rocking midsection of "Paranoid Android" without the acid-tipped barbs. It's nicely followed by "Nude," the dreamy comedown that Yorke actually performed in the late '90s and might have ended up on Kid A. In fact, several songs here date to various points in the 2000s, but In Rainbows sounds anything but cobbled together; clearly, Radiohead has gone to some length to fit the larger pieces of the puzzle as seamlessly as the elements in the songs themselves. Even "Faust Arp"--somewhat insubstantial on its own--works as a fine bridge between In Rainbows' two halves.
"Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" is Radiohead at their most conventionally gorgeous, its stacked arpeggios from Yorke's guitar and Johnny Greenwood's Ondes Martenot keyboard pouring themselves over the track like so much nectar. Though Yorke's darkly imagistic language pops up here, the backing music is so dulcet that getting "eaten by the worms, weird fishes" may just be a metaphor for falling in love. Such smoothly executed dualities are all over In Rainbows: "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" is both upbeat and slightly sinister, while the song's protagonist watches the club she's in become blurry and finds herself caught between dancing and running away. In "House of Cards," Yorke intones, "I don't want to be your friend / I just want to be your lover" over the album's most spring-like guitar lick. That Radiohead is now easier than ever to enjoy on casual listens is actually a big reason why they remain fascinating under the microscope.
We might say that In Rainbows is fairly smooth going the whole way through, were it not for "Videotape." I surmise that much will be written about this song, since it harkens back to vintage Radiohead closers ("The Tourist," "Motion Picture Soundtrack"), but also because--unlike the rest of the album--it's spare and direct and heartbreaking, the way Cat Power's You Are Free became more devastating the fewer instruments she used. A lone piano plays in empty space, soon joined by Yorke: "When I'm at the Pearly Gates / This will be on videotape." And over the course of the song, instruments and voices conjure a soft lament while the drums grow increasingly warped, like the tracking bars on some forgotten VHS carrying a precious memory. For better or for worse, Yorke and his band are back where they started and where they belong, yet wholly in their element and of their moment. Whether In Rainbows stands the test of time is entirely up to you.
When Radiohead asked fans to name their own price for the download-only version of In Rainbows (Ł0 was an option), I initially interpreted it as a moral conundrum, a test to see how much they would pay for something they could buy on CD for $18.95. Yet that tiny but powerful phrase on the order screen, "It's up to you," seemed only to be the band's way of lowering the aforementioned barrier by placing control in the customers' hands, and another means of connecting with the millions of people who connect so strongly with them.
In Rainbows is bound to resonate with listeners, but not in the way you'd expect. It's warm and inviting, densely layered even at a crawl, and surprisingly mellifluous. It isn't that Radiohead veers away from the function they've served since OK Computer (inverting their internalized anxiety with tropes and imagery), they've just found prettier ways to do it, and fans that have already heard the record consistently speak about the music above all else. The first sounds to flow out of the speakers are Phil Selway's serpentine drums, crisply teched-out à la Battles' "Leyendecker," as though Selway were hitting the heads with live wires. Yorke's opening line, "How come I end up where I started? / How come I end up where I belong?" sounds a bit out of place alongside the Greenwood brothers' comforting guitar-bass interaction and Selway's fluid drum patterns, but when Yorke repeats it near the end, "15 Step" has morphed into a frustrated, minor-key Insides song for the 2000s, burning with repressed energy, and everything makes sense.
Radiohead pays careful attention to their openers as scene-setters, and if In Rainbows can be distilled down to a single track, "15 Step" would arguably be it. Here and elsewhere, conflicting emotions meld together into a dizzying, dazzling tableau, as the chemistry between the band and their technology-wielding producer Nigel Godrich only continues to improve. "Bodysnatchers" finds all of them locked in a tight guitar-led groove that threatens to fly off the handle but dexterously maintains its equanimity, like the rocking midsection of "Paranoid Android" without the acid-tipped barbs. It's nicely followed by "Nude," the dreamy comedown that Yorke actually performed in the late '90s and might have ended up on Kid A. In fact, several songs here date to various points in the 2000s, but In Rainbows sounds anything but cobbled together; clearly, Radiohead has gone to some length to fit the larger pieces of the puzzle as seamlessly as the elements in the songs themselves. Even "Faust Arp"--somewhat insubstantial on its own--works as a fine bridge between In Rainbows' two halves.
"Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" is Radiohead at their most conventionally gorgeous, its stacked arpeggios from Yorke's guitar and Johnny Greenwood's Ondes Martenot keyboard pouring themselves over the track like so much nectar. Though Yorke's darkly imagistic language pops up here, the backing music is so dulcet that getting "eaten by the worms, weird fishes" may just be a metaphor for falling in love. Such smoothly executed dualities are all over In Rainbows: "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" is both upbeat and slightly sinister, while the song's protagonist watches the club she's in become blurry and finds herself caught between dancing and running away. In "House of Cards," Yorke intones, "I don't want to be your friend / I just want to be your lover" over the album's most spring-like guitar lick. That Radiohead is now easier than ever to enjoy on casual listens is actually a big reason why they remain fascinating under the microscope.
We might say that In Rainbows is fairly smooth going the whole way through, were it not for "Videotape." I surmise that much will be written about this song, since it harkens back to vintage Radiohead closers ("The Tourist," "Motion Picture Soundtrack"), but also because--unlike the rest of the album--it's spare and direct and heartbreaking, the way Cat Power's You Are Free became more devastating the fewer instruments she used. A lone piano plays in empty space, soon joined by Yorke: "When I'm at the Pearly Gates / This will be on videotape." And over the course of the song, instruments and voices conjure a soft lament while the drums grow increasingly warped, like the tracking bars on some forgotten VHS carrying a precious memory. For better or for worse, Yorke and his band are back where they started and where they belong, yet wholly in their element and of their moment. Whether In Rainbows stands the test of time is entirely up to you.
82 of 93 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
At a certain point, a marvelous band will get a reputation so overwhelming, it's simply not possible for them to keep topping themselves.
And from the sound of "In Rainbows," Radiohead has decided not to let their reputation loom over them -- and I'm not just talking about the online digital release. In their latest album, they reinvent their bittersweet pop sound -- they lose some of the trappings of their past work, in favour of warmer, more intimate melodies and traditional instrumentation.
It opens on an angular note with "15 Steps," which is built around a jagged riff.The first couple minutes are full of fuzzy synth stabs and sharp drums, sounding like a jazz number that's being eaten by a computer. "How come I end up where I started?/How come I end up where I went wrong?" Thom Yorke sings mournfully. "You reel me out then you cut the string..."
But then the guitars slide in and twine through the song, softening it into something very different. The scratchy synth beats and subtle guitar start building to a slow crescendo, staying energetic and almost reggae-esque right to the end.
See it as kind of a transition song for Radiohead; they're easing listeners into their new acoustic sound, rather than just dropping us in. But after that, they pretty much leave the "Kid A" territory behind them -- "Bodysnatchers" is an intense rocker brimming with chunky riffs and softly ringing guitars. It's a gorgeous piece.
After that, the songs gently slip down into more introspective territory -- smooth, dark pop songs wrapped in a heavy blanket of fluid strings and subtle slide guitar. Some of these are dressed up in thick guitars and clattery drums. "Jigsaw Falling Into Place drops the strings for a vibrant guitar-rocker edged with synth, and it all finished up with the quivering, melodic finale "Videotape."
You know, I didn't think that Radiohead could surprise me. So many bands get mired in their best-known sound, and they keep turning out the same ol' because that is what the fans expect. But Radiohead has not only made an exquisitely bittersweet pop album, but they've also injected vitality back into their sound. They sound brand new.
Particularly, they've almost abandoned the cool, alien synth of their last few albums. It's still there in patches, but it's quietly overwhelmed by the layers of slide guitar, streams of piano, and smooth sweeps of elegant strings. These are seamlessly woven with clattering drums and cymbals, thick crunchy riffs. And yes, occasionally a little speck of synth.
But their songwriting is much the same -- simple, yet oblique ("I am a moth who just wants to share your light... I only stick with you because there are no others/You are all I need"). While Yorke's trademark wail is still in place, he sounds more melancholy and contemplative than outright woe-is-me angsty. He even sounds a bit cheerful in "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi."
Most long-standing bands can't summon up a new sound, and new freshness, this far into their careers. But Radiohead have created a quiet little masterpiece in "In Rainbows" -- beautiful, quiet, and melancholy.
And from the sound of "In Rainbows," Radiohead has decided not to let their reputation loom over them -- and I'm not just talking about the online digital release. In their latest album, they reinvent their bittersweet pop sound -- they lose some of the trappings of their past work, in favour of warmer, more intimate melodies and traditional instrumentation.
It opens on an angular note with "15 Steps," which is built around a jagged riff.The first couple minutes are full of fuzzy synth stabs and sharp drums, sounding like a jazz number that's being eaten by a computer. "How come I end up where I started?/How come I end up where I went wrong?" Thom Yorke sings mournfully. "You reel me out then you cut the string..."
But then the guitars slide in and twine through the song, softening it into something very different. The scratchy synth beats and subtle guitar start building to a slow crescendo, staying energetic and almost reggae-esque right to the end.
See it as kind of a transition song for Radiohead; they're easing listeners into their new acoustic sound, rather than just dropping us in. But after that, they pretty much leave the "Kid A" territory behind them -- "Bodysnatchers" is an intense rocker brimming with chunky riffs and softly ringing guitars. It's a gorgeous piece.
After that, the songs gently slip down into more introspective territory -- smooth, dark pop songs wrapped in a heavy blanket of fluid strings and subtle slide guitar. Some of these are dressed up in thick guitars and clattery drums. "Jigsaw Falling Into Place drops the strings for a vibrant guitar-rocker edged with synth, and it all finished up with the quivering, melodic finale "Videotape."
You know, I didn't think that Radiohead could surprise me. So many bands get mired in their best-known sound, and they keep turning out the same ol' because that is what the fans expect. But Radiohead has not only made an exquisitely bittersweet pop album, but they've also injected vitality back into their sound. They sound brand new.
Particularly, they've almost abandoned the cool, alien synth of their last few albums. It's still there in patches, but it's quietly overwhelmed by the layers of slide guitar, streams of piano, and smooth sweeps of elegant strings. These are seamlessly woven with clattering drums and cymbals, thick crunchy riffs. And yes, occasionally a little speck of synth.
But their songwriting is much the same -- simple, yet oblique ("I am a moth who just wants to share your light... I only stick with you because there are no others/You are all I need"). While Yorke's trademark wail is still in place, he sounds more melancholy and contemplative than outright woe-is-me angsty. He even sounds a bit cheerful in "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi."
Most long-standing bands can't summon up a new sound, and new freshness, this far into their careers. But Radiohead have created a quiet little masterpiece in "In Rainbows" -- beautiful, quiet, and melancholy.
49 of 56 people found the following review helpful
By directions
Format:Audio CD
For the concept (which I'm sure will be imitated slavishly) of releasing mp3's for download and bypassing the music industry, Radiohead are geniuses but that's been talked to death already by everyone so let's focus on the album. "In Rainbows" with its glitchcore/hiphop backings to its quasi anthemic songs is certainly a return to the sound of "Kid A" though nowhere near the wild experimentation of it. However, "In Rainbows" is certainly a more focused album than the great but uneven "Hail to the Thief" and thus could be entitled a return to form. Is is stylistically groundbreaking? No. Is it the first purchase you'd make if you are new to Radiohead? No but you probably own "Ok Computer" and "Kid A" already and want to hear their new album so buy it anyway. From what I can see Radiohead are not going to be breaking any trends musically from now (conceptually with marketing yes but as I said that's been discussed) so as a fellow reviewer of mine (give credit where its do)has implied with each new Sonic Youth album, you know you're a getting a Sonic Youth album (though there is certainly more stylistic variation in their recent albums than Radiohead) but you're getting a solid product musically. The same is true for "In Rainbows". If you've heard their previous albums, don't expect anything dramatic or new (for Radiohead that is) but expect a quality album, eminently listenable. Enough said.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's as amazing as everyone says
What is there to say that hasn't already been said? The CD came in a paper sleeve, which was unexpected but welcome since the case just sits in the center console of my car. Read more
Published 7 days ago by M. Reynoso
4.0 out of 5 stars
love radiohead
I love radiohead. I have always loved radiohead. I don't like writing reviews with a required number of words, though.
Published 23 days ago by Steve Schneider
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another masterful composition
Radiohead has done again with "In Rainbows". This is definitely a masterfully composed and written album, and the sounds produced from this record are very pleasing to the... Read more
Published 24 days ago by jflory7
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing Album
This is one of my favorite albums. It is nice to be able to add it to my vinyl collection...
Published 1 month ago by Gisell Ale
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good vinyl, weak cover.
The quality of the cover seems slightly flimsier than your average LP, but other than that the vinyl sounds great.
Published 1 month ago by Seth
5.0 out of 5 stars
Woa this is cool!
So I got the c.d.! It wasn't in a cd case, but instead comes with the pieces to put into a case. It's extremely cool putting it together! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jesse
4.0 out of 5 stars
RADIOHEAD RULES!!!!!
BUY THIS ITS RADIOHEAD!!!!!!!!! IN RAINBOWS IS THE "CHEAP" ALBUM THAT MOST PEOPLE GOT FOR FREE OR PAYED WHATEVER THEY WANTED, I ENDED UP BUYING THE ACTUAL ALBUM AND WHEN I FIRST... Read more
Published 1 month ago by MUSICFAN89
5.0 out of 5 stars
listen to radiohead
The Radiohead is my favorite group. They make my favorite music and I will always listen to Radiohead.I love it.
Published 1 month ago by tiniko
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing
Radiohead are truly brilliant; and this is arguably their greatest work. For additional intrigue, research the connection between this album and OK Computer... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ryan Farrar
5.0 out of 5 stars
The whole album is great.
I don't love Radiohead, but I love this album. Each song in the album is good, unlike many albums where there's only a couple that I like.
Published 1 month ago by Peter C
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