Customer Reviews

Pyramid Song / Amazing Sounds Orgy / Trans Atlanti

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Since the release of Ok Computer, Radiohead have been known for their creative song writing and interesting production. This incredible single is a perfect demonstration of how creative they can be both in terms of writing and production, and the result is beautiful.

'Pyramid Song' is an emotive and eerily beautiful piece of music. The song is built upon a relatively simple (but certainly not common) repeating chord progression played on the piano, over which subtly eerie orchestral sounds echo, before Yorke's gentle vocals enter. The timing is unusual yet comfortable, and upon first listen you may think that there's no definate timing at all. About two minutes in, strings become more prominant, and the calmly jazzy rhythm reveals itself on the drums, making sense of the unusual timing you've been listening to. The song builds in intensity and eventually the string ensemble takes the song to it's climax. If you're anything like me, repeated listens will have this song grow on you more and more. Moody, emotive, and powerful.

As usual, Radiohead have treated us to some interesting B-sides, too. This single is quite possibly their most creatively interesting, with the fragmented beats and beautiful harmonies of 'Kinetic', the dark, evil jazz of 'The Amazing Sounds of Orgy', and the schizophrenic 'Trans-Atlantic Drawl', which has the band rock out, before breaking suddenly into a slow, dark, synthesised piece that is somewhat reminiscent of a choral requiem. Overall a very enjoyable listen, and one that you'll get more out of the more you listen to it.

As a musician myself, this single, along with the albums 'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac' have been extremely encouraging, demonstrating that there is still a market for creativity and innovation in the music industry. This single is a very good representation of Radiohead's creative freedom.

yorke and co. have long been infamous for saving some of their most interesting material for b-sides and tossoff collections like this one. while you should already know and love "Amnesiac"'s "Pyramid Song" for the genius that it is (as well as the only demonstrable use of Herman Hesse for any artistic purpose whatsoever), this single provides useful context by introducing fans to some of its ideological cousins. worth it for fans--but who else would be reading this?

The first single from Amnesiac and the first commercially available single from Radiohead in nearly four years.

PYRAMID SONG: (Difer to review written on Part 1)

FAST-TRACK: Vocal manipulations laced with percussion that is both confident (steady bass drum and hi-hat) and choatic (sounds like a snare turned beanbag and it's on the left speaker) and guitars that echo in a sea of speed and confusion.

KINETIC: Synth "ahhs" or "ooohs" are cliché in the world of music but this song puts it into new light. With a jazz drum pattern, meandering keyboards and Thom's pleas to "let's keep moving" and "Don't fall asleep at the wheel," the song moves and yet stalls in the middle of the road [this is not suppose to be a negative criticism but rather an attempt to describe the song]

OVERALL: Along with Part 1, this compliments Amnesiac, bridges it with Kid A and proves that B-sides are hidden treasures.

I urge anyone reading this to buy this CD. OK, so you're probably heard Pyramid Song and you know how beautiful it is. That's reason no. 1 for buying.

But the main reason is The Amazing Sounds Of Orgy. This is, in my opinion, better than anything actually on Amnesiac, and I think it's a real travesty that it wasn't included on the actual album. It's haunting and beautiful whilst being very catchy, and the a...h bits are great. At the end, when Thom is singing "so glad, so glad you're mine" it sends shivers down my spine.

The dark, tribal feel is carried over to new single There There, which is also a fantastic song.

Track three, Trans-atlantic Drawl, is a simple, screeching rock out. You know, the sort of thing that Radiohead don't "do" anymore. Terrific stuff, although a little disconcerting when it suddenly stops.

Again, please buy. Please. You know you want to...

I knew the b-sides that would come out of this studio session were going to be something unreal. And Radiohead didn't dissapoint me at all. We all know Pyramid Song, beautiful just beautiful. Almost trance inducing.

But the highlights on this disc isn't even that. The b-sides are amazing, very experimentive and very electronic.

The Amazing Sounds of Orgy is breathtaking, it has a creepy atmosphere and is lyrically the strongest b-side on this single. It has become one of my favorite Radiohead songs along with another b-side on here Kinetic. It's built along strange electronics and odd drumming. "Better keep moving"

Trans-Atlantic Drawl took some time to get into but I really like it now too. The only song on here that features a guitar but also contains an almost jazz like bass line and breaks down about halfway into the song and fades into a sweet ambience.

Fasttrack is the only song I don't really like, too boring. Not enough substance to keep me interested.

This is Radioheads best single to come out with tunes that could of easily of been on Amnesiac. Though I have gotten the Knives Out single early I can say that that one barely eclipses Pyramid Song's b-sides.

"Pyramid Song" is a wonderful song, not quite like anything else on Amnesiac particularily, but that's okay. Its a very beautiful song, and I absolutely love it. But, the rest of the songs on this EP/Single are quite strange.

"The Amazing Sounds of Orgy" absolutely SCARE ME. Very beautiful in a strange way, but also very odd. Unlike anything Radiohead has EVER done, and I really do mean EVER. VERY different. Haunting sounds in the background and very dark and deep. Crashes and screams are lined throughout the song. Thoms voice appears in two octaves, Tenor and Alto. (mid-deep and regular). I really do mean scary for this song, quite frightening but strangely comforting. Sounds like a thunder storm or something.

"Trans-Atlantic Drawl" starts off with a heavy folksy-blues melody and guitar, but then just moves into this heavy electronic sound, very much like the works of artists like Paul Lansky (I only mention him because Radiohead sampled him for Idioteque for the keyboard voicings).

"Kinetic starts off very smoothly from "Trans-Atlantic Drawl" (I have a slightly different import than this, mine if from Australia) and has a very electronic sound as well, drums are there, lots of drums, and the keyboard is also there, but the rest is left up to electronics and Thom's voice. Very odd but also very pretty, sounds like the work of Laurie Spielgel, an electronic artist at the end a little. Perhaps one of my favorite Radiohead songs, I really love it.

This is excellent for anyone who is looking for a very electronic Radiohead. That is what makes this EP/Single SO VERY UNIQUE, even for Radiohead. Sounds very new, and not like anything else theyve ever done, excellent continuation to a Radiohead collection.

It's a bit of a test of devotion to shell out over 20 bucks for 4 b-sides and if you've got that devotion, then this is a great deal. You get the 4 Pyramid Song b-sides on one cd and save a few dollars over buying the 2 UK cd's (unless you can find the uk singles for less). As far as the b-sides themselves, they go farther into the experimental areas than the album. Recommended if you can't get enough of Radiohead during these Kid A and Amnesiac days.

When Radiohead announced their new album as a return to roots, I should have known better than to believe them. But never fear, Pyramid Song is yet more unchartered territory and yet more gained ground. Its sheer simplicity with voice and piano, then drums later on added. Although never electronica a la Kid A, it certainly isn't rock (Pablo Honey), indie rock (The Bends) or Prog-rock (OK Computer). Its more sorta stripped down indie. the B-sides are also excellent.

Radiohead's Pyramid Song Single consists of four tracks including Pyramid Song, The Amazing Sounds of Orgy, Trans-Atlantic Drawl, and Kinetic. The name "The Amazing Sounds of Orgy" says it all. The background instruments and the combination of Thom Yorke and Ed O'Brien's voices make the song amazing. Big Radiohead fans have most likely heard of "Kinetic" before, and they get their chance to listen to it on the Pyramid Song Single. Although the band modified it slightly before its release, Kinetic is a wonderful song. The more acoustic-like instruments used in Kinetic allows the track to fit perfectly with the others. The lulling voice of Thom Yorke makes the song complete. To many Radiohead fans, Trans-Atlantic Drawl may come as a surprise. This pumped up song actually contains mostly of electric guitar. Trans-Atlantic Drawl is the closest recently released song that has a resemblance to OK Computer. As the climax approaches in the song, Thom Yorke yells over and over again "Do you see the light at the end of the tunnel?" The lyrics to Trans-Atlantic Drawl fit well with the music. Pyramid Song is undoubtedly a huge fan favorite. The song is very well put together. The song starts out with piano and Thom Yorke's vocals. The song becomes rather exciting when Phil Selway kicks in with the drums. An orchestra takes Pyramid Song to the end. Pyramid Song is a beautiful masterpiece that will be enjoyed by Radiohead fans for years to come. As always, Radiohead leaves their fans in awe with excellent songs and mystifying lyrics.

The first single from Amnesiac and the first commercially available single from Radiohead in nearly four years.

PYRAMID SONG: Begins with a piano playing and Thom singing (can somebody picture him in a bar singing this besides me?). Great introduction to the public on Amnesiac with its orchestrations that compliment the song, not overpower it.

THE AMAZING SOUNDS OF ORGY: Low organ sounds, a lot of hi-hat and an occasional snare drum at appears at various times. Reminds me of early Pink Floyd (like "Pow R. Toc H.") a little bit with its bleak romantic story, echoing percussion and eerie sounds

TRANS-ATLANTIC DRAWL: Picture a radio (old fashioned kind) blaring out fuzz guitars, blaring trumpets and layers of vocals. That happens for about half of the song. And then (and I can picture this too), the radio gets knocked down/shot down (it sounds like it) and now it's a simple synthesizer playing until the close.

OVERALL: Great opener and bridge between the weirdness of Kid A and the apparent coherence of Amnesiac (I'm listening to it as I write this)