Favourite Radiohead album apart from OK Computer and Kid A?

[____]

Normally when you ask a Radiohead fan what their favourite Radiohead album is, the response is normally OK Computer or Kid A depending on whether they prefer the old or new era of Radiohead. I personally have OK Computer as my favourite Radiohead album and I know a lot of people will also have OK Computer or Kid A. So I ask, apart from those two albums, what is your favourite Radiohead album? And what do you feel is their most underrated work?

For me it is a tie between The Bends and In Rainbows. As for most underrated it has to be Pablo Honey, but Amnesiac is also pretty underrated (I actually think it is a better album than Kid A), so they would be my next two favourites after the ones I already mentioned. But again Hail to the Thief and The King of Limbs are also great albums worthy of some love.

 

[bombermick]

The Bends is very underrated. As good as anyone that produced similar music at the time. Worth it for Street Spirit and Fake Plastic Trees alone.

 

[mellowyellow]

In Rainbows is my all time fav Radiohead Album. Ok Comp would only rate 4th and after the Bends and The King of Limbs ,Live from the basement.

 

[He_Beast]

The Bends is very underrated.

wat

 

[He_Beast]

Anyway they're all about as good as each other, the two in the thread title included, but with the exception of Pablo Honey, which, while probably receiving too much scorn in the last decade or so, is completely unremarkable and not worth listening to.

Favourite is probably Hail To The Thief

 

[____]

Anyway they're all about as good as each other, the two in the thread title included, but with the exception of Pablo Honey, which, while probably receiving too much scorn in the last decade or so, is completely unremarkable and not worth listening to.

I don't understand the Pablo Honey hate. Yes it is different to the other seven but it is still a good album when judged on its own merits.

 

[He_Beast]

Why would I judge it on anything else?

I mean, it's not terrible, but we don't live in a world where you have to settle for that.

 

[____]

Why would I judge it on anything else?

I mean, it's not terrible, but we don't live in a world where you have to settle for that.

Anyone Can Play Guitar is up there with their some of their best IMO. Then there is underrated gems like You, How Do You, Stop Whispering, Vegetable, Prove Yourself, I Can't and Blow Out. Creep is still a good song even though it is overrated.

That album is definitely worth a listen.

 

[lincsPJ]

Kid a is terribly overrated. Ok, bends, rainbows, pablo... The rest.

 

[djrossie16]

I would say Ok Computer is easily Radiohead's best album followed by the Bends. The others have patches of brilliance on them 3-4 good songs on albums but are not as consistent all the way through. I would then probably consider In Rainbows because although maybe lacking brilliance it is pretty consistent from start to finish.

 

[JP Sauce]

Voted In Rainbows but ask me tomorrow and my vote might change.

 

[FlyingBurittoBro]

Amnesiac is very underrated.

ftfy.
I wouldn't argue that it is their best but Hail is my fav even if you include Kid A and OK.

 

[Roobs321]

In Rainbows is their best outside those two, clearly imo, although you could argue the album only has 2-3 outstanding tracks. The consistency and tone of In Rainbows gets it over the line. Radiohead have used power light/dark dynamics a lot since day 1, but most clearly so on this album.

Amnesiac was my #2 behind Ok Computer as a teen, so at the time most underrated easily. However the album hasnt exactly grown with me, I prefered it more when I was younger (might be an album that suffers when you listen more widely to music?).

The Bends is both their most underrated and most overrated album. I Might be Wrong Live LP is very underrated imo, I remember that stretch of Like Spinning Plates-Idieteque-EIIRP I used to play all the time.

 

[Madtiger2006]

I can't listen to half of their stuff. I keep clear of Rock music after 1983 as a rule

 

[mellowyellow]

I can't listen to half of their stuff. I keep clear of Rock music after 1983 as a rule

piss off mad....

 

[____]

piss off mad....

Mad thinks that Pink Floyd is overrated, therefore I can't take his music opinion seriously.

 

[Madtiger2006]

Mad thinks that Pink Floyd is overrated, therefore I can't take his music opinion seriously.

I like Floyd but yeah they are limited

 

[mellowyellow]

Mad thinks that Pink Floyd is overrated, therefore I can't take his music opinion seriously.

kudos to his passion for richmond but his musical taste is like a mix of molasses and vinegar...putrid

 

[Madtiger2006]

kudos to his passion for richmond but his musical taste is like a mix of molasses and vinegar...putrid

I'd say its brilliant. There's no band forming after 1975 who has produced more than 10 first class tunes.
I'd say Floyd were in the top 20 bands of the 1968-83 period. Is that good enough for you? Lol

 

[HARKER]

I'd say its brilliant. There's no band forming after 1975 who has produced more than 10 first class tunes.
I'd say Floyd were in the top 20 bands of the 1968-83 period. Is that good enough for you? Lol

Tunes or tracks? Tunes is somewhat subjective but the quality of the track may be somewhat easier to qualify.

Radiohead have at least 20 great tracks as do plenty of other bands including Elbow, Primal Scream, Stone Roses......plenty of bands.

EDIT: They can't all be Caravan.

 

[Madtiger2006]

Tunes or tracks? Tunes is somewhat subjective but the quality of the track may be somewhat easier to qualify.

Radiohead have at least 20 great tracks as do plenty of other bands including Elbow, Primal Scream, Stone Roses......plenty of bands.

EDIT: They can't all be Caravan.

I reckon Radiohead have 5 or 6 strong tracks. Probably on par with someone like Red hot chilli peppers. Mostly crap apart from 5 or 6 tracks

 

[HARKER]

I reckon Radiohead have 5 or 6 strong tracks. Probably on par with someone like Red hot chilli peppers. Mostly crap apart from 5 or 6 tracks

...............and that's your opinion that isn't shared amongst the wider music critic community.

It's also not about a singular track but the tone of the album.
I don't care very much for what one song sounds like but I do like an album that captures my imagination from start to end.
Radiohead have ticked that elusive box for me on three occasions to date. That's pretty good going, I feel.

 

[Madtiger2006]

...............and that's your opinion that isn't shared amongst the wider music critic community.

It's also not about a singular track but the tone of the album.
I don't care very much for what one song sounds like but I do like an album that captures my imagination from start to end.
Radiohead have ticked that elusive box for me on three occasions to date. That's pretty good going, I feel.

I want to enjoy what I'm listening too as i listen to it. If you were talking about a movie then it would make sense, but never an album

 

[HARKER]

I want to enjoy what I'm listening too as i listen to it. If you were talking about a movie then it would make sense, but never an album

Are you sure Madtiger?

I know we have the term "Concept" albums that suggests a common theme by way of a single narrative, but in some ways I feel every album to be a concept album to a degree.
You'll probably find your favourite albums to be those that have good songs for a start, but also good song structures and song placements that allow you to flow through a series of otherwise disconnected tracks.

Look no further than to your "location" to find an album that has a great continuity to it.
Start it on track one and you don't quite wish to let it go and until the last note on side two. That makes for a good album.

 

[DJ Dupree]

Hail to the Thief is my favourite outside of Ok Computer/Kid A, in fact in a few ways I prefer it.

Ok Computer was just a stunning album that came from nowhere in 1997, and listening to it now I still hear things within it that I've never noticed before. Just phenomenal.

Kid A came when nobody really knew which direction they would (or even could) take next, and it was so out of left field. So many great tracks on there, and works as a deep listen or a background mood.

But Hail to the Thief, I just enjoy every time I hear it. There aren't any 'moments' on either OK/Kid A that give me nervous, chaotic chills like the climax in 'Sit Down/Stand Up'.. Then there's '2+2=5', 'There, There', 'Sail To the Moon'.. Everything about it is great. It wasn't groundbreaking as much as a band knowing their strengths and putting together something really decent, and at the time seemed to be a bit of a letdown in that it was just Radiohead being 'normal'. But ranked in their back catalogue, I think it has to be right up there.