Roadmap to Radiohead? (Where do I start?)

equalsql

Any of you guys Radiohead aficionados?
They're not a band who've ever been on my Radar, but I chanced upon their greatest hits compilation on YT the other day...and thought that this is a band that needs exploring.. but where the hell do I start?

The fans seem a pretty polemic lot, with very strong opinions on what's good and bad so it would be useful to have a 'roadmap' of where to start with them.

Can anyone give me some pointers?

stickyfiddle

Rock stuff: 

The Bends

OK Computer

Pablo Honey 

The first 2 are essential, Pablo Honey has Creep on it but isn't great otherwise

Blippy bloppy stuff:

Kid A

In Rainbows

Hail to The Thief

The King of Limbs

Amnesiac

Again, the first 2 are essential, the rest are in order of my own preference, though HTTT has some great songwriting on it (There There, Wolf at the Door, and the stuff off Amnesiac is really good live, but a lot of it is hard work to get into on record.

Also worth seeking out some live stuff on youtube as it's often quite different (particularly the Kid A/Amnesiac bits. Glastonburies 1997 and 2003 were both spectacularly good, and anything since 2008 is usually great.

randomhandclaps

I am a massive Radiohead fan, but still pale in comparison to my wife's literal obsessiveness with them. I would recommend starting either with The Bends and working forward (plus backtracking to Pablo Honey) or starting with Hail To The Thief and move either way from there.

I think The Bends probably is retrospectively their most easily accessible album, whereas Hail To The Thief is probably the album that displays the scope of what they do best in one package and is a real convergence of their styles.  I probably wouldn't start with Kid A or Amnesiac as although they are great concepts that I rate highly I just think they only really display one aspect or direction, whereas Hail To The Thief introduces them all together.

Danny1969

Yes start with The Bends, that's a masterpiece, then Ok Computer which is very good and then stop

Actually there's gold in all the albums but I wish they had made another 3 or 4 albums like The Bends before they got bored themselves and went all loop orianted 

monquixote

OK Computer and the Bends are the "rock" albums you should listen to and are the band at their most accessible. 

Pablo Honey is also in this vein, but I don't think they had found their sound at this point so I wouldn't bother with it.

Kid A and Amnesiac work as a set (I think they were recorded at the same time). I love both of them and they are probably the Radiohead albums I've listened to the most. 

Hail to the Thief has a couple of my favorite RH songs (There There and 2+2=5), but it's got some fairly crap stuff on there as well so it's a bit of a mixed bag.

In Rainbows I quite enjoyed, but hardly listen to. King of Limbs I found impossible to get into as it just seemed a bit half baked.

stickyfiddle

King of Limbs was the big one that only clicked when played live (for me and them as well I reckon).

I've just put on the In Rainbows bonus disc and that's actually really good too - I always forget it exists.

Bucket

The three essential ones IMO are The Bends, OK Computer and Kid A.

dafuzz

What happened to that 'beginner's guide' thread?

Anyway, imo OK Computer is the one to start with - I bought it when it came out and was a tad disappointed by The Bends when I worked backwards. Then Kid A came out and thought that was slightly less good than The Bends, and each album has got a bit less good since. They're all pretty decent though

Danny1969

This thread needs some music

With High & Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, Iron Lunge  and Just this is basically their most accessible album

mudslide73

Danny1969 said:

 I wish they had made another 3 or 4 albums like The Bends before they got bored themselves and went all loop orianted 

I agree with this totally. I was the only person I knew that was slightly let down by Ok Computer after The Bends. I had a long holiday from them but listened to Kid A again and it properly blew me away. 

Iamnobody

I'd say start at the beginning and work through their catalogue.

You will see how the band developed their sound, style and songwriting and you will experience the same highs and lows as the rest of us have over the last twenty years and for you the thrill and anticipation of finding a new band and following their career.

Their back catalogue isn't huge so go for it.

So buy PH, The Bends & OK Computer and then carry on buying them in order of release or at least buy few at once listen to them in order.

If they are not your cup if tea you can just stop buying where it starts to go wrong for you...

They have some decent B Sides and live recordings as someone else mentioned. And EPs but I'd start with the albums.

PH had some good tunes on as well as Creep - to overlook it as the starting point would be remiss.

One of my favourites and the closing track from that album:

Deijavoo

I was a massive Radiohead fan from Pablo Honey until my 30th birthday in 2012. In Rainbows is for me their perfect record but so many of their records are just sublime.

However I went to see them at the MEN and it left me totally cold. Just an utterly lifeless performance with lifeless fans tutting at anyone talking in case it drowned the band out. 

Listened to them once since then and it does feel like I'm missing something in my musical life.  :-( 

Fazer

ok, im a nerd and made myself a 2-part compilation last year, so this is my personal definitive collection of all their good tracks (there's a few b-sides and other bits listed under the album of the time)

Part 1:
1993 -  Pablo Honey  - 01  -  Creep
1993 -  Pablo Honey  - 02  -  Prove Yourself
1993 -  Pablo Honey  - 03  -  Blow Out
1995 -  The Bends  - 04  -  Talk Show Host
1995 -  The Bends  - 05  -  Planet Telex
1995 -  The Bends  - 06  -  High and Dry
1995 -  The Bends  - 07  -  Bones
1995 -  The Bends  - 08  -  My Iron Lung
1995 -  The Bends  - 09  -  Black Star
1995 -  The Bends  - 10  -  Sulk
1995 -  The Bends  - 11  -  Street Spirit (Fade Out)
1997 -  OK Computer  - 12  -  Airbag
1997 -  OK Computer  - 13  -  Paranoid Android
1997 -  OK Computer  - 14  -  Subterranean Homesick Alien
1997 -  OK Computer  - 15  -  Climbing Up The Walls
1997 -  OK Computer  - 16  -  Lucky

Part 2:
1997 -  OK Computer  - 01  -  Climbing Up The Walls (Zero 7 mix)
2000 -  Kid A  - 02  -  Everything In Its Right Place
2000 -  Kid A  - 03  -  The National Anthem
2000 -  Kid A  - 04  -  Optimistic
2000 -  Kid A  - 05  -  In Limbo
2000 -  Kid A  - 06  -  Morning Bell
2001 -  Amnesiac  - 07  -  Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box
2001 -  Amnesiac  - 08  -  Fast-Track
2001 -  Amnesiac  - 09  -  Worrywort
2003 -  Hail To The Thief  - 10  -  2 + 2 = 5
2003 -  Hail To The Thief  - 11  -  Sail to the Moon
2003 -  Hail To The Thief  - 12  -  There There
2003 -  Hail To The Thief  - 13  -  A Punchup at a Wedding
2003 -  Hail To The Thief  - 14  -  Myxomatosis
2003 -  Hail To The Thief  - 15  -  Sail To The Moon (Live)
2007 -  In Rainbows  - 16  -  Weird Fishes Arpeggi
2007 -  In Rainbows  - 17  -  All I Need
2007 -  In Rainbows  - 18  -  Up On The Ladder
2007 -  In Rainbows  - 19  -  Bangers & Mash
2011 -  The King Of Limbs  - 21  -  Bloom
2011 -  The King Of Limbs  - 22  -  Morning Mr Magpie
2011 -  The King Of Limbs  - 23  -  Feral
2011 -  The King Of Limbs  - 24  -  Separator

Deijavoo

Also I'd like to add that while weirdly I find In Rainbows their perfect record, Kid A is my favourite. 

Go figure....

DiscoStu

My favourite band!

I began with The Bends but then OK Computer blew my mind.

In Rainbows is awesome, as is Hail to the Thief.

I can live without Pablo Honey, and their last effort - The King of Limbs - is pump.

Some of their earlier b-sides are worth hunting down, stuff like Palo Alto and Talk Show Host (which also featured on the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack)

They are back in the studio this month so fingers crossed for a return to form!

Deijavoo

I liked Kings of Limbs but it did feel like an anti album after IR. 

DiscoStu

Deijavoo said:

I liked Kings of Limbs but it did feel like an anti album after IR. 

I've tried, believe me I've tried, but I just can't get in to it.