18 hours of Radiohead's OK Computer Sessions Stolen ... and Then Released by Band*

OK Computer 1997 2019 LKNOTOK

 

Very interesting... I've heard unofficial surround mixes of a couple of Radiohead songs that are quite good so these could be put to good use. I assume the ones I heard were created from Rock Band rips or something along those lines.

 

Would it be possible to confirm this through spectral analysis of the bonus cassette download and the corresponding song in the leak? The cassette download has a DR of 6 on both sides, so I would guess that the leaked tracks are more dynamic, even with the Minidisc compression:

Album details - Dynamic Range Database

 

I notice a conspicuous absence of anything “Subterranean Homesick Alien”, “Lucky” and “Climbing Up The Walls” here.

Safe to say there are probably quite a bit more minidisks from this archive which weren’t leaked?

 

Also wondering if there are more early recordings of "The National Anthem."

This is HUGE. Full band version of "True Love Waits" on disc 1 is amazing. I'll need to sift through the rest over the next few days.

 

I think Lucky was recorded earlier and appeared on the 1996 UK Help compilation.

 

Can’t say I love the full band “True Love Waits” here, but I have always loved that keyboard melody that Jonny (?) plays over it, which only seemed to crop back up on certain live versions.

 

But it doesn't suck either

Love that keyboard melody as well, definitely a treat.

 

it really does feel like eavesdropping on a band's rehearsal, but man, what a treasure trove

 

Has there been any official reaction yet? Are Radiohead taking... haha.... leakal action? If they manage to track down the culprit, he's going to face something substantial.

 

I think you are being slightly too harsh. It doesn't take much artistic sensibility to release ALL rehearsals and early versions without any editorial work and there is a reason why almost nobody does.

 

I find it irritating that so much relevant material was not released with the boxed set. It reminds me of the Achtung Baby superdeluxe: if you're going to charge fans so much for a set, give them everything and let them sort out what's relevant themselves.

 

where to begin....
Like (from what it seems) most people here. I am still a consumer of music. I still purchase physical releases, merch, go to shows, etc. My back room is filled to the gills with LPs, CDs, & Cassettes. Constantly going to shops or having something at the doorstep. enough to drive my wife crazy. but it's a passion. Radiohead have easily been in my top 5 since high school. I've purchased everything from them .... multiple times.
Do I feel slightly guilty about downloading this? YES
If the band decided to release this as some fancy thumbdrive, would i still purchase it? YES
If it was an 18 CD BOX for $450? Not sure....again, my aforementioned wife would kill me.

That being said, I am so curious to hear it once i have the time. I had a friend, Justin, who I would spend endless hours listening to Radiohead with. we'd analyze every detail, and talk about them for hours. try to learn whatever our novice hands could figure out on guitar. we must have seen them 6-7 times during the later 90's. Sadly he took his life 3 years ago. he would have LOVED this. Him and I have been dying to hear a studio version of "Lift" since we heard it at the Roseland NYC April '96. such a shame. i wish he could hear this, so we could discuss it. but i digress.....

I've read the other thread debating their change of direction, but i refuse to participate. I love all eras of Radiohead. From PH-AMSP. They've never really changed...just evolved.

fun that all of this comes out during the 20th anniversary of napster. I spent most time on that thing trying to find any Radiohead recording possible. more than any artist.

man, what a time to be alive

 

I wasn’t saying the 18 discs should have been a commercial release but we could have had an OKC2017 that looked something like
Disc 1-Thom solo demos
Discs2,3 and 4-Alternate takes and tracks
Discs 5 and 6-Live from tour
Instead we got the rip off factor(having both vinyl and CD in the one package) and very little previously unreleased music.

 

Wow, 18 hours! But why leaking all of it so suddenly?

 

I think it finally hit me this afternoon driving up the lake just how amazing this leak is as I had the demos of Paranoid Android cranked up over the engine noise. Now a full 5 day weekend ahead of me to look forward to this!

Uh 11 minute version of Paranoid Android?!

 

Those outtakes have been licensed exclusively for use on a loop in Hell, I'm afraid.

 

Totally agreed.

There's something off about the recording of TLW on disc 1, but I've always been in love with that airy keyboard line. My favorite version of that song has always been the live debut from 95' because of that wonderful keyboard. It has a very happy and optimistic feel to it, which I think manages to influence the mood of the song in a substantial way.

 

Bootlegs have been a thing since at least the 1960s.

It's only 1.4 gigs.

 

the bass line is way out of place. takes it to an almost disco space that I don't quite like.

 

Ignore ST's not so subtle brand of snarkiness/trolling.

 

I think its great, this just gives an insight to their creative process and there are some pretty great moments in this collection. It really reminds me of the boots of The Rolling Stones specifically Voodoo Brew and Voodoo Stew collections (wish I still had those). Although the sound and clarity could be much better, I'm really happy I have a chance to dive deeper into Radiohead. They are amazing musicians and it goes to show any great band has bad moments. They are just able to make amazing choices in the arrangement, sound design, lyrics and use of instruments. I really wish that all bands would just dump raw content out there, I would happily pay for it and love every second. So I went to WASTE and bought some items that I probably wouldn't have bought because because of this leak, I felt I needed to give at least something back for it.

 

Is this material only available in MP3 format?

 

I kinda have my own (perhaps self-serving theory) on this. Yes, it's unfortunate (for the band) that working material from 22+ years ago leaked, which reveals 'behind the scenes' aspects that the band would most likely never want to have released in this form. As for why more of this was not released on 2017's reissue, I suspect the band wouldn't be comfortable charging their fans money for rehearsal / demo tapes (the C90 cassette notwithstanding, because the format that was released on made the whole thing itself seem self-conscious and tongue in cheek anyway).

I also think, in a very English way, the guys in the band would be most embarrassed about people listening to 18 hours of their working tapes. When you look at their recorded output since 2003's Hail To The Thief (and Yorke's solo stuff), their albums have gotten slimmer and shorter (where HTTT had some 14 tracks, a relic of the CD bloat era, The Eraser then had 9, In Rainbows 10, The King Of Limbs a mere 8, and A Moon Shaped Pool 11). The band seem to be going more for economy and quality over quantity the last twelve years on their albums, and would likely prefer to suck up less of the musical oxygen if that makes any sense.

 

Given that "Climbing" is definitely represented on the OKNOTOK C90, there is definitely more material. This may well be just Thom's minidiscs and other material was sourced from session tapes or from other band members.