Radiohead album by album

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by ponkine, Jul 11, 2020.

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  1. Goodmusic

    Goodmusic Well-Known Member

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    I think it's interesting how the songs from On A Friday-era were not just included on Pablo Honey, as proven by the High And Dry performance.
     
  2. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    I have some of their early demos (digitally). This is the only one widely found lossless, I think.
     
  3. ponkine

    ponkine Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Villarrica, Chile
    Why they changed the name to Radiohead?

    From the 'Exit Music' book:

    It became clear almost instantly to everyone that On A Friday was no kind of name for a group that wanted to be taken seriously, but it had taken the words of someone outside their immediate circle to make them acknowledge it for the first time.*

    The next question that arose was obvious. If the name of this band couldn't be On A Friday, then what could it be? The answer was soon found on the back sleeve of Talking Heads' 1986 album True Stories, the companion to leader David Byrne's film of the same name. There lurked the two words 'Radio Head', making up the tide of a rather annoying pseudo-reggae number (though certain cheeky band members would later go on record as saying they picked the title because they felt it was the least annoying song on the album). After minimal discussion, the five soon-to-be ex-members of On A Friday came to a firm decision: from this point on, they were to be Radiohead.

    Radiohead was just getting itself started, during the late '80s and early '90s, Talking Heads was rancorously dissolving. Under these circumstances, taking a name from the latter's catalogue not only suggested that the newer band owed the older one an obvious debt but also bore the implication that the newcomers might in some way continue down the path established by those who had, in effect, named them. The connotations must have been agreeable.

    Of course, there are other interpretations of what the name Radiohead means. Some of the more fanciful ones have been offered by Thom Yorke himself, who said in 1993: "It's just got loads of great connotations… It's also about the way you take information in, the way you respond to the environment you're put in. You just become like a synapse in a long chain of other people's ideas. You receive and you consume, you know, you buy things you're told to buy, you read things you're told to read, or you don't read things you're told to read. It's very much about the passive acceptance of your environment
    [​IMG]
     
  4. ponkine

    ponkine Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Villarrica, Chile
    On 5th May 1992, Radiohead released their first EP. 'Drill'. It contained 3 new recordings and 2 new songs.
    'Thinking About You' is taken directly from 'Manic Hedgehog'. 'You' is a new recording and the 2 new songs are 'Prove Yourself' and 'Stupid Car'

    From 'Exit Music' book:

    The Drill EP was finally released on May 5, and Radiohead got its first national radio exposure when BBC Radio One DJ Gary Davies played 'Prove Yourself on his show. It was a memorable moment for the band and their inner circle, as Ed later recalled: "We were completely excited — it was a mainstream weekend DJ on the national radio station. Some of our friends in Oxford phoned us up and said, 'You were played at 8 o'clock this morning on the radio, and they're going to play it again on Sunday.' So we all tuned in and listened to it. It was wonderful."


    1. "Prove Yourself" - 2:32
    2. "Stupid Car" - 2:21
    3. "You" - 3:22
    4. "Thinking About You" - 2:17

    [​IMG]
     
  5. soniclovenoize

    soniclovenoize Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    No, the Dungeon and Wormwood demos are all out there in lossless.
     
  6. robbroncs

    robbroncs Forum Disgrace

    Location:
    NJ
    Stupid Car, such a great track. glorious debut and show case of Thom's vocals
     
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  7. Freek999

    Freek999 Forum Resident

    The Drill e.p. was a very expensive cdsingle, but it was the last one left for me to acquire, so I bought it anyway :)
     
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  8. robbroncs

    robbroncs Forum Disgrace

    Location:
    NJ
    same here. been on a hunt since 1995. once i started a proper career, i was finally able to procure it in 2003. most expensive CD i own, for sure.
     
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  9. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    Those early demos aren't doing much for me, but "Manic Hedghog" is an improvement.
     
  10. Goodmusic

    Goodmusic Well-Known Member

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    In fact, Thinking About You, You and Prove Yourself are different to the versions on Pablo Honey, as all three songs were re-recorded. Stupid Car, I'm not sure of though. I'm looking and looking, but can't find a different release.
     
  11. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    Drill EP

    Just gave this a listen “as is”, which I don’t think I’d ever done before because I’ve had all the non-album tracks just piled together in a folder. Verdict: if I had heard this in 1992 I’d definitely want to hear more on a follow up. Thumbs up.

    I see a lot of slagging around the internet of Pablo Honey-era Radiohead and I’ve never agreed with it. Sure, it was easy to label them as ”British grunge” or whatever, but I like this face of the band.

    Manic Hedgehog is the only demo tape by On A Friday which I’ve heard that sounds like Radiohead. The others were definitely works in progress, but I don’t think I’ve heard all of them.
     
  12. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    Then I was too stupid to find them.^^
     
  13. Freek999

    Freek999 Forum Resident

    there is the so-called Tinnitus Mix of Stupid Car, released on a various artists cd+magazine called Volume 7, released july 1993

    https://www.discogs.com/Various-Volume-Seven/release/263157
     
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  14. dadonred

    dadonred Life’s done you wrong so I wrote you all this song

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Drill was a huge step forward in their soundscape and i would say barely anticipated from their prior work at that point. Talk about locking it in, whew!
     
  15. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    yep that’s an interesting mix - it adds a level of some kind of white noise to the mix while sort of muffling the music. Definitely unique.
     
  16. Exitmusic

    Exitmusic Forum Resident

    Location:
    Leicester U.K
    Tbh Drill has never done a lot more for me,Prove Yourself, Thinking About You and You were significantly improved on Pablo Honey (in particular the drill version of Thinking About You is an absolute disgrace) Stupid Car is somewhat interesting with a good vocal from Thom and some nice guitar work but it's something they would do a lot better very quickly.

    My overall rating would be 3/10,in terms of debut Eps of groups that Radiohead loved this is nowhere near Chronic Town or Come On Pilgrim.
     
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  17. Goodmusic

    Goodmusic Well-Known Member

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Interesting, was it ever officially released by Radiohead, or just found on that compilation?
     
  18. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    It doesn’t seem to be compiled anywhere else in their catalog. I’d try sharing a link to it here but it doesn’t seem to be on YouTube.
     
  19. Goodmusic

    Goodmusic Well-Known Member

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    I've also looked on an unofficial Radiohead wiki, and they do not mention said mix once.
     
  20. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    One mention is here:
    Radiohead - Stupid Car

    Quote:
    “Thom's first musical take on driving is about a car accident he survived in 1987. Stupid Car appears only on the Drill EP in its original form. Later, it was recorded as part of the Volume compilation series for Issue Seven and dubbed Tinnitus mix. The airy sounds of this mix blows past you ears, evoking the driving experience; vocals come in at lower level.

    It's again, a slow and short b-side from Radiohead. But the chorus is sweet, and the lyrics do tell an interesting story of a person's problem with driving/their partner.”
     
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  21. Goodmusic

    Goodmusic Well-Known Member

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    I like the Drill EP. Never really delved deep into their EP's, mostly stuck to the albums, but I have just listened to all 4 tracks, and can safely say I already like it more than the entirety of Pablo Honey. 7/10.
     
  22. Goodmusic

    Goodmusic Well-Known Member

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    From the sound of it, it's just a different mix of the same song.
     
  23. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    That’s the idea, right? White noise is a listening treatment for tinnitus as it helps the listener not hear the “ringing in the ears” that is prevalent in their condition. It’s an interesting idea for a mix. This is definitely a different version of the song than the Drill EP version, but it’s more of an idea of how to present the song rather than a “remix” as we usually think of it. I’m willing to bet this was an idea they tried and then discarded for Drill, but then gave it to the Volume Seven compilation just so it would have something “exclusive”.
     
  24. aphexj

    aphexj Sound mind & body

    Glad that the Drill EP is finally on streaming/download services. It was a nightmare to track down in the mail-order days, and it never did get re-pressed to CD after the initial run (there must be only, what, 500 copies out there? 1000? Less than 200 have the CD in their Discogs collections). Although Capitol reissued the vinyl circa 2009...

    I do think it's a step up from the demos, obviously! I really like "Stupid Car" and the grittier take of "You" with a bit more bite in the guitars than Pablo Honey's slicker recording, though the uptempo "Thinking About You" is slightly embarrassing
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2020
  25. robbroncs

    robbroncs Forum Disgrace

    Location:
    NJ
    i always thought the "tinnitus mix" was something Jonny added to the original mix. but i forget where i read that. or if i made it up decades ago.
    it is an official release by the band. the 90's was a peculiar and frustrating time for music collecting. bands/labels would constantly release "one off" tracks that would wind up on a compilation of some sort. the Volume series were fantastic, mind you. they all came with a massive fun booklet to look through and read while the music was playing.
     
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