For hardcore Radiohead fans, The Best Of Radiohead is like Carmen Electra’s breasts – a gorgeous set, but not presented in the way God intended.
In this instance, God goes by the name Thom Yorke.
The nuggety little frontman might have distanced himself from his former record label’s dissection of Radiohead’s back catalogue, but not even EMI’s crypt keepers can soil this compilation.
With firey opener Just offering the introductory line ‘Can’t get the stink off’, you almost wonder if Thom is remotely voicing his revulsion at this back catalogue trawl. Such savage lyrical images remain prominent, with his favoured oeuvre (modern life pressures leading to creeping insanity) strongly represented on this distilled 16-track collection. Startling imagery (such as crackling pigskin, unhealed bruises and gunboats in a sea of fear) remain Thom’s stock in trade, with shipwrecks, car smashes and plane crashes also demonstrating the demons that tussle for his attention.
From the naïve rock debut Pablo Honey through to final EMI album Hail To The Thief, the tracks chosen for the single disc version of The Best Of generally gel convincingly. OK Computer’s lead single Paranoid Android may have sounded like nothing else on radio when unleashed in early 1997, but its themes of anguish and helplessness in the face of a complex world have been mined by multiple artists since.
Despite being bumped from its rightful spot as album coda in favour of jarring Kid A opener Everything In Its Right Place, The Bends’ majestic Street Spirit [Fade Out] summarises everything to love about the restless Oxford misfits. In spite of the death and destruction of the lyrics, there’s an uplifting beauty at its blue heart. Extrication may have removed the initial sting of some of these songs, but it’s this destruction/beauty juxtaposition that ensures Radiohead remain captivating.
Scott McLennan