One of these days, I’ll find a limit to Radiohead’s talents. But not today. For I have discovered that one of Radiohead’s best kept secrets is their excellent quality as a b-sides band.
Indeed. It all started when our resident Scottish Radiohead/Pearl Jam/Silverchair/Muse fanboy Andym173 reviewed the Airbag EP. And well, I was sold, tracking down my own copy of that genius little disc cram-packed full of OK Computer b-sides, with such stellar moments as Polyethylene (swoon) and Palo Alto (more swooning). So, my interest was piqued. I soon found myself cradling the Itch disc, wowed by the glorious quality of forgotten tunes like Killer Cars, Faithless, The Wonder Boy and Banana Co.. A few of these made their way into beefier versions on The Bends singles, but the stellar moment was surely delivered by Street Spirit (Fade Out) Disc 2, with its acoustic renditions of Fake Plastic Trees, Bullet Proof (I wish I was) and Street Spirit (Fade Out). And let’s not forget that glorious My Iron Lung EP. So, when the limited Japanese edition of Com Lag 2plus2isfive made its way into a limited UK pressing… well, I had to be in on the act.
Com Lag for the most part delivers, quite simply rounding up all the various and sundry Hail to the Thief b-sides. But we open first with a killer live rendition of 2+2=5 (live at Earls Court London, 26/11/03). It goes without saying that it’s glorious, with its idiosyncratic stuttering pace, almost insect-like with its ominous flowing and shimmering build-up. For those of you who are so inclined, the disc also features a computer accessible recording of the same song played live at the Belfort Festival. There are little differences between versions, but you get to see Thom jiggle up and down, as is his wont.
Anyway, this is a curiosity but not the reason we’re here. Admittedly, we’re not really here for the non-Radiohead fashioned remixes either. However, I and others like me, have often been surprised by the quality of remixes offered up on Radiohead b-sides, and Remyxomitosis (Christian Vogel RMX) is no exception. Yeah, it’s an ugly trippy little thing that I hated on first sight. However, there is something decidedly intoxicating about the stripped down off-beat pacing of Thom saying
I don’t know why I feel so drunk
You also can’t help but love that deep resounding hum of bass energy, always threatening to break out of its low contained ominous casing, and rupturing into the increasingly nervous pacing of the song. Not one for the Radiohead purists, but there is definitely something in this take. It’s almost predatory in its intensity, the way it sneaks up behind you and bowls you over in a waves of cascading bass. At the risk of seeming arbitrary, I’m going to go all confusing and non-chronological on you, and skip to track seven, the Four Tet RMX of Skttrbrain. Now, I ain’t one for loving remixes, and any of you who know me will know that much about me. You’ll know how I panned my all-time heroes The Cure for being insufferably stupid on Mixed Up. But I’ve gotta say, I love this remix of Scatterbrain. The drums and percussion chatter away in the foreground, generating a myriad of patterns and rhythms, while Thom’s mostly understated vocals suddenly are given a melodic weight in the shape of the song that you almost couldn’t imagine they had. Add a little guitar and synth noodling, underlining the melody, and you have a genuinely beautiful re-reading of the song. Nicely done Four Tet.
Back to track three. I will is the last familiar face from Hail to the Thief, and is here offered in a so-called Los Angeles Version. Musically, it’s been stripped down, gentle tapping drumming from Phil Selway, guitars and bass picking out the simple melody and turning the track into a glimmering straight-forward dirge, not quite on a par with the (melo)dramatic heights of say High and Dry or Exit Music (for a film), but great nonetheless. (And Radiohead are fond of their song subtitles in brackets aren’t they now?)
Paperbag writer launches us into the bona-fide all new material, and this is definitely a weird one, recalling some of the bizarre oddities that populated the Amnesiac b-sides. It’s certainly more of an electronic throw-back from the boys, but it takes off when that guitar riff picks its way through the mesh of percussive clicks and slightly distorted symphonic bursts. As usual, you suddenly discover you’ve been grooving with a song that lacks a damned groove, and Radiohead have worked their magic once again.
I am a wicked child opens promisingly with feedback, and Ed O’Brien’s guitars certainly growl their way in primal intensity through the entire tune. This song is all about that gentle build-up, mostly down to Selway’s increasingly powerful drumming, and the unexpected addition of a harmonica into the mix. It doesn’t quite have the latent passion of some of the jazzy stuff they experimented with on Amnesiac, but then, this is b-list material. Although, it would be anyone else’s a-list material, mind you. I am citizen insane follows up, an electronic instrumental piece, a little too repetitive and unexciting for my tastes. But then again, few of Radiohead’s instrumental interludes really are that great are they? No offence.
But with the experimental oddity that Radiohead has become in recent years, it’s almost unbelievable to hear another solo acoustic strum turn up. But Gagging order is just that, acoustic guitar strummed, whilst Thom simultaneously picks out a gorgeous little riff. And the simply devastating sadness of the lyrics are just breathtaking
Move along, there’s nothing left to see
Just a body, nothing left to see
No one plays loneliness as honestly and understatedly as Thom Yorke at his best. It’s a shame that simple acoustic numbers like this don’t have a place on his albums any more. Another unexpected highlight is the solo piano rendition of Fog (again) a far cry from the electronic affair accompanying the Knives Out single. Again, the refreshing simplicity of the song recalls glorious songs like How I made my millions (also a b-side). But anyway, what’s not to love about this simply gorgeous crisp live performance? *Swoon*
Which leaves us with the final piece, the exception to the rule, the instrumental track that defies expectations, Where bluebirds fly. Don’t be deceived my the blissful title, this is an edgy dark dense affair, in which Thom sounds suspiciously like he might be singing something, but all you really hear is melody. Again, the electronica looms mightily over Thom’s fragile vocals, clipping him off and chirruping disturbingly. Who knows what this one is really about, but it’s certainly evocative stuff.
As with most b-side collections, there’s no real thematic thrust to it all, as it is mostly formed of sonic experiments that underline the work that went into Hail to the Thief. Some of you may have seen that a schoolteacher played Radiohead songs to her ten year old class, and encouraged them to draw whatever the music suggested to them (cut and paste, if you dare: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/issues/2003-09-17/music.html/1/index.html). And the results, aside from being remarkably appropriate (and similar to Donwood’s work), just go to prove how richly emotionally textured Radiohead are, for their messages to be brought across even to the most unsympathetic or indeed hostile of audiences (the children all immediately requested Sean Paul or 50 Cent instead). Com Lag isn’t exactly a crowning jewel, more an important footnote. But perhaps what’s really interesting about it is the fact that it represents Radiohead in all their incarnations, offering meaty rock, electronic craziness and simple, stripped down, honest song-writing.
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