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Radiodread

by

Easy Star All-Stars

 
Radiodread
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Avg: 4.0 (183 ratings)

OK Computer remade as dub, surprisingly well

  • We Say...

    Review by Sarah Tonen

    Well, it was inevitable. After all, the Easy All-Stars' previous album, Dub Side of the Moon, which, you guessed it, reinterpreted Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon in dub reggae style, achieved a sort of subterranean ubiquity wherever college students sipped lattes and inhaled kind. In retrospect, it's hardly surprising Dub Side did so well: two great stoner traditions, as it turns out, went great together, with Roger Waters' queries into the nature of sanity fitting Rasta-centric meditation and the Floyd's rich sonic stretching-out a match for the rubbery bass and echo-laden drums of dub. So why not try the same thing with Dark Side's most obvious successor, Radiohead's 1997 magnum opus, OK Computer?

    It turns out that Thom Yorke's dystopianism is every bit as snug a fit as Waters' what-is-madness? musings. The Easy Dub All-Stars negotiate the nerve-rattling undertow of the OK Computer material deftly, making it more languid without letting things get too slack; the guitars may not be up to Jonny Greenwood's aural-3D arsenal, but the bass and drums' thick power are the point anyway, and the occasional, low-pitched horn parts work splendidly. The real attraction here, though, is hearing a selection of first-rate vocalists tackle Yorke's melodies. Citizen Cope may sound hopeless rasping through "Karma Police," but Toots and the Maytals turn "Let Down" into a slurring, weirdly party-ready track, Horace Andy's yearning tone gives "Airbag" a surge that matches the original, and the Meditations' treatment of "No Surprises" makes it sound like a lost roots classic.

  • They Say...

    Review by Jeff Tamarkin, All Music Guide

    When a pair of New York-based musicians (Michael G. and Ticklah) calling themselves the Easy Star All-Stars came out in 2003 with Dub Side of the Moon, an all-reggae interpretation of Pink Floyd's rock monster Dark Side of the Moon, there were no expectations among an audience and thus no reason for skepticism. The album's reputation built steadily and the newly converted -- thousands bought the album and talked it up to others -- naturally wondered what would come next. After much deliberation, the All-Stars settled on Radiohead's 1997 masterpiece OK Computer, an obvious choice in hindsight (some consider Radiohead a 21st century Floyd), as beloved in its own time (and, undoubtedly, for many years to come) as Dark Side was decades earlier. Still, months before its release, some die-hard Radiohead fans were condemning the idea of Radiodread -- not to mention its campy title -- how could anyone dare mess with perfection? It was assumed by some that the reggae musicians would turn this monumental work into a parody, or render its often complex structures and moods unlistenable at the least. Turns out they had nothing to fear: the Easy Star All-Stars not only treat OK Computer with the respect it merits, they successfully re-imagine it, creating a work of art that, while it may never earn the over-the-top critical plaudits enjoyed by the source material, should find favor with both Radiohead loyalists and roots reggae purists alike. It couldn't have been easy, but the All-Stars make it sound so. Each tune is reconsidered on its own terms, with guest vocalists -- among them reggae giants such as Horace Andy (opener "Airbag"), Morgan Heritage ("Electioneering"), Toots & the Maytals (a very upbeat "Let Down") and Israel Vibration (album-closing "The Tourist") -- bringing a personal stamp to each tune. How each of these vocalists chooses to handle Thom Yorke's keening, facile vocals is worth a study in itself -- some virtually mimic him while others throw out the mold and come at the material from a completely outsider perspective. Ditto the arrangements: OK Computer's tricky time shifts and layers of electronics and ambient sounds could, in lesser hands, add up to a complete muck-up, but instead Radiodread emerges as its own, quite satisfying entity. It may be sacrilege to even think so, but it's possible that some listeners unable to warm up to Radiohead may even come to prefer this OK Computer from an alternative universe.

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