“All I Need” - Radiohead | Song Review

“All I Need” is the song on the new Radiohead album, In Rainbows, that most grabbed me from the first listen. It’s one of the most direct and universal songs Radiohead has recorded since The Bends. It features one of the best singing performances of Thom Yorke’s career and a hauntingly beautiful yet simple melody. And the noisy ending is probably the biggest climax of the album.

It’s one of only two songs on the album that does not feature any sound recognizable as guitar. Instrumentally it’s based primarily on a heavy synth bass and a hip hop like drum beat. The first verse is quite simple instrumentally which helps the incredible vocal performance to further stand out. It also makes it all the more hair rising when the sound gets more chaotic in the second verse. Things calm down for the final chorus which emphasizes the impact of the noisy outro.

In Rainbows contains quite a few memorable lyrics and many of the most memorable come from “All I Need.”

The following line from the first verse is the one that really sticks with me: “I’m an animal trapped in your hot car. I’m all of the days that you choose to ignore.”

2007, Radiohead

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