Radiohead’s In Rainbows Discbox Arrives

My copy of the In Rainbows discbox arrived today. Along with the cool packaging, and the cd & vinyl versions of the long ago downloaded In Rainbows is an additional CD which includes 8 tracks not selected for the album.

I was expecting disc 2 to play like a selection of unrelated “B-Sides” but it doesn’t sound like that really, it sounds more like an extension of In Rainbows and if anything is actually more cohesive than disc 1. To my ears these songs were not excluded from In Rainbows due to being of lower quality but instead that that the songs were selected for disc 1 and disc 2 based on whether they fit in well with the surrounding material.

Every track on disc 2 sounds vital and that includes the segue pieces “MK 1″ and “MK 2″ which help the disc’s cohesion and sense of otherworldliness. The first track of disc 2, “MK 1,” is a segue from the last track of In Rainbows, “Videotape,” into disc 2. This is definitely not just a set of b-sides. It is an extension and an expansion of disc 1 of In Rainbows. This is an essential disc for fans of Radiohead.

It’s hard for me to select favorites from disc 2 at the moment as it’s hard to say what’s more beautiful “Last Flowers To The Hospital” or “4 Minute Warning”… It’s hard to say what’s most face melting “Up The Ladder” or “Bangers & Mash.” In the end it’s not about that. As great as the songs are individually it seems to me that they are even greater all together. It’s truly a trip to be experienced in full. The places this music takes a listener in under 30 minutes is truly incredible.

It always surprises me that the word “psychedelic” doesn’t come up more when talking about Radiohead. I think Disc 2 may be their most psychedelic collection of music yet and in my opinion that’s some pretty darn psychedelic music. I will not use this space to encourage drug use (entirely due to Google’s TOS… we do have Google ads here) BUT if you are into that sort of thing, put Disc 2 on. Yes.

2007, Radiohead

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