Jump to content

The King of Limbs: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 66: Line 66:
==Track listing==
==Track listing==
{{Tracklist
{{Tracklist
| title1 = Bloom
| title1 = Lotus Flower
| length1 = 5:15
| length1 = 5:15
| title2 = Morning Mr Magpie
| title2 = Feral
| length2 = 4:41
| length2 = 4:41
| title3 = Little by Little
| title3 = Little by Little
| length3 = 4:27
| length3 = 4:27
| title4 = Feral
| title4 = Codex
| length4 = 3:13
| length4 = 3:13
| title5 = [[Lotus Flower (song)|Lotus Flower]]
| title5 = Give Up the Ghost
| length5 = 5:00
| length5 = 5:00
| title6 = Codex
| title6 = Morning Mr. Magpie
| length6 = 4:47
| length6 = 4:47
| title7 = Give Up the Ghost
| title7 = Bloom
| length7 = 4:50
| length7 = 4:50
| title8 = Separator
| title8 = Separator

Revision as of 03:34, 6 April 2011

Untitled

The King of Limbs is the eighth studio album by English alternative rock band Radiohead, produced by Nigel Godrich. It was self-released on 18 February 2011 as a download in MP3 and WAV formats. It was followed by a physical CD and 12" vinyl release on 28 March,[1] along with a wider digital release via AWAL,[2] and a special "newspaper" edition on 9 May 2011.[3] The name of the album possibly refers to an oak tree in Wiltshire's Savernake Forest, thought to be 1,000 years old.[4]

The physical album was released on the band's Ticker Tape imprint by XL in the United Kingdom, TBD in the United States and Hostess Entertainment in Japan.[5] The "newspaper" edition will contain two 10-inch vinyl records in a special record sleeve, many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork, a compact disc, and a colour piece of oxo-degradable plastic package.[6]

Production

In September 2010, drummer Phil Selway stated that the band had been recording "on and off for a year". Selway added that the album had not been recorded in a similar fashion to In Rainbows, remarking that "I don't know what we'll be doing but the process of making In Rainbows — so much came about through what we were doing live — has been quite the opposite so far."[7]

With eight tracks, and just over thirty-seven minutes of music, The King of Limbs is Radiohead's shortest album to date. In 2009, commenting on the nature of future Radiohead releases, Thom Yorke stated that: "None of us want to go into that creative hoo-ha of a long-play record again. Not straight off. I mean, it's just become a real drag. It worked with In Rainbows because we had a real fixed idea about where we were going. But we've all said that we can't possibly dive into that again. It'll kill us."[8]

Packaging and artwork

Artist Stanley Donwood stated that the album's artwork is inspired by Northern European fairy tales and their association with forests and woods: "It's very much about natural forms. I'd heard something about the northern European imagination, in the sense of all our fairy stories and mythical creatures, they all come from the woods - Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel & Gretel [...] Me and Thom [Yorke] were working on these ideas of strange, multi-limbed creatures that are neither malevolent or benevolent, they're simply there, part of the living spirit of the forest. That's come through into all of the work."[9]

Regarding the forthcoming limited "newspaper" edition of the album, Donwood stated that: "In Rainbows was like a coffee table book. It was this big thing I felt quite sure that with determination you could probably beat someone to death with it, it was very heavy and hard. So I wanted to do something that was completely different for this. Also, the other thing was the sense of the music not coming to a halt - it was almost like this was kind of a report on its current status. What I like about newspaper is its ephemeral nature, I like the way the paper goes yellow and brittle when you leave it out in the sunlight. I wanted to do this thing like a really annoying Sunday paper, you know when you buy the paper and all this crap falls out? I wanted to do something really annoying with all these crappy bits of floppy, glossy paper."[9]

Release

Radiohead announced they were issuing a new album on their website on 14 February 2011, five days before its scheduled release.[4] On 18 February, Radiohead's official blog published the first song from the album, "Lotus Flower", with an accompanying music video,Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). followed by a post announcing the album was released.[10] Although the release date was originally announced as 19 February, the band decided to release it a day early.[11]

The digital download of the album was DRM-free.[12] The MP3 download was available for £6, US$9 or €7 and the WAV download cost £9, US$14 or €11.[12][13][14] Radiohead announced the availability of a newspaper album which can be ordered at thekingoflimbs.com. The newspaper album will include two 10-inch clear vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve, a CD, many large sheets of artwork, 625 small pieces of artwork, a full plastic cover, and the album download. Customers can pre-order the album which will be posted out on 9 May 2011. The order cost, with shipping costs included, is £30, US$48 or €36 with the MP3 download, and £33, US$53 or €39 for the WAV download.[12][13][14]

The Universal Sigh

To commemorate the release of The King of Limbs, Radiohead produced a single-issue free newspaper entitled "The Universal Sigh" to be distributed at locations across the world on Monday 28 March 2011. Artist Stanley Donwood describes it as "a 12-page tabloid, printed using web-offset lithography on newsprint paper, just like the LA Weekly or London Lite or The Daily Mail".[15] The paper is separate from the newspaper that accompanies the Newspaper Album version of The King of Limbs,[16] and features artwork, poetry, and lyrics, and short stories by Stanley Donwood, Jay Griffiths and Robert Macfarlane.[17] The free newspaper concept came from Donwood witnessing "a seething mass of humanity that I’d been embroiled in at the top of the steps down to Oxford Circus tube station, where amongst the heaving throng of commuters were valiant distributors of London Lite and Metro and the Standard, attempting to hand them out."[18]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[19]
BBC Music(favorable)[20]
Entertainment Weekly(B)[21]
The Guardian[22]
The Independent[23]
Pitchfork Media(7.9/10)[24]
PopMatters(9/10)[25]
Rolling Stone[26]
Slant Magazine[27]
Spin(8/10)[28]

The King of Limbs received positive reviews from most music critics.[29] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 34 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[29] BBC Music's Mike Diver praised the album as "a fans-pleasing eighth album from Britain's most consistently brilliant band."[20] Michael Brodeur of The Boston Globe complimented "the tense calm these eight songs maintain—a composure that feels constantly ready to crack", commenting that "where In Rainbows was mellow but brisk—an album that felt on its way somewhere—these songs are eerie and insidious, creeping like shadows—and, often because of the haunting voice of Thom Yorke, the occasional chill."[30] PopMatters gave the album a nine out of 10 rating, stating "The King of Limbs is a beautiful record, one that begs more of a conscious listen than its predecessor, but one that provides equal—if different—thrills in doing so."[31] François Marchand of The Vancouver Sun said that the album "bridges Radiohead's many different styles" and is "worth embracing".[32]

Mark Pytlik of Pitchfork Media gave the album a 7.9 out of 10 rating, summarising the album as "well-worn terrain for Radiohead, and while it continues to yield rewarding results, the band's signature game-changing ambition is missed."[24] Pitchfork would later go on to single out "Give Up the Ghost" as "Best New Music," with writer Jayson Greene praising it as both "a highlight" and "life-affirming."[33] Los Angeles Times writer Ann Powers noted that the album polarised opinions of fans and critics, commenting that it "can be heard from several different angles", which explains why "Fans and critics have already been registering wildly divergent reactions: Some think it's one of the band's best efforts; others find it too low-key or similar to previous work; a few consider it awfully doomy, and a few others wish it were less abstract."[34]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Lotus Flower"5:15
2."Feral"4:41
3."Little by Little"4:27
4."Codex"3:13
5."Give Up the Ghost"5:00
6."Morning Mr. Magpie"4:47
7."Bloom"4:50
8."Separator"5:20

Charts

Chart
UK Albums Chart 7
Australian ARIA Albums Chart 2
New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart 5
Germany Albums Chart 13
Swiss Music Charts 8

References

  1. ^ "Apparently there's a new Radiohead album or something". drownedinsound. Drowned in Sound. 2011 [last update]. Retrieved 14 February 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  2. ^ "Radiohead - The King of Limbs". AWAL UK Ltd. 2011 [last update]. Retrieved 21 March 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  3. ^ "The King of Limbs". thekingoflimbs.com. Radiohead. 2011 [last update]. Retrieved 14 February 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  4. ^ a b "Radiohead releasing new album 'The King Of Limbs' on Saturday (Feb 19)". NME. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  5. ^ Comer, M. Tye (14 February 2010). "Radiohead to Release New Album, 'King of Limbs,' on Feb. 19". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  6. ^ Swash, Rosie (14 February 2010). "Radiohead to release new album this Saturday". The Guardian. London: GMG. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Radiohead going back to the studio to 'take stock' of new recorded material". Canadian Press, 20 September 2010.
  8. ^ "Thom Yorke: 'We Believe the People Find Music Extremely Valuable and We're Going to Prove It.'" The Believer, July/August 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Stanley Donwood: Work on Paper". Creative Review, 18 February 2011.
  10. ^ Swash, Rosie (18 February 2011). "Radiohead release The King of Limbs". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  11. ^ "Radiohead Release New Album 'The King of Limbs' One Day Early". Rolling Stone. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  12. ^ a b c [1], 18 February 2011.
  13. ^ a b "The King of Limbs : Great Britain". Sandbag Ltd. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  14. ^ a b "The King of Limbs : Europe". Sandbag Ltd. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  15. ^ "Stanley Donwood On Radiohead's 'The Universal Sigh' Newspaper". NME. 04 April 2011. Retrieved 05 April 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  16. ^ http://www.theuniversalsigh.com/
  17. ^ "Read the Radiohead Newspaper". Pitchfork Media. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  18. ^ "Stanley Donwood On Radiohead's 'The Universal Sigh' Newspaper". NME. 04 April 2011. Retrieved 05 April 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  19. ^ "The King of Limbs - Radiohead". AllMusic. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  20. ^ a b "BBC - Music - Reviews - Radiohead The King of Limbs". BBC Music, 21 February 2011
  21. ^ Petrusich, Amanda (23 February 2011). The King of Limbs | Music | EW.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2011-03-23.
  22. ^ Alexis Petridis (25 February 2011). "Radiohead: The King of Limbs – review | Music". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  23. ^ Gill, Andy (19 February 2011). First Listen: The King of Limbs, Radiohead - Reviews, Music - The Independent###. The Independent. Retrieved on 2011-03-23.
  24. ^ a b "Pitchfork review". Pitchfork.com. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  25. ^ Pan, Arnold (22 February 2011). "Pop Matters review". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  26. ^ By Jon Dolan (24 February 2011). "Rolling Stone review". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  27. ^ "Radiohead: The King of Limbs | Music Review". Slant Magazine. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  28. ^ Martins, Chris (18 February 2011). "Spin review". Spin.com. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  29. ^ a b The King of Limbs Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2011-03-23.
  30. ^ Brodeur, Michael (23 February 2011). "Radiohead fans' patience pays off"". The Boston Globe.
  31. ^ "Radiohead, the King of Limbs". PopMatters
  32. ^ Marchand, Francois (19 February 2011). "Multi-faceted King of Limbs worth embracing". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  33. ^ "Forkcast"", 1 March 2011.
  34. ^ "Snap Judgment: Radiohead's 'The King of Limbs'". Los Angeles Times, 18 February 2011.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_King_of_Limbs&oldid=422633981"