Radiohead: The Best Of
Radiohead: The Best Of | ||||
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Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | 2 June 2008 | |||
Length | 75:30 130:50 (special edition) | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Radiohead chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
NME | (8/10)[2] |
Pitchfork | (4/10)[3] |
Rolling Stone | [4] |
The Times | [5] |
Radiohead: The Best Of is a greatest hits compilation of songs by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 2 June 2008 by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and by Capitol Records in the United States, subsidiaries of EMI. It contains songs from Radiohead's first six albums plus I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings, recorded while under contract with EMI.[6] The compilation debuted at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and critical reception was generally positive. Radiohead had no creative input and were critical of the release.
Background
EMI released Radiohead: The Best Of after Radiohead did not renew their recording contract following the release of their sixth album, Hail to the Thief, in 2003.[7] According to EMI owner Guy Hands:
The financial department came to me and said they could make X amount of money by just [releasing The Best Of] ... I said, "We have a bank that is staring us down and now [Radiohead] have basically told us to eff off, I don't think we have a huge amount of reasons to be nice to them."[8]
Radiohead had no creative input into The Best Of, and were reportedly "incensed" at its release, seeing best-of compilations as typical of artists in commercial and creative decline.[9] Singer Thom Yorke said:
There's nothing we can do about it. The work is really public property now anyway... It's a wasted opportunity in that if we'd been behind it, and we wanted to do it, then it might have been good ... And now it's like when you move house — you don't want to peer through the window and see what they've done with the wallpaper because it will only upset you.[10]
Release
The standard edition contains 17 tracks. The "special edition" contains a second CD with 13 additional tracks. A DVD compilation with 21 music videos, including nine never before released on DVD, was also released.[11]
In 2016, Radiohead's back catalogue was transferred to XL Recordings, who had released the physical editions of their subsequent albums and most of Yorke's solo work.[12] The Best Of and the "special editions" of Radiohead albums, issued by EMI in the same year without Radiohead's approval, were removed from streaming services.[12][13][13]
The compilation debuted at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and critical reception was generally positive.[citation needed]
Track listing
All songs written by Radiohead (Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Philip Selway, and Thom Yorke), except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Just" (from The Bends, 1995) | 3:54 | |
2. | "Paranoid Android" (from OK Computer, 1997) | 6:27 | |
3. | "Karma Police" (from OK Computer, 1997) | 4:24 | |
4. | "Creep" (from Pablo Honey, 1993) | Radiohead, Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood | 3:57 |
5. | "No Surprises" (from OK Computer, 1997) | 3:49 | |
6. | "High and Dry" (from The Bends, 1995) | 4:17 | |
7. | "My Iron Lung" (from The Bends, 1995) | 4:36 | |
8. | "There There" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003) | 5:21 | |
9. | "Lucky" (from OK Computer, 1997) | 4:18 | |
10. | "Optimistic" (Radio edit, original from Kid A, 2000) | 4:53 | |
11. | "Fake Plastic Trees" (from The Bends, 1995) | 4:51 | |
12. | "Idioteque" (from Kid A, 2000) | Radiohead, Arthur Kreiger, Paul Lansky | 4:37 |
13. | "2 + 2 = 5" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003) | 3:19 | |
14. | "The Bends" (from The Bends, 1995) | 4:05 | |
15. | "Pyramid Song" (from Amnesiac, 2001) | 4:49 | |
16. | "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (from The Bends, 1995) | 4:13 | |
17. | "Everything in Its Right Place" (from Kid A, 2000) | 4:11 |
- Disc two (special edition only)
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Airbag" (from OK Computer (1997) | 4:47 |
2. | "I Might Be Wrong" (from Amnesiac, 2001) | 4:52 |
3. | "Go to Sleep" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003) | 3:22 |
4. | "Let Down" (from OK Computer, 1997) | 4:59 |
5. | "Planet Telex" (from The Bends, 1995) | 4:18 |
6. | "Exit Music (For a Film)" (from OK Computer, 1997) | 4:27 |
7. | "The National Anthem"" (from Kid A, 2000) | 5:47 |
8. | "Knives Out" (from Amnesiac, 2001) | 4:15 |
9. | "Talk Show Host" (from "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", 1996) | 4:39 |
10. | "You" (from Pablo Honey, 1993) | 3:28 |
11. | "Anyone Can Play Guitar" (from Pablo Honey, 1993) | 3:37 |
12. | "How to Disappear Completely" (from Kid A, 2000) | 5:55 |
13. | "True Love Waits" (I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings, 2001) | 5:04 |
Radiohead: The Best Of | ||||
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File:Radiohead the best of dvd.jpg | ||||
Video by | ||||
Released | 2 June 2008 | |||
Recorded | 1992–2003 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Label | Parlophone | |||
Radiohead chronology | ||||
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DVD
- "Creep" (directed by Brett Turnbull)
- "Anyone Can Play Guitar" (directed by Dwight Clarke)
- "Pop Is Dead" (directed by Dwight Clarke)
- "Stop Whispering" (directed by Jeff Plansker)
- "My Iron Lung" (directed by Brett Turnbull)
- "High and Dry" (UK version) (directed by David Mould)
- "High and Dry" (US version) (directed by Paul Cunningham)
- "Fake Plastic Trees" (directed by Jake Scott)
- "Just" (directed by Jamie Thraves)
- "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (directed by Jonathan Glazer)
- "Paranoid Android" (directed by Magnus Carlsson)
- "Karma Police" (directed by Jonathan Glazer)
- "No Surprises" (directed by Grant Gee)
- "Pyramid Song" (directed by Shynola)
- "Knives Out" (directed by Michel Gondry)
- "I Might Be Wrong" (directed by Sophie Muller)
- "Push Pulk/Like Spinning Plates" (directed by Johnny Hardstaff)
- "There There" (directed by Chris Hopewell)
- "Go to Sleep" (directed by Alex Rutterford)
- "Sit Down. Stand Up." (directed by Ed Holdsworth)
- "2 + 2 = 5" (Live at Belfort Festival) (directed by Fabien Raymond)
Charts and certifications
- 2008 greatest hits albums
- Albums produced by John Leckie
- Albums produced by Nigel Godrich
- Albums produced by Paul Q. Kolderie
- Albums produced by Sean Slade
- Radiohead video albums
- 2008 video albums
- Music video compilation albums
- Albums recorded at Abbey Road Studios
- Parlophone compilation albums
- Capitol Records compilation albums
- Parlophone video albums
- Radiohead compilation albums