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OK Computer [SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION- 2 CDs + DVD]

Radiohead - OK Computer [SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION- 2 CDs + DVD] Audio CD

A fair review of the Radiohead "OK Computer [SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION- 2 CDs + DVD]" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Radiohead reviews here, or go back to the Radiohead tabs.

Band: Radiohead
Title: OK Computer [SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION- 2 CDs + DVD]
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-03-24
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Airbag 2: Paranoid Android 3: Subterranean Homesick Alien 4: Exit Music (For A Film) 5: Let Down 6: Karma Police 7: Fitter Happier 8: Electioneering 9: Climbing Up The Walls 10: No Surprises 11: Lucky 12: The Tourist 13: Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2) [Paranoid Android] 14: Pearly* [Paranoid Android] 15: A Reminder [Paranoid Android] 16: Melatonin [Paranoid Android] 17: Meeting In The Aisle [Karma Police] 18: Lull [Karma Police] 19: Climbing Up The Walls (Zero 7 Mix) [Karma Police] 20: Climbing Up The Walls (Fila Brazillia Mix) [Karma Police] 21: Palo Alto [No Surprises] 22: How I Made My Millions [No Surprises] 23: Airbag (Live In Berlin) [No Surprises] 24: Lucky (Live In Florence) [No Surprises] 25: No Surprises [BBC Radio One Evening Session (05/28/97)] 26: Climbing Up The Walls [BBC Radio One Evening Session (05/28/97)] 27: Exit Music (For A Film) [BBC Radio One Evening Session (05/28/97)] 28: Paranoid Android [Promo Video] 29: Karma Police [Promo Video] 30: No Surprises [Promo Video] 31: Paranoid Android [Later With Jools Holland (05/31/97)] 32: No Surprises [Later With Jools Holland (05/31/97)] 33: Airbag [Later With Jools Holland (05/31/97)]

Buy this for the extras but not for a new "remaster" or "remix" of OK Computer
This is not like Pearl Jam's reissue of Ten where there was both a remastering of the original audio, and remixing for an alternate listening experience. I just received my 2 CD/DVD package and can definitively say that there is no remixing or remastering of Radiohead's OK Computer album. This is not like the recently released (and fantastic) Beatles stereo and mono remasters.

The music files for OK Computer are exactly the same as the existing OK Computer CD. Anyone saying "they hear a difference" is incorrect, or at least the effect is psycho-acoustic and not grounded in reality.

I have ripped the files directly onto my Mac (aiff, not compressed MP3 or AAC) and the file sizes are identical from the old CD to this one, down to the bit. I've also used the newest version of Soundtrack Pro on the Mac (part of the Logic Studio suite) to compare the waveform and frequency charts/graphs of the songs on both CDs. They are identical, same exact peaks and valleys, same volume, same frequency response. There is not even a volume difference as happens so often with "re-releases", where they just increase the volume on the newer CD. These files are identical in every way to the original CD. So if you're hoping to hear a new/improved/cleaner/different/etc. version of OK Computer, this is not what you'll get. You will get the exact same OK Computer songs you already own. To EMI/Parlophone's credit, they aren't even trying to pretend like it's a new mix/master, as the original 1997 copyright dates are on the OK Computer CD. No indication whatsoever of a newer mix or master made in 2008/9 at least on the OK Computer CD.

Having said that, if you (like me) did not have any of the songs on Disc 2, and you're interested in the video content on the DVD, then absolutely buy this set. The additional songs range, IMO, from good to great. For those who have never bought OK Computer, this set would be a great way to start. But for those who already have the original CD, and have collected the other songs on Disc 2, and are hoping for a better/cleaner/different recording on OK Computer, this is not what you'll get.

This is worth buying just for the bonus tracks!
I loved it. I bought OK Computer a long time ago. I listened to it so much that I wore the CD out a little. I thought it would be worth the extra few dollars to get all the extras that come with this edition. I was right! This is a fantastic collection - especially the second cd. If you're not sure or on the fence and are a big Radiohead fan, buy it!! You won't regret it.

Good to have. But not much new.
The price wasn't that high (I got it for about $23 bucks). This is a great product. But I am a die-hard Radiohead fan, so I have heard all of the stuff already. It's just good to have it in a nice package. I DO love the DVD, but I wish it was longer. Good live stuff I've never seen before, plus it's nice to have a good quality DVD version of their videos from OK Computer. All in all, it's a good package. Someone who has never heard the "bonus songs" CD will absolutely LOVE it. .

The new definitive edition to a seminal record
I wouldn't hesitate to say that this is the last essential album in the history of pop-rock to this day (by "essential", I mean that it's had such a profound influence this side of pop-rock that you can clearly identify a "before" and an "after" OK Computer, and that said influence is still evident more than a decade later; and while this is particularly true in Great-Britain, that influence has long since extended beyond). There's little that could be added to everything that's been written in the 12 years since OK Computer, Radiohead's third and most celebrated album so far, was first released. There is also little doubt that in it they've taken that style of music as far as it could be taken, before thoroughly smashing through that limit with their following "Kid A" and "Amnesiac". Is it their best album though? Well, you're likely to get very different answers if you were to ask fans at any of the band's concerts (and personally, I prefer both "Kid A" and "In Rainbows", which music sounds more "free" to me somehow, for lack of a better word), but the relevance of OK Computer, its seminality, cannot be disputed

I however wanted to write a few lines on this specific 2CD + DVD pack re-release of OK Computer. In all fairness, the whole thing and its tag price are actually very decent, unlike EMI's previous attempt at cashing on the band's back catalogue, namely the "Best of": if you are new to Radiohead, do yourself a favor, forget the latter and buy the former instead. Even if it only represents one chapter of their musical adventures, the addition of another CD containing most of this era's B-sides on top of the album itself and a DVD, reminds us of one major aspect of Radiohead's music: their albums form a whole, where the songs and their order are carefully thought through and executed, and only reveal themselves fully when listened to as such. Typically, no matter how remarkable most original B-sides titles are (with special mentions to "Meeting in The Aisle" and "How I made my Millions"), it is unthinkable to replace any song on the album itself with one of them, or add one or more to the original 12-songs listing

As for the DVD, there is relatively little material: the video clips to "Paranoid Android", "Karma Police" and "No Surprises", as well as 3 songs performed live on Later with Jools Holland, BBC2's evening show. They could all be found elsewhere before, which is also true of the B-sides, but having them all together in a relatively small box and for a reasonable price is definitely convenient, making it a good buy for the completists, those who had some of the songs/recordings missing from their collection, as well as those new to Radiohead and who didn't have OK Computer before - even though it's a little more expensive than the album on its own or just the two CDs (which is pretty logical considering!), this is definitely worth every buck and the edition you should go for
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Upgrade of possibly the best album ever
Even though it is annoying how the record companies keep making us re-buy stuff we already have the bonus material on all 3 of the new Radiohead reissues makes it well worth the purchase.

You can see a complete list of all Radiohead discography, or go back to the Radiohead tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.