Easy Star All-Stars
Radiodread
Easy Star
You could almost see it coming. A reggae version of Radiohead's opus. Classical musicians have interpreted the music of Radiohead. Spin magazine deemed the band's 1997 record OK Computer to be the best album of the past 20 years. And the record has been described as this generation's Dark Side of the Moon, a musical talisman puzzled over at length in dorm rooms.
So perhaps it's fitting that the Easy Star All-Stars (who did a dub tribute to the Pink Floyd classic) should preside over this reggae tribute to OK Computer. But what made the dubbed-out Floyd tribute endearing was the application of a sunny good-time vibe to what, in many ways, was a cold bummer of a record. Fun is what's missing here. Too much cult-like devotion already surrounds Radiohead, and the OK Computer tribute is entirely too reverent an exercise. But it's not a complete wash.
Toots and the Maytals make good work of "Let Down," and some of Jonny Greenwood's dark gemlike instrumental phrases sound great as slurred trombone lines. But on the whole, this isn't a brave or bold enough tribute. Though one can sympathize with them, many of the singers sound almost intimidated by the material. John Adamian
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