12. OK Computer - Radiohead 1997
To try and summarize Radiohead's masterpiece, 'OK Computer' in a few paragraphs is pretty daunting to be honest. Not because it is better than any other album on this list, that is subjective, but, because a ridiculous amount is going on here. One thing was clear though, the band set no parameters on what they were going to do and how it was going to end up sounding. They themselves, have made that clear. There were so many different ideas and influences being thrown into the pot, coupled with the fact that for the first time, Radiohead's personnel were going to self-produce their third album. After the huge success of the much more straight forward, but excellent, 'The Bends', Parlophone Records gave the band a huge budget and no deadline in which to have the album ready by. The band then lived and recorded in a huge mansion that was owned by actress, Jane Seymour, near the English city of Bath. They felt this environment had a positive influence on the creative process. When most bands at the time were drawing from the past, 'OK Computer', will stand up as a 90's record that was moving music forward. Perhaps, the one album in this list of 50 that is the most forward thinking and will be looked back on as having a huge influential and cultural effect. One reviewer summed up the overall sound as being a "DIY Electronica album, made with guitars", a pretty accurate description, it has to be said. The writer, Tim Footman, noted that "not since the 1967 release of The Beatles 'Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band', had so many critics, from both the U.K. and the States agreed so unanimously on the quality of an album. It was a critical smash. That the album didn't end up being an absolute train wreck is nothing short of a miracle. Whereas in the past, front man, Thom Yorke, usually was the main decision maker, now the whole band were, as involved as each other in ideas and final decisions, with Yorke's voice still being "the loudest", according to drummer, Phil Selway. Of course, the band has long referred to producer, Nigel Godrich, as their unofficial, sixth member, and he was pivotal in taking all the members input and performances, and funneling them into something coherent. he album is a contradiction of sorts. Lyrically it has a very futuristic, cyber-paranois feel about it, almost as if the band were predicting how technologically reliant the world would soon become. Musically, the band relied on much new fangled technology to create the multi-layered and hyper-tense landscape. Although they have always maintained that it isn't a concept record, it does have some continuity running throughout and is best taken in, in the one sitting. The band further pushed the boundaries by releasing the 6 minute plus 'Paranoid Android', as the first single which has no chorus and a many different sections. Radio and music television still picked up the track, and gave it heavy rotation. The album went on to sell over 3 million copies worldwide. Not too shabby for an album that is extremely hard to digest, but once under your skin, it is a compulsive listen. The band would further stary away from convention with further releases, straying into ultra sparse, electronic and downright weird territory with each release.