Twenty years after its summer 1997 release, OK Computer re-emerges clothed in light. In this two-part reissue: a first disc with the remastered original album; a second, 11-track disc made up of B-sides and previously unreleased titles. The sort of release that has fans in a frenzy... After the admittedly perfect classicism of The Bends (1995), Radiohead took a sort of swan dive into the ocean of a distinctly more experimental type of rock. Like revisited prog rock, subtly undermined by snatches of electronic music, OK Computer is never a mere mad scientist's laboratory, experimenting just for the fun of it. Underneath the atmospheric layering, behind the patchworks of textures inherited from Pink Floyd, R.E.M. or even Teuton krautrock (Neu! and Can spring to mind), the Oxford group never lets its attention stray from the writing. Between Thom Yorke's tortured but often lyrical (Exit Music (For A Film)) and always distinctive voice (Karma Police) and Jonny Greenwood's avant-garde guitar lines (Subterranean Homesick Alien), this third album keeps listeners on their toes. OK Computer reached a pinnacle of inventiveness, with bold harmonies, groundbreaking production and inventive instrumentation. It left its mark on its time and will continue to influence masses of groups and musicians...The second disc in OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017 contains eight B-sides (Lull, Meeting In The Aisle, Melatonin, A Reminder, Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2), Pearly, Palo Alto and How I Made My Millions) and three previously unreleased tracks (I Promise, Man Of War and Lift). Recorded in March 1998 at the Abbey Road Studios in London, Man Of War was originally intended to be on the soundtrack of the big-screen adaptation of The Avengers with Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes, but the group was unhappy with the result and shelved the song. However glimpses of the title's recording footage can be seen in the documentary Meeting People Is Easy. Radiohead began performing on stage in 1996 with I Promise and Lift, on a US tour as the opening act for Alanis Morissette. Hard to fathom how Lift and its heady melody did not end up on the final tracklisting of OK Computer. © MD/Qobuz

Using the textured soundscapes of The Bends as a launching pad, Radiohead delivered another startlingly accomplished set of modern guitar rock with OK Computer. The anthemic guitar heroics present on Pablo Honey and even The Bends are nowhere to be heard here. Radiohead have stripped away many of the obvious elements of guitar rock, creating music that is subtle and textured yet still has the feeling of rock & roll. Even at its most adventurous -- such as the complex, multi-segmented "Paranoid Android" -- the band is tight, melodic, and muscular, and Thom Yorke's voice effortlessly shifts from a sweet falsetto to vicious snarls. It's a thoroughly astonishing demonstration of musical virtuosity and becomes even more impressive with repeated listens, which reveal subtleties like electronica rhythms, eerie keyboards, odd time signatures, and complex syncopations. Yet all of this would simply be showmanship if the songs weren't strong in themselves, and OK Computer is filled with moody masterpieces, from the shimmering "Subterranean Homesick Alien" and the sighing "Karma Police" to the gothic crawl of "Exit Music (For a Film)." OK Computer is the album that established Radiohead as one of the most inventive and rewarding guitar rock bands of the '90s.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Since his appearance on the French jazz scene in the early 2000s, Baptiste Trotignon has imposed himself as one of the most brilliant pianists of his generation. He has multiplied the prestigious collaborations (Aldo Romano, Stefano Di Battista, Brad Mehldau…) and personal projects of various formats and registers, from pure solo work (Solo, Body And Soul) to quintets (Share). Alongside this, is the neo-classical piano concerto Different Spaces with Nicholas Angelich as a soloist, as well as an album of “songs” (Song, Song, Song). However, it is without a doubt in the intimate and egalitarian setting of a trio, which he revisits regularly as if to recharge his batteries, that he displays the most spontaneous part of his talent. His inaugural album Fluide, recorded in 2000 with Clovis Nicolas on bass and Tony Rabeson on drums, was followed by Hit in 2014 with Thomas Bramerie and Jeff Ballard. This time it’s accompanied by Matt Penman and Greg Hutchinson that he creates this particularly joyous new album, made up entirely of covers of great English pop classics. Merrily going from The Beatles to Radiohead, from Pink Floyd to The Rolling Stones, from The Police and Led Zeppelin to Elvis Costello and even Robert Wyatt, Baptiste Trotignon highlights his dazzling style that mixes velocity with rigour. He fully plays the lyricism and virtuosity card in intense, energetic sequences, full of fluttering arabesques, always articulated with great legibility and constant attention to the melody. Far from a slightly haughty exercise in style that would overcomplicate simplistic thematic material with clever reharmonizations, the trio pays complete homage to the melodic energy and sumptuousness of these songs that already belong to our collective imaginary, in doing so creating a record that is as lovingly audacious as it is perpetually inventive. © Stéphane Ollivier/Qobuz

Twenty years after its summer 1997 release, OK Computer re-emerges clothed in light. In this two-part reissue: a first disc with the remastered original album; a second, 11-track disc made up of B-sides and previously unreleased titles. The sort of release that has fans in a frenzy... After the admittedly perfect classicism of The Bends (1995), Radiohead took a sort of swan dive into the ocean of a distinctly more experimental type of rock. Like revisited prog rock, subtly undermined by snatches of electronic music, OK Computer is never a mere mad scientist's laboratory, experimenting just for the fun of it. Underneath the atmospheric layering, behind the patchworks of textures inherited from Pink Floyd, R.E.M. or even Teuton krautrock (Neu! and Can spring to mind), the Oxford group never lets its attention stray from the writing. Between Thom Yorke's tortured but often lyrical (Exit Music (For A Film)) and always distinctive voice (Karma Police) and Jonny Greenwood's avant-garde guitar lines (Subterranean Homesick Alien), this third album keeps listeners on their toes. OK Computer reached a pinnacle of inventiveness, with bold harmonies, groundbreaking production and inventive instrumentation. It left its mark on its time and will continue to influence masses of groups and musicians...The second disc in OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017 contains eight B-sides (Lull, Meeting In The Aisle, Melatonin, A Reminder, Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2), Pearly, Palo Alto and How I Made My Millions) and three previously unreleased tracks (I Promise, Man Of War and Lift). Recorded in March 1998 at the Abbey Road Studios in London, Man Of War was originally intended to be on the soundtrack of the big-screen adaptation of The Avengers with Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes, but the group was unhappy with the result and shelved the song. However glimpses of the title's recording footage can be seen in the documentary Meeting People Is Easy. Radiohead began performing on stage in 1996 with I Promise and Lift, on a US tour as the opening act for Alanis Morissette. Hard to fathom how Lift and its heady melody did not end up on the final tracklisting of OK Computer. © MD/Qobuz

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When a pair of New York-based musicians (Michael G. and Ticklah) calling themselves the Easy Star All-Stars came out in 2003 with Dub Side of the Moon, an all-reggae interpretation of Pink Floyd's rock monster Dark Side of the Moon, there were no expectations among an audience and thus no reason for skepticism. The album's reputation built steadily and the newly converted -- thousands bought the album and talked it up to others -- naturally wondered what would come next. After much deliberation, the All-Stars settled on Radiohead's 1997 masterpiece OK Computer, an obvious choice in hindsight (some consider Radiohead a 21st century Floyd), as beloved in its own time (and, undoubtedly, for many years to come) as Dark Side was decades earlier. Still, months before its release, some die-hard Radiohead fans were condemning the idea of Radiodread -- not to mention its campy title -- how could anyone dare mess with perfection? It was assumed by some that the reggae musicians would turn this monumental work into a parody, or render its often complex structures and moods unlistenable at the least. Turns out they had nothing to fear: the Easy Star All-Stars not only treat OK Computer with the respect it merits, they successfully re-imagine it, creating a work of art that, while it may never earn the over-the-top critical plaudits enjoyed by the source material, should find favor with both Radiohead loyalists and roots reggae purists alike. It couldn't have been easy, but the All-Stars make it sound so. Each tune is reconsidered on its own terms, with guest vocalists -- among them reggae giants such as Horace Andy (opener "Airbag"), Morgan Heritage ("Electioneering"), Toots & the Maytals (a very upbeat "Let Down") and Israel Vibration (album-closing "The Tourist") -- bringing a personal stamp to each tune. How each of these vocalists chooses to handle Thom Yorke's keening, facile vocals is worth a study in itself -- some virtually mimic him while others throw out the mold and come at the material from a completely outsider perspective. Ditto the arrangements: OK Computer's tricky time shifts and layers of electronics and ambient sounds could, in lesser hands, add up to a complete muck-up, but instead Radiodread emerges as its own, quite satisfying entity. It may be sacrilege to even think so, but it's possible that some listeners unable to warm up to Radiohead may even come to prefer this OK Computer from an alternative universe. © Jeff Tamarkin /TiVo

It's hard to approach a Radiohead tribute with anything but reservation, as the majority of the band's later work is difficult to replicate, especially if your arsenal consists of a single piano. Things aren't helped much thanks to Brad Mehldau's jazz interpretations leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of even the most die-hard Radiohead fan. That said, True Love Waits isn't a bad compilation if you were a fan of Mehldau's reworkings. However, if you were on the other side of the fence, it might not be the best album you'll listen to all year. Much to his credit, O'Riley chooses a wide range of songs from Radiohead's back catalog, forgoing the obvious temptation of selecting the recognizable hits. Some translate quite well into a solo piano setting, especially darker and low-key songs like "Bulletproof" and the subtle "Motion Picture Soundtrack." Unfortunately, this isn't always the case; several tunes turn into frenzied piano workouts that make O'Riley sound like he comes from the Richard Clayderman school of musical interpretation. Not without its redeeming qualities, True Love Waits comes off more focused on the skills of the piano player than the songs being paid tribute.© Rob Theakston /TiVo

Each release in the Rockabye Baby! series takes the best-known songs of a particular artist and places them in a lullaby processor that involves chimes, bells, and vibraphones -- renditions that are slightly more involved than the music that comes out of the average baby mobile. Whether the original versions are heavy and aggressive or light and subdued, these lullaby versions are uniformly appropriate for their purpose. And, in some cases, they even happen to tease out an unlikely amount of melodicism not apparent in the originals. The Radiohead volume features versions of "Everything in Its Right Place," "Karma Police," "Knives Out," "Subterranean Homesick Alien," "Paranoid Android," and "Sail to the Moon." What, no "Morning Bell" or "Go to Sleep"?© Andy Kellman /TiVo