- Wed, 2012-10-10 12:49
I remember vividly the very first time I listened to it. I remember downloading it (£5), closing the curtains in the bedroom of my university house, lying on my bed, and pressing play. The red curtains gave the room a deep glow, the radiator next to my bed was on. I think the casual act of downloading an album lead me to feel a bit less serious about what it was I had just bought.
Then 42 seconds into 15 Step Jonny’s guitar kicked in, and that was the end of that.
So followed 42 minutes and 43 seconds of a fresh Radiohead. The band had once again twisted into a new shape. The arrangements were clearer and cleaner, and the ideas and emotions communicated more directly than 2003’s Hail to the Thief. At a lean 10 tracks, there was no filler - this was a concise and confident selection. On first listen, 15 Step and All I Need were the standout tracks. And Reckoner.
That first time I heard Reckoner lay back and breathe out, at about the 2:25 mark. The whole album seemed to be orbiting that passage of music.
“Because we separate like ripples on a blank shore.”
October 10th 2007, saw the release of Radiohead’s In Rainbows. Five years later, I am still of the belief it’s one of the finest, most precise albums ever made.
