Radiohead: The Best Of Offers Nothing New for Rabid Fans

Recently, Radiohead has been causing quite a stir with its unorthodox approaches to the recording industry, such as allowing fans to name their own price for 2007's In Rainbows. With this in mind, perhaps it should not be surprising that controversy is already surrounding EMI's The Best of Radiohead, a 2-disc collection comprised of 30 of the band's most popular songs.

This time around, though, it's not the method of release that is being discussed, but rather the relevancy of the disc. And the critic is none other than lead singer Thom Yorke. According to www.nme.com/news/radiohead/36497, Yorke denounced the album as "a wasted opportunity in that if we'd been behind it... it might have been good." However, EMI elected to push the album into production against the band's wishes, prompting Yorke to comment that "We haven't really had any hits so what exactly is the purpose?"

Though not exactly true, Yorke's assertion is somewhat accurate; Radiohead has never played to the pop charts, and their catalogue isn't composed of many radio-friendly, crossover hit singles. Of course, that doesn't mean the band hasn't produced plenty of quality music - there has been an abundance of it. Perhaps the most difficult task in compiling a greatest hits album would be deciding which tracks to cut. Despite the lack of chart-toppers, EMI evidently had issues in determining the cream of the crop, settling for 30 tracks that fill two discs.

While The Best of Radiohead may not have Yorke's endorsement, it does have mine. The collection features songs from nearly the entire expanse of Radiohead's career, reaching back to 1993's Pablo Honey for "Creep," "You," and "Anyone Can Play Guitar," and also including "There There," "Go To Sleep," and "2+2=5" from 2003's Hail to the Thief. The set also features the rare track "Talk Show Host," which has yet to appear on a Radiohead studio recording.