Maps of Music

OK Computer (1997)

Where the lyrics of OK Computer take you, and where it was really made.

Much of this album was not made in a proper studio: it was built in a converted shed near Didcot and in a Bath mansion owned by the actress Jane Seymour.

Key places

Rehearsals and recording at Canned Applause (1996)

Recording site Canned Applause studio (Didcot) — In July 1996 the band began rehearsing and recording at Canned Applause, a converted shed near Didcot. They later judged it unsatisfactory as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording resumes at St Catherine's Court (1996)

Recording site St Catherine's Court — Radiohead resumed recording in September 1996 at St Catherine's Court, a historic mansion near Bath. Most of the album was completed in further sessions there. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Additional recording in Crouch End (1997)

Recording site The Church Studios — Additional recording took place at the Church in Crouch End, London, during the album sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Strings recorded at Abbey Road (1997)

Recording site Abbey Road Studios — The strings for OK Computer were recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London in January 1997. The album was mastered there later. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Jubilee line to St John's Wood station, then about a 5-minute walk.

Album story

Overview

• OK Computer: third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead
• Released 21 May 1997
• Recorded with producer Nigel Godrich, who became the album's co-producer
• Abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic influences
• Laid the groundwork for Radiohead's later, more experimental work
• Distanced from the guitar-centred, introspective style of The Bends

Background

• 1995: Radiohead toured for The Bends; Brian Eno commissioned a song for The Help Album, and Lucky was recorded in five hours with Godrich
• Band found touring stressful and took a break in January 1996
• They wanted to move away from the introspective style of The Bends
• The commercial and critical success of The Bends gave them the confidence to self-produce
• Parlophone gave them a £100,000 budget for recording equipment
• Jonny Greenwood said the only concept was to record away from the city and to record themselves
• Godrich outgrew his advisory role and became co-producer

Recording

• Demos recorded at Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire, in early 1996
• Canned Applause, a converted shed near Didcot, was judged an unsatisfactory location
• Recording resumed in September 1996 at St Catherine's Court, a mansion near Bath
• O'Brien estimated that 80 per cent of the album was recorded live
• Additional recording at the Church in Crouch End, London
• Strings recorded at Abbey Road Studios in January 1997
• Mastered by Chris Blair at Abbey Road; completed 6 March 1997

Cover

• Collage of images and text by Yorke (credited as the White Chocolate Farm) and Stanley Donwood
• Motorway photo on the cover shows the Interstate 84 and Interstate 91 interchange in Hartford, Connecticut

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985.
• The members met while attending Abingdon School, a private boys' school in Abingdon.
• The band was first called On a Friday, and signed to EMI in December 1991 under the name Radiohead.

Members

• Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards), Colin Greenwood (bass), Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals), Philip Selway (drums).
• Nigel Godrich (producer) and Stanley Donwood (cover artist) have worked with the band since 1994.

Career

• Debut album Pablo Honey (1993); The Bends (1995); OK Computer (1997) is considered a landmark record.
• Kid A (2000) marked a dramatic change in style, incorporating electronic music, jazz and krautrock.
• In Rainbows (2007) was self-released as a pay-what-you-want download.
• Over 30 million albums sold by 2011; six Grammy Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics described it as a landmark release of far-reaching impact and importance, but noted that its experimentalism made it a challenging listen
• NME, Melody Maker, The Guardian and Q gave it favourable reviews in the British press
• Rolling Stone, Spin, the Los Angeles Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pitchfork and the Daily Herald published positive reviews
• Alex Ross in The New Yorker praised its progressiveness and contrasted it with the musically conservative dadrock of Oasis
• Reviews for Entertainment Weekly, the Chicago Tribune and Time were mixed
• Andy Gill in The Independent found it less impressive than The Bends, though ambitious

Reappraisal

• Retrospective reviews from BBC Music, The A.V. Club and Slant were favourable
• Rolling Stone gave it five out of five in the 2004 edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide
• Rolling Stone ranked it 42nd on its 2020 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
• Added to the US National Recording Registry in 2014
• In a BBC Radio 6 Music poll it was named the sixth-most overrated album
• David H. Green of The Daily Telegraph called it self-indulgent and questioned its critical standing

Records

• Debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart with 136,000 copies in its first week
• Debuted at number 21 on the US Billboard 200
• Certified five-times platinum in the UK in August 2013
• Certified double platinum in the US
• Nominated for Album of the Year at the 1998 Grammy Awards and won Best Alternative Music Album
• Shortlisted for the 1997 Mercury Prize, losing to New Forms by Roni Size/Reprazent
• Has sold at least 6.9 million copies worldwide (7.8 million with album-equivalent units)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Radiohead planned a music video for every song on the album, but the project was abandoned because of financial and time constraints.
• Capitol sent 1,000 cassette players to press and music industry figures in America, each with a copy of the album glued inside.
• The title comes from the 1978 radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and the band picked it up while listening to the series on a tour bus in 1996.
• The album was shortlisted for the 1997 Mercury Prize, and oddsmakers had favoured it among the ten nominees.
• The album cover photo was taken at a motorway interchange in Hartford, Connecticut, where Radiohead had performed in 1996.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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