Tapes and Reels

CD Reviews

Bishop's College
St. John's, Newfoundland

By Allison P.


Rating Scale:
amazing *****
great ****
good ***
fair **
boring *

Album: OK Computer
Artist: Radiohead
Released: June 1997
Rating: * * * *
This is a really good CD! There is a wide range of songs here, which is normal for Radiohead. You've got a few poppy, Beatles-esque tracks, some heavier, guitar-laden songs, and some quieter, slower tracks. Some songs, like "Paranoid Android", the first single in Canada, have a little bit of all these variations. Other singles like "Karma Police" and "Lucky" (only released in the US) are very pretty and thoughtful songs.

This compilation of singles is a good representation of the broad variations of the album. Radiohead experiment, as usual, with some strange sounds and techniques on this album, and the outcome is a CD that takes you away from the normal format that seems to apply to bands in the mainstream these days - and that's a good thing. All in all, OK Computer is a fantastic CD - it may not be for everyone, but you should give it a listen anyway!


Album: The Color and the Shape
Artist: Foo Fighters
Released: May 1997
Rating: * * * *

This is a good follow-up to the Foo Fighters' first album. As with every good album, there are soft, pensive songs and the standard rocking style of the FF. The first single, "Monkey Wrench" is a heavily guitar-based song that is fun and loud. The second single, "Everlong", is a great song that I find extremely catchy and addictive.

The lyrics on this album aren't your standard "alternative" lyrics. If you really listen to them, there's something to think about embedded in every song. As usual, because of lead man Dave Grohl's past (a-hem, the "N" word), some songs can be overanalyzed due to their lyrics, such as "My Hero" and "February Stars". But it's too great an album to ruin by reading too much into the songs; just listen and enjoy!

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