Radiohead: The Best Of

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Radiohead: The Best Of
Radiohead the best of.jpg
Greatest hits album by
Radiohead
Released2 June 2008
Length75:30
130:50 (special edition)
Label
Producer
Radiohead chronology
Radiohead Box Set
(2007) 		Radiohead: The Best Of
(2008) 		In Rainbows - From the Basement
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3.5/5 stars[1]
NME(8/10)[2]
Pitchfork(4/10)[3]
Rolling Stone3.5/5 stars[4]
The Times4/5 stars[5]

Radiohead: The Best Of is the first greatest hits album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 2 June 2008 by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and by Capitol Records in the United States, subsidiaries of EMI. It contains songs from Radiohead's first six albums plus I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings, recorded while under contract with EMI.[6] The compilation debuted at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and critical reception was generally positive. Radiohead had no creative input and were critical of the release.

Background[]

EMI released Radiohead: The Best Of after Radiohead did not renew their recording contract following the release of their sixth album, Hail to the Thief, in 2003.[7] According to EMI owner Guy Hands:

The financial department came to me and said they could make X amount of money by just [releasing The Best Of] ... I said, "We have a bank that is staring us down and now [Radiohead] have basically told us to eff off, I don't think we have a huge amount of reasons to be nice to them."[8]

Radiohead had no creative input into The Best Of, and were reportedly "incensed" at its release, seeing best-of compilations as typical of artists in commercial and creative decline.[9] Singer Thom Yorke said:

There's nothing we can do about it. The work is really public property now anyway... It's a wasted opportunity in that if we'd been behind it, and we wanted to do it, then it might have been good ... And now it's like when you move house – you don't want to peer through the window and see what they've done with the wallpaper because it will only upset you.[10]

Release[]

The standard edition contains 17 tracks. The "special edition" contains a second CD with 13 additional tracks. A DVD compilation with 21 music videos, including nine never before released on DVD, was also released.[11]

In 2016, Radiohead's back catalogue was transferred to XL Recordings, who had released the physical editions of their subsequent albums and most of Yorke's solo work.[12] The Best Of and the "special editions" of Radiohead albums, issued by EMI in the same year without Radiohead's approval, were removed from streaming services.[12][13]

The compilation debuted at number 4 on the UK Albums Chart and critical reception was generally positive.[citation needed]

Track listing[]

All songs written by Radiohead (Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Philip Selway, and Thom Yorke), except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Just" (from The Bends, 1995) 3:55
2."Paranoid Android" (from OK Computer, 1997) 6:27
3."Karma Police" (from OK Computer, 1997) 4:25
4."Creep" (from Pablo Honey, 1993)Radiohead, Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood4:00
5."No Surprises" (from OK Computer, 1997) 3:50
6."High and Dry" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:18
7."My Iron Lung" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:36
8."There There" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003) 5:22
9."Lucky" (from OK Computer, 1997) 4:21
10."Optimistic (Edit)" (edited version previously unreleased; original from Kid A, 2000) 4:53
11."Fake Plastic Trees" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:52
12."Idioteque (Edit)" (edited version previously unreleased; original from Kid A, 2000)Radiohead, Arthur Kreiger, Paul Lansky4:35
13."2 + 2 = 5" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003) 3:21
14."The Bends" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:08
15."Pyramid Song" (from Amnesiac, 2001) 4:50
16."Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:13
17."Everything in Its Right Place" (from Kid A, 2000) 4:13

Note: "Optimistic (Edit)" is only on some releases of the album.

Special Edition[]

In 2008, Radiohead released a special edition of The Best Of including a bonus disc with 13 extra songs.

Track listing[]

All songs written by Radiohead (Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Philip Selway, and Thom Yorke), except where noted.

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Just" (from The Bends, 1995) 3:55
2."Paranoid Android" (from OK Computer, 1997) 6:27
3."Karma Police" (from OK Computer, 1997) 4:25
4."Creep" (from Pablo Honey, 1993)Radiohead, Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood4:00
5."No Surprises" (from OK Computer, 1997) 3:50
6."High and Dry" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:18
7."My Iron Lung" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:36
8."There There" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003) 5:22
9."Lucky" (from OK Computer, 1997) 4:21
10."Optimistic (Edit)" (edited version previously unreleased; original from Kid A, 2000) 4:53
11."Fake Plastic Trees" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:52
12."Idioteque (Edit)" (edited version previously unreleased; original from Kid A, 2000)Radiohead, Arthur Kreiger, Paul Lansky4:35
13."2 + 2 = 5" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003) 3:21
14."The Bends" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:08
15."Pyramid Song" (from Amnesiac, 2001) 4:50
16."Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:13
17."Everything in Its Right Place" (from Kid A, 2000) 4:13

Note: "Optimistic (Edit)" is only on some releases of the album.

Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Airbag" (from OK Computer, 1997)4:44
2."I Might Be Wrong" (from Amnesiac, 2001)4:52
3."Go to Sleep" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003)3:22
4."Let Down" (from OK Computer, 1997)4:59
5."Planet Telex" (from The Bends, 1995)4:18
6."Exit Music (For a Film)" (from OK Computer, 1997)4:28
7."The National Anthem"" (from Kid A, 2000)5:52
8."Knives Out" (from Amnesiac, 2001)4:15
9."Talk Show Host" (B-side to "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", 1996)4:39
10."You" (from Pablo Honey, 1993)3:28
11."Anyone Can Play Guitar" (from Pablo Honey, 1993)3:37
12."How to Disappear Completely" (from Kid A, 2000)5:55
13."True Love Waits (Live in Oslo 9/9/2001)" (live version from I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings, 2001; studio version (unreleased at the time) from A Moon Shaped Pool, 2016)5:04

DVD[]

On 2nd June 2008, Radiohead released a compilation of all their music videos from 1992 to 2003, excluding "Lucky", "Palo Alto", "Idioteque", "Morning Bell", "Motion Picture Soundtrack", "The National Anthem" (MTV Latin America contest), "I Might Be Wrong" (Alternative Video) and "How to Disappear Completely" (Live).

Radiohead: The Best Of
Radiohead the best of dvd.jpg
Video by
Radiohead
Released2 June 2008
Recorded1992–2003
GenreAlternative rock
LabelParlophone
Radiohead chronology
The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time
(2004) 		'''Radiohead: The Best Of'''
(2008) 		In Rainbows – From the Basement
(2008)

Track listing[]

  1. "Creep (Radio Version)" (directed by Brett Turnbull)
  2. "Anyone Can Play Guitar" (directed by Dwight Clarke)
  3. "Pop Is Dead" (directed by Dwight Clarke)
  4. "Stop Whispering" (directed by Jeff Plansker)
  5. "My Iron Lung" (directed by Brett Turnbull)
  6. "High and Dry" (UK version) (directed by David Mould)
  7. "High and Dry" (US version) (directed by Paul Cunningham)
  8. "Fake Plastic Trees" (directed by Jake Scott)
  9. "Just" (directed by Jamie Thraves)
  10. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (directed by Jonathan Glazer)
  11. "Paranoid Android" (directed by Magnus Carlsson)
  12. "Karma Police" (directed by Jonathan Glazer)
  13. "No Surprises" (directed by Grant Gee)
  14. "Pyramid Song" (directed by Shynola)
  15. "Knives Out" (directed by Michel Gondry)
  16. "I Might Be Wrong" (directed by Sophie Muller)
  17. "Push Pulk/Like Spinning Plates" (directed by Johnny Hardstaff)
  18. "There There" (directed by Chris Hopewell)
  19. "Go to Sleep" (directed by Alex Rutterford)
  20. "Sit Down. Stand Up." (directed by Ed Holdsworth)
  21. "2 + 2 = 5" (Live at Belfort Festival) (directed by Fabien Raymond)

Note: Unlike the CD, "Creep" is the censored version instead of the explicit version. The video for "Push Pulk/Like Spinning Plates" is a combination of two songs, "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" and "Like Spinning Plates", both from their 2001 studio album Amnesiac.

Charts and certifications[]

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