"音楽史における20世紀最後の名盤"とも評されるレディオヘッドの4作目『Kid A』と、同時期にレコーディングされ双子作品とも位置付けられる5作目『Amnesiac』が発売21周年を記念し、未発表/レア音源を追加したひとつの3枚組作品『Kid A Mnesia』としてリリース!!
2000年発売当時、ギター・ロックのフォーマットを捨て去りエイフェックス・ツインやオウテカなど先鋭的なエレクトロニック・ミュージックを取り入れた作風で物議を醸し出したレディオヘッドの革新的4作目『Kid A』。そして同じ時期にレコーディングされ、同作の双子作品にしてクラウト・ロック、ジャズ、ブルーグラスなど古典的な音楽とエレクトロニクスを混ぜ合わせ、円熟を見せる近年のバンド・サウンドの雛形になった2001年作品『Amnesiac』。今回発売から20年を経て、同レコーディング・セッションから発掘されたBサイドや別ヴァージョン、そしてコア・ファンの間でその存在が知られるも半ば都市伝説として語り継がれてきた門外不出の未発表曲「If You Say the Word」と初公式リリースとなる「Follow Me Around」を含む12曲を収録したボーナス・ディスク『Kid Amnesiae』が追加された3枚組作品『Kid A Mnesia』としてその偉大なる歴史を更新。"エヴリシング・イン・イッツ・ライト・プレイス"―――2000年代の音楽史に革命を起こしながらも二つの軌道を辿った作品が、20年の時を経て今一つになる。
発売・販売元 提供資料(2021/09/08)
Three years after conquering the alternative rock world with the landmark OK Computer, Radiohead followed with one of the most anticipated albums of the era. And everything changed. 2000s course-shifting Kid A was a jarring transformation: icy atmospherics, digitized beats, meandering soundscapes, and enough gloom and anxiety to make their previous output almost cheerful in comparison. With their crunchy guitars and snarling attitude seemingly left behind in 1997, the response was swift and divisive: critics either hailed it for its artistry or mourned the loss of their beloved art-rock misfits. Nonetheless, the album hit number one around the world and became widely recognized as one of the most influential and iconic albums of the decade. Eight months later, Radiohead delivered another dose of existential dread and experimental wizardry with 2001s weirdo sibling, Amnesiac. Even though listeners had been primed for what was to come, the public still wasnt ready. Recorded during the same sessions (and fully intended as its own entity, not just a B-sides cast-off), the set delved even deeper into the extremes of this new sonic aesthetic, pushing the limits of the average fans patience with complex time signatures and song structures, stretching themselves even further away from The Bends. In some respects, the complex Amnesiac was less harsh and robotic than Kid A, injecting warmth into the machine with layered production, hypnotic programming, and very human touches like piano, strings, and even a brass band. This jazzy, jam-band-from-the-future approach would become a hallmark of later albums and, when the rest of the music world finally came close to catching up, hindsight revealed Radiohead to be completely ahead of its time. To celebrate the 20th and 21st anniversaries of these revelatory albums, the quintet created the triple-threat Kid A Mnesia, which united Kid A, Amnesiac, and a third disc of era-extras titled Kid Amnesiae. While most of the inclusions on the bonus compilation are for diehards -- the trio of Untitled ideas will be of interest only to the most obsessive -- theres a handful of gems worth seeking out. Longtime fan favorites If You Say the Word, an updated B-side Fog (Again Again Version), and the tender guitar-strummed Follow Me Around are the immediate grabs, while the True Love Waits Version of Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors and Like Spinning Plates (Why Us? Version) are different enough to warrant a listen. Meanwhile, Pyramid Strings and How to Disappear Into Strings isolate those delicate sections from the originals to haunting effect, especially on the latter. As a snapshot of this crucial turning point in the Radiohead discography, Kid A Mnesia presents a band taking its first steps into a thrilling new phase, one that would alter their trajectory and push them further into the unknown. ~ Neil Z. Yeung
Rovi