Have you ever thought, "If I were ever diagnosed with a terminal illness, I would request to see Radiohead before I died?" For those of you who share this sentiment or just did not get to see Thom Yorke and the boys in Denver this summer, I Might Be Wrong Live Recordings may fulfill the live Radiohead void in all your life.
Some of you are probably thinking, "A live album, what is so special about that?" Indeed, it seems that live albums tend to be disappointments, primarily because most live shows boast a sound well below record quality and there is usually nothing new and enticing about it hearing a live recording of the music without physically being there.
But I Might Be Wrong transcends that stereotype to a degree. The album is somewhere in between excellent and just plain old good on the live recording album scale. It features eight tracks - from shows in Oxford, Berlin, Oslo and Vaison La Romaine - with very few crowd interruptions from cheering and applause. The tracks are from the past two Radiohead LPs Kid A and Amnesiac and the much awaited previously unreleased song "True Love Waits."
"True Love Waits," reminds me of the Radiohead that I first fell in love with and why I used to want to kiss Yorke's one weak eye. Written around the same time of The Bends, its second album - the Radiohead of "Street Spirit (fade out)," "Thinking of You" and "Exit Music for a Film" - this cut rises out and above the other tracks on the album.
"True Love Waits," is simply beautiful. It features only two instruments besides the occasionally whooping and hollering from the audience - Yorke's crystal clear, enchanting voice that could make anyone weep and an acoustic guitar.
A sampling: "I'm not living/ I'm just killing time/ your tiny hands/ your crazy kiss and smile/ Just don't leave/ don't leave." Although these lyrics are not as intense or painful as other Radiohead songs, they represent the ability Radiohead has to describe common unspoken human emotions through lyrical imagery and, of course, the wailings of Yorke.
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The other tracks are basically extended versions of "The National Anthem," "I Might be Wrong," "Morning Bell," "Like Spinning Plates," "Idioteque," "Everything in it its Right Place" and "Dollars and Cents."
While listening to these tracks, it is easy to imagine the creepy, crying bear Radiohead logo stomping through consumer culture or whatever the band envisioned by using driving electric guitar riffs and extremely steady beats. Yorke also adds occasional bizarre, spastic, oral noises in between his usual vocals.
If you are a Radiohead extremist, then you need this album. To those that already own Kid A and Amnesiac and think that Radiohead is just OK, this is in an unnecessary purchase. However, if you miss the Radiohead of pre-Kid A and cannot stomach the Aphex Twin-like direction that Radiohead seems to be heading toward, you need to give I Might Be Wrong a listen - if only to hear "True Love Waits."
