OK Computer

OK Computer is the third studio album by British alternative rock band Radiohead, released on May 21, 1997 through EMI subsidiaries Parlophone and Capitol Records. Radiohead produced the album independently with Nigel Godrich, a procedure they later repeated for subsequent albums. Except for the song “Lucky”, recorded in 1995, the rest of the tracks were recorded in rural Oxfordshire and Bath, during 1996 and early 1997, mostly at St Catherine’s Court manor. The band distanced itself from the style of their previous album, The Bends, which featured guitar and introspective lyrics. OK Computer features abstract lyrics, a dense, multi-layered sound, and eclectic influences, which laid the groundwork for the group’s later, more experimental work.

The album presents a world plagued by growing consumerism, social alienation, emotional isolation and political unrest. For this reason, OK Computer has been seen as having a prescient understanding of the 21st century lifestyle. The band used unconventional production techniques, such as using the natural reverb that occurs when recording on a staircase, and avoiding sound separation. The string sections were recorded at Abbey Road Studios; guitarist Ed O’Brien estimated that eighty percent of the album was recorded live.

Rating Entries

Information