Welcome to another installment of Way Back Wednesday, where I remind you about some classic groups or artists from way back…
When you've sold more than 30 million records worldwide and are considered one of the most influential bands of all time, the pressure is on to keep making stellar records, decade after decade. Radiohead has proven up to the challenge with eight LPs to their credit and a ninth due later this year. Fans and critics remain eager for new material from these musicians best known for their Britpop-fused experimental rock sound that has morphed and progressed to diverse sonic realms with each album. The band also has a reputation for staging epic live performances. I've seen them on two separate occasions, and I'd liken both to a religious experience. They must be seen live, to be fully appreciated.
Background: Hailing from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Radiohead formed in 1985. They met while attending an all boys school and practiced in the school's rehearsal room every Friday, which prompted the band's initial name — On A Friday. "Radiohead" wouldn't come to fruition until 1991, when their record label at the time, EMI, requested a change. The new name was born from Talking Heads track "Radio Head." The band is currently five members strong, excluding any aux players — Thom Yorke, Colin Greenwood, Jonny Greenwood, Phil Selway, and Ed O'Brien. Of these five, none has more name and face recognition than frontman Thom Yorke. With his falsetto wails and drooping eyelid, he's kind of hard to forget. Radiohead has been together for nearly 30 years … and to think, Radiohead almost broke up after the release of their debut album.
Noteworthy Albums: Radiohead released their first single, "Creep" in 1992, a song that would change their lives and alter the trajectory of Britpop forever. In 1993, their debut album, Pablo Honey, followed and featured "Creep," which is still the band's most well-known song to date. "Stop Whispering" and "Anyone Can Play Guitar" were both released as singles as well but didn't drum up as much interest. Upon its release, Pablo Honey drew comparisons to Dinosaur Jr. and Nirvana, and it wasn't deemed a success or even really appreciated until the late '90s. Just two years later, Radiohead released what would ultimately stand has their breakthrough album, The Bends, which included five charting songs and proved even more critically acclaimed than their debut.
This also marked the start of Yorke's more thought-provoking lyrics along with a period of depression. "High & Dry," "Planet Telex," "Fake Plastic Trees," "Just" and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" were all released as singles. Third album and follow-up OK Computer in 1997 solidified Radiohead's status as heavy-hitters. Arguably their best work to date and often referenced as one of the best and most innovative albums to come out of the '90s overall, OK Computer employed textured soundscapes ala The Bends but shifted to a more melancholic and moody alt rock vibe marked by electronic embellishments, a style that Radiohead has only built upon over the years. Just this year, the Library of Congress announced that OK Computer as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected the album for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.
"Creep"
"High & Dry"
"Paranoid Android"
"Karma Police"
Being the son of jazz musician Olu Dara, it was natural for Nas to become entrenched in music at a young age. Eventually, he decided to become an emcee; good thing, too, since he's arguably one of the best to ever touch a mic. His early albums were more jazz influenced, no surprise considering his background and the producers he worked with. To this day, Illmatic is one of my favorite albums, ever. It's a pure representation of hip-hop at its finest. Nas has been rumored to be releasing a project solely produced by DJ Premier. He's also working on a new LP with producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz. Hopefully, we'll see one of these much-anticipated albums be released this year.
[Nas makes a not-so-surprise-but-still-kinda-last-minute appearance at Club Skye tomorrow night — Thurs., April 23, at 10 p.m. More info here; get tickets here.]
Background: Born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, the artist better known as Nasty Nas or Nas dropped out of school after the eighth grade, but continued to educate himself with the Bible and Qur'an. Nas began his music career in 1991 with the help of MC Serch from 3rd Bass. Serch started out as his manager and helped Nas sign his first record deal with Columbia in 1992. Nas quickly earned respect within the hip-hop community and was dubbed the new Rakim (of critically-acclaimed hip-hop duo Eric B & Rakim). He also can play the trumpet.
Noteworthy Albums: Nas dropped his debut album, Illmatic in 1994 and it became a hip-hop classic overnight. With production from names like Pete Rock, Large Professor, Q-Tip and DJ Premier, Illmatic delivered the singles "It Ain't Hard To Tell," "The World Is Yours" and "One Love." Illmatic has been lauded by some critics as the best hip-hop record ever made, and the number of samples and lyrics have been snatched from the album and used in modern hip-hop only solidifies this praise.
In 1996, Nas released, It Was Written and unveiled a new style and drastic change in production. His subject matter had a much more mainstream focus, and it showed. The album was almost entirely produced by Trackmasters, which combined pop music influences with a more polished grooving sound. Three singles — "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)" featuring Lauryn Hill, "Street Dreams" and "The Message" — were a stark contrast from the music off Illmatic. It was Written also spawned supergroup The Firm, which encompassed AZ, Foxy Brown and Nature. Again, more mainstream production and big budget rap videos were the main ingredient there and The Firm released a single album in 1997, The Firm: The Album. During the most productive year of Nas' career, 1999, he dropped two LP's, I Am… and Nastradamus. The former spawned two singles; "Nas Is Like" showed a return to his Illmatic days with assistance from DJ Premier while "Hate Me Now" featuring Puff Daddy came with a controversial video that found Nas being crucified. That video became the talk of 1999, mostly for all the wrong reasons.
"It Ain't Hard To Tell"
"The World Is Yours"
"Nas Is Like"
"Hate Me Now" Feat. Puff Daddy
If you had to pick one, which Radiohead album would you be stuck with? Would you put Illmatic up there with the some of the greatest hip hop albums of all time? Sound off below.
This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2015.