Did anybody else get this in the end?
I must confess, I bought the standard reissue w/ the the 3 unreleased tracks and the B-sides, but I couldn't afford/justify splurging £100 for the full ultra-deluxe box-set. That said, I was still dying to hear the demo cassette, so I was a bad human being, googled naughty things and found it quickly enough. If they ever see fit to release it commercially as a stand-alone I'll shell out, but right now, given the hundreds of quids I've spent on Radiohead in my life thus far, and my general antipathy to filling my house with excess cardboard and plastic, I don't feel
too guilty. Anyway... (tracklisting filched from Wikipedia)
Cassette Side A (38:50)
1. "ZX Spectrum Symphony" (1:18)
2. "AMS Hello" (0:19)
3. "True Love Waits Tape Loop" (4:59)
4. "Let Down (Thom 4-track)" (2:59)
5. "I May be Paranoid but Not an Android" (0:16)
6. "Attention (Thom 4-track)" (2:42)
7. "Noise Sketch by Nigel Godrich" (1:15)
8. "Climbing Up the Walls (Abbey Road Strings)" (1:15)
9. "Someone Help This Guy" (0:30)
10. "Motion Picture Soundtrack (Solo Piano)" (5:13)
11. "Was That Recording?" (0:15)
12. "The Jumbled Words of Climbing Up the Walls Read by Little Dan Clements" (1:21)
13. "Lull (Ed's Guitar Infinite Reverb)" (1:31)
14. "Airbag Drums Through Moog" (1:07)
15. "Karma Police Space Echo" (1:56)
16. "Karma Police Voice Through Telephone" (0:27)
17. "(Talking)" (0:07)
18. "Piano sketch by Jonny" (0:40)
19. "Big Bird Story by Stanley Donwood" (2:04)
20. "No Surprises (Soundcheck Demo)" (2:58)
21. "Radio Chaser Noise" (0:24)
22. "Fridge Buzz" (0:11)
23. "True Love Waits Space Loop" (1:00)
24. "(Talking)" (0:29)
25. "Are You Someone?" (3:35)"
Cassette Side B (40:52)
1. "Nigel Godrich AMS Delay" (0:54)
2. "Jonny's Radio from Climbing Up the Walls" (1:15)
3. "Climbing Up the walls (Thom 4-track)" (3:58)
4. "A Piano Lies Down in the Middle of the Road" (2:36)
5. "Transposing Noise Sketch by Nigel Godrich" (2:07)
6. "Paranoid Android (Johnny & Thom Demo)" (1:22)
7. "Alternate Paranoid Android Outro (Live in Pittsburgh)" (2:21)
8. "An Airbag Saved My Life (Demo)" (4:15)
9. "(Talking)" (0:23)
10. "Paranoid Android Loud Room at St Catherine's" (0:56)
11. "Nigel Godrich AMS Paranoid Android Guitar Sample" (1:44)
12. "Nude (Demo)" (5:31)
13. "The National Anthem (Thom 4-track)" (3:19)
14. "Ambient Loops" (0:45)
15. "Man of War (Live in Montpellier)" (4:28)
16. "Nigel Godrich AMS Delay" (0:37)
17. "Thom's Acoustic as Microphone in Climbing Up the Walls" (2:23)
18. "OK Computer Program" (1:57)
As the tracklisting suggests, this tape is an utter delight and treasure trove for Radiohead fans. Straight away, it confirmed my long-held suspicion that a ZX Spectrum (my first computer) was the source of those wonderful arpeggiated bleeps and bloops in "Let Down", and they even provided the source code for the truly geeky detectives at the tape's end
Moving on, Radiohead once claimed that the dense and abstract "Push/Pulk Revolving Doors" off "Amnesiac" was partially constructed from an unreleased studio version of "True Love Waits", and the third track finally proves it. The "Let Down" demo is beautiful (although nothing will ever surpass the final studio recording, Radiohead's finest moment IMHO) and hearing the isolated string section from "Climbing Up The Walls" is a revelation.
Then, oh and then...
"Motion Picture Soundtrack" arrives. Jesus Christ, this is
harrowing. Unlike the layered studio version on "Kid A", this features nothing but a distorted, tinny piano melody and Thom's voice recorded in contrasting perfect, stark clarity. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is hands down TY's greatest recorded vocal performance. The pain and helplessness he conveys is frankly too hard to describe, but the crack and tremble in his voice as he sings "I will see you in the next life" is utterly heartbreaking. I'll always love the ethereal, somewhat numbed "Kid A" version of this song, but this quietly melodramatic and oh-so harrowing interpretation is too beautiful for words.
Where next, after that? We get a wonderfully creepy rendition of a child reading the "Climbing Up The Walls", sketches and song fragments, and a very early version of "No Surprises" with wildly different lyrics. The two previously unheard songs ("Attention" and "Are You Someone?") are intriguing enough, but slight enough not to spend too much time on. And that's just the first side! I've blethered too much already, so I'll refrain from writing about Side B, but rest assured it's similarly laden with gold.
So yeah, listen if you can (and care), and enjoy