Oh, EMI.  Since Radiohead’s departure from the label, EMI issued a box set containing the band’s first six albums, plus the EP I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings (none remastered, and no bonus tracks).  Here’s the second cash grab, coming a mere six months after the box set, and surely this will not be the last.  The Best of Radiohead was obsolete before it was even released, since not a single track from In Rainbows (released through TBD Records) appears here, (and of that album’s ten tracks, at least four deserve to be included). 

Radiohead’s back catalogue is so full of great tracks, not even to speak of great albums (every music fan should have a copy of The Bends and OK Computer).  The band’s work is so varied in terms of style, collecting miscellaneous tracks onto one disc (or two, if you opt for the “Limited Deluxe Edition”) becomes somewhat problematic.  Their albums are cohesive wholes, and taking tracks from Kid A and sandwiching “Fake Plastic Tress” from The Bends between them makes for a curious listen, but little thought went behind the track sequencing (and including three tracks from Pablo Honey [one on the first disc, two on the second] is a strange choice). 

Now that I’ve said my piece, I will take the clichéd route and praise the music on the actual set.  The single disc does manage to capture Radiohead’s most well known songs; from “Creep” and “Just” to “Everything in its Right Place” and “Karma Police,” the disc covers all the bases.  The second disc digs a little deeper including the fan favourites “Talk Show Host” and the stunning “True Love Waits.”  But exactly who is this release is for?  Is there such a thing as a casual Radiohead fan in 2008?  I’m sure EMI hopes there is, or they’re at least banking on completists to snatch this up.