Radiohead

OK Computer
$9.93
got this in 1997. was 12 years old. listen to it now and it takes me back. all tracks stick like tacks.

OK Computer [SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION- 2 CDs + DVD]
$34.98
I just received my 2 CD/DVD package and can definitively say that there is no remixing or remastering of Radiohead's OK Computer album. This is not like Pearl Jam's reissue of Ten where there was both a remastering of the original audio, and remixing for an alternate listening experience. This is not like the recently released (and fantastic) Beatles stereo and mono remasters.

The music files for OK Computer are exactly the same as the existing OK Computer CD. Anyone saying "they hear a difference" is incorrect, or at least the effect is psycho-acoustic and not grounded in reality.

I have ripped the files directly onto my Mac (aiff, not compressed MP3 or AAC) and the file sizes are identical from the old CD to this one, down to the bit. I've also used the newest version of Soundtrack Pro on the Mac (part of the Logic Studio suite) to compare the waveform and frequency charts/graphs of the songs on both CDs. They are identical, same exact peaks and valleys, same volume, same frequency response. There is not even a volume difference as happens so often with "re-releases", where they just increase the volume on the newer CD. These files are identical in every way to the original CD. So if you're hoping to hear a new/improved/cleaner/different/etc. version of OK Computer, this is not what you'll get. You will get the exact same OK Computer songs you already own. To EMI/Parlophone's credit, they aren't even trying to pretend like it's a new mix/master, as the original 1997 copyright dates are on the OK Computer CD. No indication whatsoever of a newer mix or master made in 2008/9 at least on the OK Computer CD.

Having said that, if you (like me) did not have any of the songs on Disc 2, and you're interested in the video content on the DVD, then absolutely buy this set. The additional songs range, IMO, from good to great. For those who have never bought OK Computer, this set would be a great way to start. But for those who already have the original CD, and have collected the other songs on Disc 2, and are hoping for a better/cleaner/different recording on OK Computer, this is not what you'll get.

Kid A
$11.94
It's almost incomprehensible that "Kid A" came from the same guys that gave us "Creep" and "High and Dry"; Kid A's avant-garde electronica is so far removed from their earlier recordings that to say it sounds like a completly different band would be an oversimplification. There is simply nothing else like this record in the rock canon, and the mere fact that these guys can experiment so freely, apparently with carte blanche from Capitol, gives me renewed hope that we will not be assimilated by the Clear Channel juggernaut currently assimilating radio stations worldwide.

Hail to the Thief
$11.94
Doesn't quite match the crisp songs and exhilarating guitar sounds a la Soundgarden or Smashing Pumpkins. OK Computer and In Rainbows are classic like an "A", but I can only give "Half to Thief" a B- at best. Maybe if I'm just completing my collection, but not as essential as the others.