Alien Army

Alien Army

ASIN: B000000FNI

Track Listings

1. Happy Eyes

2. Barcelona Rising

3. Chess

4. No Time But Now

5. Fornix

6. Clean Dreamer

7. Pod Dance

8. Moon Rain

9. She's the One

10. Romance

Tracks:

Everything In Its Right Place
Knives Out
Black Star
Karma Police
Let Down
Airbag
Subterranean Homesick Alien
Thinking About You
Exit Music (For A Film)
You
Bulletproof
Fake Plastic Trees
I Can't
True Love Waits
Motion Picture Soundtrack

Amazon.com

Rock bastardizations of classical music are as old as Kim Fowley's--and ELP's--Tchaikovsky tweaking "Nutrocker." But classical interpretations of rock music have generally been something of a high-wire act. While most pop fare has strong melodic foundations for the soloist to build from, Christopher O'Riley has challenged himself here with the catalog of Radiohead, one of modern rock's most acclaimed--and texturally complex--bands. O'Riley's insightful gifts for interpretation (which have previously enlightened everything from Stravinsky to P.D.Q. Bach) produce a hypnotic, emotionally compelling listening experience here; O'Riley is a huge Radiohead fan, and that love courses through everything from the dreamy, bittersweet title track through the brooding loveliness of "Let Down." Radiohead's stock in trade is dense, multi-layered music that leans heavily on electronic processing for its moody sonic atmospherics; O'Riley's evokes those complex textures with but a judicious use of the sustain peddles, a deft use of dissonance (as on "Knives Out"), and a rhythmically anxious left hand. Call them etudes for the post-modern age if you will, but O'Riley's performances here largely achieve what all great interpretations strive for: New insight and enlightenment. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Looking Forward, Looking Back.......2007-03-02

Ove the last decade or so, Radiohead has created some of the most complex and futuristic rock music out there, and I wondered if a solo pianist could really capture their essence on a single instrument. However, O'Riley does a marvelous job, and brilliantly conveys the melancholy, mysterious, and introspective qualities of Radiohead's music. His renditions of "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Let Down" are particularly powerful. What I really loved about this cd is while I could follow all of the songs he played, at times I felt like I was listening to an breathtaking piano sonata by Mozart or Beethoven, and even a Nocturne by Chopin. Overall, this is a faithful interpretation by an excellent musician who honors one of the greatest bands in recent times, while also paying hommage to his musical heritage. This cd is a must for even the casual Radiohead fan or anyone who enjoys the piano.

Music Lovers.......2007-02-17

i love almost all kinds of music. piano and radiohead really works for me, i liked the whole thing. if you can get into some piano, you can get into this cd. if you dig radiohead, get into it purely because someone took the time to put some awesome songs into yet another form for more audiences to get into. its beautiful. thats all there is to say.

a transcription worthy of Franz Liszt.......2006-12-08

This is a beautiful recording. Try playing it for music loving frends who would never listen to a band like Radiohead. They won't believe it when you tell them the source of this richly textured heartbreakingly melodic tour de force. I'm in my late 50's and love Mahler, Sibelius,and Beethoven. I also love Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens, John Fahey and Wilco. Good music can come along in any time and I'm glad that Christopher O'Riley loves Radiohead and transcribed it for solo piano; he's missed nothing in the process. If your not choked-up by the end of this CD, music must not be your thing.

Sleepytime music.......2006-03-27

Being the total Radiohead fanatic that I am, I decided to pick this up when it came out... perhaps a fresh take on their music would breath some life back into the songs I've been listening into the ground, I thought. So I took it up into the mountains with me and listened to it for a bit. My reaction to it now is similar to then: it's a dreamy if somewhat insubstantial collection of vaguely familiar tunes.

All of the playing on this disc is superb on the technical level... obviously O'riley is a top notch classical performer. The arrangements are a mixed bag, though. There are some amazing renditions on here - see the impressionistic 'Everything In Its Right Place' and the melancholy coffee house arrangement of 'Knives Out'. Some others are also quite listenable, including 'Subterranean Homesick Alien', 'Exit Music', 'Bulletproof', and 'Motion Picture Soundtrack'. However, the upbeat pop tunes have difficult translating to solo piano. the Pablo Honey tunes suffer the worst here, and feel slightly unnatural; perhaps like a classical pianist paying tribute to a favorite band, rather than the more personal adaptations that make the 'Knives Out' arrangement so effective.

Overall, a nice cd to put on in the background when you're reading or settling in to bed, but Radiohead fanatics beware - don't expect anything that lives up to the band's immense standards.

Nice sound.......2006-02-17

I didn't even know Radiohead songs...but now I've listened to the originals and can hear how O'Riley captures the songs on the piano. This is a great album.