Perhaps more than any other, Radiohead’s Amnesiac is an oddity. Originally recorded with the intention of being used to make Kid A into a double album, Amnesiac is essentially the offcuts that didn’t make the final cut of one of the Oxford quartet’s most acclaimed records. Released a year after its so-called “parent” album, Amnesiac has never quite managed to step out of Kid A’s looming shadow and stand, proud and two-footed, in the basking glory of mainstream acclaim. Many Radiohead fans love it, but general audiences? Not so much.
Reputations are, as we know, funny things. Amnesiac remains a cautionary tale on not judging an album by its cover, or else not making assumptions about a record because of its slightly unusual provenance. A record comprised of offcuts and oddities doesn’t sound appealing to most, especially considering that Kid A, the supposed 'main' release, is esoteric and strange enough as it is.
