Radiohead: The Best Of

Radiohead: The Best Of is a greatest hits album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released on 2 June 2008 by Parlophone Records in the UK and by Capitol Records in the US, subsidiaries of EMI. It contains songs from Radiohead's first six albums, recorded while they were under contract with EMI.

Radiohead: The Best Of
Greatest hits album by
Radiohead
Released2 June 2008
Length75:30
130:50 (special edition)
Label
Producer
Radiohead chronology
Radiohead Box Set
(2007)		 Radiohead: The Best Of
(2008)		 In Rainbows - From the Basement
(2008)

The Best Of debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart and received mostly positive reviews. Radiohead had no creative input and were critical of the release.

Release
See also: In Rainbows § Dispute with EMI

Radiohead recorded their first six albums under contract with EMI. In 2007, after Radiohead chose not to renew their contract, EMI released The Best Of and a box set of Radiohead albums to boost their revenue.[1] Radiohead had no creative input into the releases and were reportedly "enraged", seeing best-of compilations as typical of artists in commercial and creative decline.[1] The singer, Thom Yorke, said:

There's nothing we can do about it. The work is really public property now anyway... It's a wasted opportunity in that if we'd been behind it, and we wanted to do it, then it might have been good ... And now it's like when you move house – you don't want to peer through the window and see what they've done with the wallpaper because it will only upset you.[2]

In 2016, Radiohead's back catalogue was transferred to XL Recordings.[3] The Best Of and the "special editions" of Radiohead albums, issued by EMI in the same year without Radiohead's approval, were removed from streaming services.[3][4]

Content

The standard edition of The Best Of contains 17 tracks from Radiohead's first six albums.[5] The special edition contains a second CD with 13 additional tracks, including the B-side "Talk Show Host" and the live track "True Love Waits", from I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings (2001).[6] A DVD compilation with 21 music videos, including nine never before released on DVD, was also released.[7]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
NME(8/10)[9]
Pitchfork(4/10)[6]
Rolling Stone[10]
The Times[11]

Radiohead: The Best Of debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart and received generally positive reviews.

The Pitchfork critic Scott Plagenhoef praised the songs, but felt the compilation was unnecessary as Radiohead did not have a "winding, difficult discography to navigate". He wrote that the standard edition contained too many songs from their 90s albums The Bends and OK Computer, and that the expanded special edition missed an opportunity to collect B-sides or rarities.[6]

Track listing

All songs written by Radiohead (Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Philip Selway, and Thom Yorke), except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Just" (from The Bends, 1995) 3:55
2."Paranoid Android" (from OK Computer, 1997) 6:27
3."Karma Police" (from OK Computer, 1997) 4:25
4."Creep" (from Pablo Honey, 1993)Radiohead, Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood4:00
5."No Surprises" (from OK Computer, 1997) 3:50
6."High and Dry" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:18
7."My Iron Lung" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:36
8."There There" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003) 5:22
9."Lucky" (from OK Computer, 1997) 4:21
10."Optimistic (Edit)" (edited version previously unreleased; original from Kid A, 2000) 4:53
11."Fake Plastic Trees" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:52
12."Idioteque (Edit)" (edited version previously unreleased; original from Kid A, 2000)Radiohead, Arthur Kreiger, Paul Lansky4:35
13."2 + 2 = 5" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003) 3:21
14."The Bends" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:08
15."Pyramid Song" (from Amnesiac, 2001) 4:50
16."Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (from The Bends, 1995) 4:13
17."Everything in Its Right Place" (from Kid A, 2000) 4:13

Note: "Optimistic (Edit)" is only on some releases of the album.

Charts and certifications

Charts
Chart Peak
Position
Australian Albums Chart[12] 10
Austrian Albums Chart[13] 23
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[14] 1
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[15] 3
Canadian Albums Chart[16] 10
Danish Albums Chart[17] 16
Dutch Albums Chart[18] 9
Finnish Albums Chart[19] 35
French Albums Chart[20] 39
German Albums Chart[21] 38
Italian Albums Chart[22] 7
Irish Albums Chart[23] 1
New Zealand Albums Chart[24] 6
Norwegian Albums Chart[25] 17
Portuguese Albums Chart[26] 3
Scottish Albums Chart[27] 6
Spanish Albums Chart[28] 31
Swiss Albums Chart[20] 12
UK Albums Chart[29] 4
US Billboard 200[30] 26
US Billboard 200 (Two-disc version)[30] 81

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[31] Gold 15,000*
France (SNEP)[32] Platinum 100,000*
Ireland (IRMA)[33] Platinum 15,000^
Italy (FIMI)[34]
sales since 2009 		Platinum 60,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[35] Gold 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Platinum 300,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Forde, Eamonn (18 February 2019). "Chasing rainbows: inside the battle between Radiohead and EMI's Guy Hands". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  2. Reynolds, Simon (9 May 2008). "Yorke slams Radiohead 'Best Of' LP". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
  3. "Radiohead's Early Catalog Moves From Warner Bros. to XL". Billboard. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  4. Trendell, Andrew. "Here's why so many Radiohead songs disappeared from Spotify + streaming | Gigwise". gigwise.com. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  5. "Radiohead to release 'Best Of' compilation". NME. 2 April 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  6. Plagenhoef, Scott (5 June 2008). "Radiohead: The Best Of / The Best Of [Special Edition]". Pitchfork.
  7. "Radiohead 'Best Of' to be released as DVD". NME. 15 April 2008.
  8. Radiohead: The Best Of at AllMusic
  9. "Radiohead". NME. 26 February 2011.
  10. "Radiohead – Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 20 June 2023.
  11. The Times review Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "Australian Charts – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  13. "Austria Top-40 – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  14. "Charts Vlaanderen – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  15. "Charts Belgique Francophone – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  16. "Radiohead Album & Song Chart History – Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  17. "Danish Charts – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)". danishcharts.dk. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  18. "Dutch Charts – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  19. "Finnish Charts – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)". Finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  20. "Swiss Charts – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  21. "Radiohead – Longplay-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Musicline.de. Archived from the original on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  22. "Italian Charts – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)". Italiancharts.com. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  23. "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 12 June 2008". Chart-track.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  24. "New Zealand Charts – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)". charts.nz. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  25. "Norwegian Charts – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  26. "Portuguese Charts – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)". Portuguesecharts.com. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  27. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  28. "Spanish Charts – Radiohead – The Best Of (album)". Spanishcharts.com. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  29. "The Official Charts Company – Radiohead – The Best Of". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  30. Billboard at AllMusic
  31. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2009". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  32. "French album certifications – Radiohead – The Best Of" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  33. "The Irish Charts - 2009 Certification Awards - Platinum". Irish Recorded Music Association.
  34. "Italian album certifications – Radiohead – The Best Of" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "2012" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "The Best Of" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
  35. "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2008 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. 3 September 2008.
  36. "British album certifications – Radiohead – The Best Of". British Phonographic Industry.

Radiohead: The Best Of at Discogs (list of releases)

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