I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings

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I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings
Radiohead.imightbewrong.albumart.jpg
Live album by
Radiohead
Released12 November 2001
RecordedMay–August 2001
Genre
Length40:11
Label
Radiohead chronology
Amnesiac
(2001)		I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings
(2001)		 Hail to the Thief
(2003)

I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings is a live album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 12 November 2001 in the UK by Parlophone and a day later in the US by Capitol Records.

Contents

Recorded during Radiohead's 2001 tour, I Might Be Wrong comprises songs from their fourth and fifth albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001). Radiohead developed the songs through studio experimentation and rearranged them for live performance. I Might Be Wrong also includes an acoustic performance of "True Love Waits", a song Radiohead did not release until their 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool .

I Might Be Wrong received mainly positive reviews. Critics praised the performances and arrangements, but criticised its brevity and lack of earlier Radiohead songs.

Content

I Might Be Wrong comprises live performances recorded on Radiohead's 2001 tour. [1] It features songs from Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), [1] plus a solo performance of another song, "True Love Waits", by the singer, Thom Yorke, on acoustic guitar. [2] Radiohead did not release "True Love Waits" until their 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool . [2]

As Radiohead had developed Kid A and Amnesiac through studio experimentation, [3] they rearranged the songs to perform them live. For example, the electronic track "Like Spinning Plates" was rearranged as a piano ballad. [4] The guitarist Ed O'Brien said: "You couldn't do Kid A live and be true to the record. You would have to do it like an art installation ... When we played live, we put the human element back into it." [5] The drummer, Philip Selway, said Radiohead "found some new life" in the songs when they came to perform them. [5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 76/100 [6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Entertainment.ie Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [10]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Pitchfork 8.0/10 [13]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Stylus A− [16]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, I Might Be Wrong has an average score of 76 based on 16 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews". [6]

The Entertainment.ie critic Andrew Lynch wrote: "Unlike most live albums, this one captures some of the excitement of actually being there and gives Radiohead back the human dimension they've recently been in danger of losing." [9] Stephen Thompson of The A.V. Club wrote that the album "cast new light" on Kid A and Amnesiac. [17] In Rolling Stone , Jonah Weiner described it as "explosively raw", praising the "twisty, insular" performance of "Idioteque" and Yorke's "beautifully chilling" vocals on "Like Spinning Plates". [18] Matt LeMay of Pitchfork also praised "Like Spinning Plates", saying it showcased Radiohead's "songwriting virtuosity rather than their sonic adventurousness". [4]

LeMay said the performance of "True Love Waits" was "absolutely gorgeous" and that the song "holds its own" against any on Radiohead's 1997 album OK Computer . [4] He felt it justified the release of the live album, along with "Like Spinning Plates". [19] Ted Kessler of NME praised Yorke's vocals on "True Love Waits" as "clear and true". [12] However, Mac Randall felt the performance, with "whiny" vocals, was inferior to a widely shared bootleg version. He wrote: "One gets the feeling that this was a song Radiohead knew they liked and knew audiences liked but the band never came to grips with an arrangement for it; finally they threw up their hands, putting it out as it is." [20]

Several critics felt I Might Be Wrong was too short. Thompson found it "marred by characteristically unrevealing packaging and inexplicable brevity". [17] Randall wrote that its brevity made it "something of a letdown", and that the lack of earlier Radiohead songs meant it did not capture "anywhere near the scope of a real Radiohead concert". [21] LeMay also criticised the lack of older songs, and said the album had the feeling of a "promotional item" for Kid A and Amnesiac. [4] Sam Samuelson of AllMusic suggested it could instead have been packaged with Amnesiac as a complete package from the Kid A sessions, rather than a "couple of thrown-together releases". [7]

Reissues

Radiohead left EMI after their contract ended in 2003. [22] In 2007, EMI released Radiohead Box Set , a compilation of albums recorded while Radiohead were signed to EMI, including I Might Be Wrong. [22] Radiohead had no input into the reissues and the music was not remastered. [23]

In February 2013, Parlophone was bought by Warner Music Group (WMG). [24] In April 2016, as a result of an agreement with the trade group Impala, WMG transferred Radiohead's back catalogue to XL Recordings. The EMI reissues, released without Radiohead's consent, were removed from streaming services. [25] In May 2016, XL reissued Radiohead's back catalogue on vinyl, including I Might Be Wrong. [26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Radiohead, except where noted

I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)VenueLength
1."The National Anthem" Vaison-la-Romaine, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
28 May 2001
4:57
2."I Might Be Wrong" South Park, Oxford, England
7 July 2001
4:52
3."Morning Bell" South Park, Oxford, England
7 July 2001
4:14
4."Like Spinning Plates" Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, USA
8 August 2001
3:47
5."Idioteque"Arthur Kreiger, Paul Lansky, RadioheadSouth Park, Oxford, England
7 July 2001
4:24
6."Everything in Its Right Place" Vaison-la-Romaine, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
28 May 2001
7:42
7."Dollars and Cents" South Park, Oxford, England
7 July 2001
5:13
8."True Love Waits" Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway
9 September 2001
5:02
Total length:40:11

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes. [27]

Release history

CountryDateLabelFormatCatalogue number
United Kingdom12 November 2001 Parlophone LP 12FHEIT 45104
CDCDFHEIT 45104
United States13 November 2001 Capitol Records CDP 7243 5 36616 2 5

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References

  1. 1 2 Marianne Tatom Letts (8 November 2010). Radiohead and the Resistant Concept Album: How to Disappear Completely. Indiana University Press. pp. 156–167. ISBN   978-0-253-00491-8.
  2. 1 2 Reilly, Dan (10 May 2016). "The 21-year history of Radiohead's 'True Love Waits', a fan favorite two decades in the making". Vulture . Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  3. ↑ Fricke, David (24 May 2001). "Radiohead warm up with Amnesiac". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 LeMay, Matt (17 December 2001). "Radiohead: I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Radiohead take Amnesiac on tour". Rolling Stone . 21 June 2001. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings". Metacritic . Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  7. 1 2 Samuelson, Sam (2001). "I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings review". AllMusic.
  8. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Radiohead". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
  9. 1 2 Andrew Lynch (14 November 2001). Radiohead – I Might Be Wrong review Entertainment.ie. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  10. ↑ Brunner, Rob (7 December 2001). "I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings". Entertainment Weekly . p. 105. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  11. ↑ "Radiohead – I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings EP review". Mojo : 114. December 2001.
  12. 1 2 Kessler, Ted (7 December 2001). "Radiohead – 'I Might Be Wrong' review". NME . Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  13. ↑ Matt LeMay (17 December 2001). Radiohead: I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings EP review Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  14. ↑ "Radiohead – I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings". Q (#184): 127.
  15. ↑ Moon, Tom (22 November 2001). "Recordings: Radiohead, I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 15 December 2001. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  16. ↑ Keith Gwillim (1 September 2003). Radiohead – I Might Be Wrong – Review Archived 4 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine Stylus. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  17. 1 2 Stephen Thompson (12 November 2001). Radiohead: I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings Archived 13 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine The A.V. Club. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  18. ↑ Weiner, Jonah (20 June 2016). "Radiohead: A Complete Album Guide". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  19. ↑ LeMay, Matt (17 December 2001). "Radiohead: I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  20. ↑ Randall, Mac (1 February 2012). Exit Music: The Radiohead Story Updated Edition. Backbeat Books. ISBN   978-1-4584-7147-5.
  21. ↑ Randall, Mac (1 February 2012). Exit Music: The Radiohead Story Updated Edition. Backbeat Books. ISBN   978-1-4584-7147-5.
  22. 1 2 Nestruck, Kelly (8 November 2007). "EMI stab Radiohead in the back catalogue". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
  23. ↑ McCarthy, Sean (18 December 2009). "The Best Re-Issues of 2009: 18: Radiohead: Pablo Honey / The Bends / OK Computer / Kid A / Amnesiac / Hail to the Thief". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 20 December 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  24. ↑ Knopper, Steve (8 February 2013). "Pink Floyd, Radiohead Catalogs Change Label Hands". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  25. ↑ Christman, Ed (4 April 2016). "Radiohead's Early Catalog Moves From Warner Bros. to XL". Billboard. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  26. ↑ Spice, Anton (6 May 2016). "Radiohead to reissue entire catalogue on vinyl". The Vinyl Factory . Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  27. ↑ I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings (liner notes).