I Promise (Radiohead song)

Last updated

"I Promise"
Single by Radiohead
from the album OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017
Released2 June 2017
Recorded1996
Genre Alternative rock
Length3:59
Label XL
Songwriter(s) Radiohead
Producer(s)
Radiohead singles chronology
"Daydreaming"
(2016)
"I Promise"
(2017)
"Man of War"
(2017)
Music video
"I Promise" on YouTube

"I Promise" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released in 2017. Radiohead performed it on their 1996 tour, and recorded it during the sessions for their third album, OK Computer (1997), but felt it was not strong enough to release. In June 2017, "I Promise" was included on the OK Computer reissue OKNOTOK 1997 2017 and released as a download with a music video.

Contents

History

Radiohead first performed "I Promise" on 27 March 1996 at the Fillmore in San Francisco, [1] and played it several times that year while touring in support of Alanis Morissette. [2] Bootleg recordings were widely circulated. [3]

Radiohead recorded "I Promise" during the sessions for their third album, OK Computer (1997), but felt it was not strong enough to release. [2] In 1998, the guitarist Ed O’Brien suggested that Radiohead could rerecord "I Promise" for their next album, but it remained unreleased. After the release of their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007), O'Brien said they had abandoned it. [2]

On 23 June 2017, Radiohead released a 20th-anniversary OK Computer reissue, OKNOTOK 1997 2017 , featuring "I Promise" and two other new tracks. [4] "I Promise" premiered on BBC Radio 6 on 2 June; the host, Steve Lamacq, said that Radiohead had been "especially pleased to find [it] in the vaults, because they thought it'd been lost over the years". [5] That day, Radiohead released an "I Promise" music video on their website [5] and made the song available to download to those who had pre-ordered OKNOTOK. [6]

On tour in June 2017, Radiohead performed "I Promise" for the first time in 21 years. The songwriter, Thom Yorke, told the crowd: "What a bunch of nutters we were, and probably still are ... One of the crazy things we did was not release this song, because we didn't think it was good enough." [7]

Composition

"I Promise" features strummed acoustic guitar, [3] marching band-like drums, [1] and orchestral Mellotron tones. [2] The lyrics see Yorke "listing off vows like a shopping list", [1] with themes common to OK Computer including loneliness, alienation, paranoia and heartache. [3] O'Brien likened it to Roy Orbison, while Yorke likened it to Joy Division. [2] NME described "I Promise" as "Radiohead at their most direct" before they moved into electronic music with later albums. [1]

Music video

The "I Promise" music video was directed by Michal Marczak, who had previously directed a video vignette for Radiohead's ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool (2016), and the video for "Beautiful People" by Mark Pritchard, featuring Yorke. [8] The video depicts a nighttime bus journey through Warsaw, with one passenger as a detached animatronic head. [3] [9] [10] Robin Hilton of NPR interpreted the video as a reference to the isolation and "gruelling" schedule Yorke experienced on the OK Computer tour. [3]

Reception

Pitchfork named "I Promise" the week's "Best New Music", writing that if Radiohead had released it in 1997 "it might've been inescapable in dorm rooms, at open mic nights, and wherever else sensitive guys with guitars are found ... It doesn't much reinvent the group's The Bends -era iteration, as the technological lyrical themes and gloomy production of OK Computer would. But it's stunning all the same." [2]

Charts

Chart (2017)Peak
position
France (SNEP) [11] 136
Iceland (RÚV) [12] 14
Scotland (OCC) [13] 78
UK Singles Downloads (OCC) [14] 81
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [15] 48

Personnel

Radiohead

Additional personnel

Related Research Articles

Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. They comprise Thom Yorke ; the brothers Jonny Greenwood and Colin Greenwood (bass); Ed O'Brien ; and Philip Selway. They have worked with the producer Nigel Godrich and the cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.

<i>OK Computer</i> 1997 studio album by Radiohead

OK Computer is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in the UK on 16 June 1997 by EMI. With their producer, Nigel Godrich, Radiohead recorded most of OK Computer in their rehearsal space in Oxfordshire and the historic mansion of St Catherine's Court in Bath in 1996 and early 1997. They distanced themselves from the guitar-centred, lyrically introspective style of their previous album, The Bends. OK Computer's abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead's later, more experimental work.

<i>Kid A</i> 2000 studio album by Radiohead

Kid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 2 October 2000 by Parlophone. It was recorded with their producer, Nigel Godrich, in Paris, Copenhagen, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.

<i>Amnesiac</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Radiohead

Amnesiac is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 30 May 2001 by EMI. It was recorded with the producer Nigel Godrich in the same sessions as Radiohead's previous album Kid A (2000). Radiohead split the work in two as they felt it was too dense for a double album. As with Kid A, Amnesiac incorporates influences from electronic music, 20th-century classical music, jazz and krautrock. The final track, "Life in a Glasshouse", is a collaboration with the jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton and his band.

<i>The Bends</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Radiohead

The Bends is the second studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. It was produced by John Leckie, with extra production by Radiohead, Nigel Godrich and Jim Warren. The Bends combines guitar songs and ballads, with more restrained arrangements and cryptic lyrics than Radiohead's debut album, Pablo Honey (1993).

<i>Pablo Honey</i> 1993 studio album by Radiohead

Pablo Honey is the debut studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 22 February 1993 in the UK by Parlophone and on 20 April in the US by Capitol Records. It was produced by Sean Slade, Paul Q. Kolderie and Radiohead's co-manager Chris Hufford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed O'Brien</span> English musician

Edward John O'Brien is an English guitarist, songwriter and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paranoid Android</span> 1997 single by Radiohead

"Paranoid Android" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead, released as the lead single from their third studio album, OK Computer (1997), on 26 May 1997. The lyrics were written by singer Thom Yorke following an unpleasant experience in a Los Angeles bar. The song is over six minutes long and contains four sections. The name is taken from Marvin the Paranoid Android from the science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karma Police</span> 1997 single by Radiohead

"Karma Police" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 25 August 1997, as the second single from their third studio album, OK Computer (1997). It reached number one in Iceland and number eight on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it reached number 14 on the US Alternative Songs chart. It was included on Radiohead: The Best Of (2008).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radiohead discography</span>

The English rock band Radiohead have released nine studio albums, one live album, five compilation albums, one remix album, nine video albums, seven EPs, 32 singles and 48 music videos. Their debut album, Pablo Honey, released in February 1993, reached number 22 in the UK, receiving platinum certifications in the UK and US. Their debut single, "Creep", remains their most successful, entering the top ten in several countries. Their second album, The Bends, released in March 1995, reached number four in the UK and is certified triple platinum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Surprises</span> 1998 single by Radiohead

"No Surprises" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as the fourth and final single from their third studio album, OK Computer (1997), on 12 January 1998. It was also released as an EP with B-sides, No Surprises / Running from Demons. It features glockenspiel and a "childlike" sound inspired by the 1966 Beach Boys album Pet Sounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyramid Song</span> 2001 song by Radiohead

"Pyramid Song" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, Amnesiac (2001), in May 2001. It features piano, strings, an unusual "shuffling" rhythm and lyrics inspired by the Egyptian underworld.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nude (song)</span> 2008 single by Radiohead

"Nude" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released in March 2008 as the second single from their seventh studio album, In Rainbows (2007).

"Lift" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead released in 2017. It was first performed in 1996; bootleg recordings were widely circulated, and it became a fan favourite. Radiohead recorded versions of "Lift" during the sessions for their third album, OK Computer (1997), but abandoned it. Members of Radiohead said they had felt pressured by its commercial potential, and that it did not represent what they wanted to say at the time.

"True Love Waits" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. Radiohead worked on it for over two decades before releasing it on their ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool (2016).

<i>OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017</i> 2017 compilation by Radiohead

OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017 is a reissue of the 1997 album OK Computer by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released in June 2017, the album's 20th anniversary, following the 2016 acquisition of Radiohead's back catalogue by XL Recordings from EMI.

"Man of War" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released in June 2017 on the compilation OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017.

<i>MiniDiscs (Hacked)</i> 2019 compilation album by Radiohead

MiniDiscs [Hacked] is a compilation of recordings made by the English rock band Radiohead while they were working on their 1997 album OK Computer. It comprises more than 16 hours of demos, rehearsals, live performances and other material.

<i>Kid A Mnesia</i> 2021 compilation album by Radiohead

Kid A Mnesia is a reissue compiling the albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001) by the English rock band Radiohead. It also includes a bonus disc, Kid Amnesiae, comprising previously unreleased material. It was released on 5 November 2021 on XL Recordings.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jamie, Milton (5 May 2017). "A guide to the unreleased tracks on Radiohead's OKNOTOK". NME. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hogan, Marc (2 June 2017). "'I Promise' by Radiohead review". Pitchfork . Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Hilton, Robin (2 June 2017). "Watch: Radiohead Shares Video For Previously Unreleased Song, 'I Promise'". NPR. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  4. Strauss, Matthew (2 May 2017). "Radiohead Announce New OK Computer Reissue Featuring 3 Unreleased Tracks". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Watch Radiohead's New "I Promise" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  6. Althea, Legaspi (2 June 2017). "Hear Radiohead's Previously Unreleased Song 'I Promise'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  7. Yoo, Noah (7 June 2017). "Watch Radiohead Play "I Promise" for First Time in 21 Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  8. "Radiohead premiere video for OK Computer rarity "I Promise" — watch". Consequence of Sound . 2 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  9. "Michał Marczak nakręcił teledysk dla Radiohead. W klipie do "I Promise" występuje Agata Buzek". Gazeta Wyborcza . Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  10. Gonzalez, Ed. "Watch Radiohead's "I Promise" Music Video Directed by Michal Marczak". Slant. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  11. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 23, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique . Retrieved 10 June 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  12. "TOPP20 LISTINN 18. JÚNÍ - 1. JÚLÍ 2017". RÚV . Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  13. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  14. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  15. "Radiohead Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 June 2017.