"Man of War" | ||||
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Single by Radiohead | ||||
from the album OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017 | ||||
Released | 22 June 2017 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 4:29 | |||
Label | XL | |||
Songwriter(s) | Radiohead | |||
Producer(s) |
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Radiohead singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Man of War" on YouTube |
"Man of War" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released in June 2017 on the compilation OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017.
Radiohead wrote "Man of War" during the sessions for their second album, The Bends (1995), and performed it on the Bends tour. The singer, Thom Yorke, described it as a homage to James Bond themes. Radiohead worked on "Man of War" during the sessions for their third album, OK Computer (1997), but it went unreleased. They worked on another version for the 1998 film The Avengers, but abandoned it.
Years later, Radiohead submitted "Man of War" for the 2015 James Bond film Spectre, but it was rejected as it had not been written for the film. It remained unreleased until 2017, when it was included on the OK Computer reissue OKNOTOK 1997 2017.
Radiohead wrote "Man of War" during the sessions for their second album, The Bends (1995). [1] It had the working title "Big Boots". [1] Radiohead performed "Man of War" several times on tour in 1995. [2] The singer, Thom Yorke, said it was a "melodramatic" homage to James Bond themes. [3] On the same tour, Radiohead covered "Nobody Does It Better", the theme from the 1977 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me . [4]
Radiohead considered recording "Man of War" as a B-side for the Bends single "Street Spirit (Fade Out)". [3] They recorded a version in the first sessions for their third album, OK Computer (1997), with their producer, Nigel Godrich, but it went unreleased. [5] In March 1998, Radiohead and Godrich recorded a version in Abbey Road Studios for the 1998 spy film The Avengers , but this was abandoned. [6] This version contained electronic elements. [7] Footage of the recording session appears in the 1998 documentary Meeting People Is Easy . [6] Yorke said: "We were so messed up and we went in, tried to do the track, but we just couldn't do it. It was actually a really difficult period of time. We had a five-week break and all the shit was coming to the surface ... It was a real low point after it." [8]
Years later, Radiohead were approached to write the theme for the James Bond film Spectre (2015). [9] The director, Sam Mendes, and the James Bond actor, Daniel Craig, were both Radiohead fans. [10] In July 2015, the bookmaker William Hill suspended bets after a customer placed £15,000 at ten-to-one odds on Radiohead recording the next Bond theme, suspecting insider knowledge. [11] In September, the conductor Robert Ziegler, who had worked with Radiohead on their 2011 album The King of Limbs , tweeted photos of the band recording with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. [12]
Radiohead submitted "Man of War" for Spectre. It was rejected by the production team as it had not been written for the film and so would be ineligible for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. [13] Mendes said that "you want to feel like it's written just for the movie". [14] Radiohead suspended work on their ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool (2016), to record another theme, "Spectre", but the film producers rejected it as too dark. [9] [13] In June 2017, Radiohead released "Man of War" on the OK Computer reissue OKNOTOK 1997 2017 alongside two other previously unreleased tracks: "I Promise" and "Lift". [15]
Rolling Stone described "Man of War" as a "crisp mid-tempo ballad" with strings, piano, and "shards of distressed electric guitar". [15] It opens with a guitar figure before a distorted chorus. [16] The lyrics are "anxious" and "nerve-racking", with the refrain "the worms will come for you". [15] Drowned in Sound described "Man of War" as "grandiose" and the "opposite" of Radiohead's other Bond theme, "Spectre". [17]
The "Man of War" music video, directed by Colin Read, was released in June 2017 on YouTube. The video alternates from day to night, with the mood shifting from "cheerful to paranoid". It follows a man walking from a park who appears carefree by day but "seems to be hiding something" at night. [15]
PopMatters praised "Man of War" as the strongest of the bonus tracks released on OKNOTOK, and argued that it could have appeared on the original OK Computer. [16] The PopMatters critics awarded it an average score of 8.3 out of 10. [18]
Chart (2017) | Peak position |
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France (SNEP) [19] | 178 |
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. They comprise Thom Yorke ; brothers Jonny Greenwood and Colin Greenwood (bass); Ed O'Brien ; and Philip Selway. They have worked with producer Nigel Godrich and cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.
OK Computer is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on May 21, 1997. 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.
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.
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.
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).
Thomas Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been described by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest and most influential singers of his generation.
Nigel Timothy Godrich is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He has worked with acts including Radiohead, Travis, Beck, Air, Paul McCartney, U2, R.E.M., Pavement, Roger Waters and Arcade Fire.
My Iron Lung is the third EP by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 26 September 1994 by Parlophone Records in the UK and by Capitol Records in the US. It was produced by Radiohead, John Leckie and Nigel Godrich. It marked Radiohead's first collaborations with Godrich and the artist Stanley Donwood, who have worked on every Radiohead release since.
"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), in 1998. It was also released as a mini-album in Japan, titled No Surprises / Running from Demons. It features glockenspiel and a "childlike" sound inspired by the 1966 Beach Boys album Pet Sounds. The song reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. In 2011, NME named "No Surprises" the 107th-best track of the previous 15 years.
The Eraser is the debut solo album by the English musician Thom Yorke, released on 10 July 2006 through XL Recordings. It was produced by Nigel Godrich, the longtime producer for Yorke's band 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).
"The Bends" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead from their second studio album, The Bends (1995). In Ireland, it was released by Parlophone on 26 July 1996 as the album's sixth and final single, and reached number 26 on the Irish Singles Chart.
"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.
"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.
"Lucky" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, first released on The Help Album, a 1995 charity compilation organised by the charity War Child. "Lucky" was recorded in five hours with the producer Nigel Godrich. Radiohead included it on their third studio album, OK Computer (1997), and released it as a single in France in December 1997.
"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).
"Spectre" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 25 December 2015. It was produced by Nigel Godrich.
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.
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.