Songs like Paranoid Android and Karma Police cast a spell that propelled Radiohead into the stadium league.

This wasn’t Pink Floyd for the end of the millennium, it was original, visionary and brilliant. Combining prog with alternative rock influences, said Classic Rock's reviewer, 'they came up with a style that was supple, subtle and sensuous'. OK Computer is the album that took Radiohead far into the mainstream, while retaining rockist cred – at least to some. Here’s what happened when we discussed OK Computer…

Listen on Apple Music (opens in new tab)Įvery week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.

To quote the man himself, 'This is what you get when you mess with us…' “The whole album is really fucking geeky,” he commented last year to Rolling Stone (opens in new tab), and added that he would tell his younger self to 'lighten the fuck up.' To be fair, even Radiohead singer Thom Yorke is split on the subject of OK Computer. And it raised questions about what 'classic rock' actually is, in the first place. Of course, some people loved it – but equally some people hated it. Not that OK Computer didn't have its fans ('It's the greatest album of the 90s,' was one comment), but it divided the group like never before and the result was the lowest rating of any album we've looked at so far. (And it's an understatement to say that Edgar Winter's They Only Come Out At Night hasn't quite been met with the same acclaim afforded OK Computer.) 'Poor man's Marillion,' said yet another. 'About as classic rock as Bucks Fizz (opens in new tab),' said another.

'Poncey Indie music for art students,' said one.

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