Radiohead recalls creative path to "Amnesiac''

And the group hasn't forgotten that mission on the new ''Amnesiac,'' its second release in eight months. 

"The reason we did these two records is to show that anything is possible rather than everything is expected,'' says bassist Colin Greenwood. "The last thing we wanted to do was go into the studio and make another version of 'OK Computer.' 

"The media was building us up to be the next sort of U2 or R.E.M. But some of our experiences on 'OK Computer' made us very uncomfortable with that career trajectory, so we've been spending the past two years working out how to do things a bit differently and still play good performances in front of our fans.'' 

In that sense Radiohead has achieved its goal -- and without losing its hip cachet. "Kid A'' debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 when it was released last November; so far it's sold nearly 850,000 copies. 

"Amnesiac,'' meanwhile, is being warmly received by reviewers, most of whom tout it as more readily accessible than its surprisingly experimental predecessor, with catchier melodies, a stronger guitar presence and at least one song, ''Knives Out,'' that sounds as radio-ready as previous Radiohead hits like "Creep'' and "Paranoid Android.'' 

Greenwood echoes that assessment. "I think the difference is 'Kid A's' like a more far-off, distant-sounding record, whilst 'Amnesiac' is more present,'' says the 32-year-old bassist. "'Kid A' is like a message recorded on your answer phone, whilst 'Amnesiac' is a good, direct conversation with someone, a more present example and representation of the music ... that we've been recording over the past 18 months.'' 

None of the music on the two albums, which were recorded during the same sessions, came easy, however. 

UNEASY SUCCESS 
"OK Computer's'' success threw Greenwood and his bandmates -- frontman Thom Yorke, younger brother Jonny and Ed O'Brien on guitars, and drummer Phil Selway -- for a loop. One only has to watch the documentary "Meeting People is Easy,'' which chronicles the band during "OK Computer's'' run, to witness just how uncomfortable they were with their new stature. 

And Greenwood says that in addition to the vagaries of fame, Radiohead also was caught off guard by the rush of others to imitate the album's spacious, melodic sound. 

"There were bands appearing in England that were having big success with sort of diluted versions of what we were doing,'' he says. "There were a number of bands who, when journalists wrote about them, (they) use the R word to describe them -- though they've gone on to sell a lot more records than we have! 

"I think that'll drop off now, unless the band is being described in terms of willful, career-wrecking decisions and wayward artisticness,'' he adds with a laugh. 

Still, it was clear to Radiohead's members that it was time to move on -- though creative restlessness has actually been a constant since the group formed in 1987 in its home town of Oxford, England. 

"We've always been a difficult band to pin down,'' says Greenwood, who studied literature at Peterhouse College in Cambridge during Radiohead's early days. "I think that's what ended up being good for us.'' 

DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY 
Radiohead's members only knew they wanted to do something different when they entered the studio with co-producer Nigel Godrich at the end of 1998; they just weren't sure exactly what it wanted to do. Some members were interested in electronica, others wanted to return to a more direct pop song format. 

The collision of sensibilities was not always pretty. 

"We recorded lots of things early on which we were unhappy about, that we didn't think were very good -- I think that says more about our state of mind at the time, which was sort of fractured,'' Greenwood acknowledges, though he says reports that Radiohead considered breaking up were overstated. 

"I don't think so. I mean, I think it's a relief when you emerge; you come out into the real world again and you realize you've done good work,'' he says. 

Greenwood doesn't think it will take as long, or be as hard, for Radiohead to get its next project done. 

"My best guess for the next album is a combination of 'Amnesiac' with more guitar music,'' with offerings tending toward lyric-based songs rather than instrumentals. 

"We try not to insult or bore the intelligence of our audience, because we're aware their tastes are moving on as well as ours with music, and it's exciting to be part of that.'' 

Meanwhile, after eschewing videos and heavy touring for ''Kid A,'' Radiohead is doing both for "Amnesiac.'' In Europe the group will perform in a custom-built portable tent that seats up to 15,000, while its North American dates will be played at ''unconventional'' venues that Greenwood says were chosen to keep the concert experience fresh for both the group and its fans. 

"One of our great loves is playing in America,'' he explains, "and it got to the stage where that pleasure was being taken away from us because we were playing in such sanitized, corporate venues every night that were exactly the same, and that was really depressing. 

"All we're trying to do is to keep it interesting and fresh so that we can carry on doing it and keep coming back.'' 

(Gary Graff is a nationally syndicated journalist who covers the music scene from Detroit. He also is the supervising editor of the award-winning "MusicHound'' album guide series. Opinions expressed here are his own.)